The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1941-12-31

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CONSUMPTION from the Associated
Press news managership' a few
DAVIS ago. to supcrintend govern
mental editing Every Washington
DEPARTMENT has at least one publ
civ man Of its own, and so do
most emergency and other bureaus.
some have whole stats OF them.
It's a fact. however, that they
needed a single chief, 10 co-ordl-
nate their activities, and also to
regulate them.
That's Byron Prices new job
A managing editors business Is
to see that his report IS well, inter-
estinsly and comprehensively pre-
pared-that all the news is told
that ought TO be told There is stuff,
though. that isn't fit to print or
radio or otherwise disseminate, or
maybe there are policy reasons for
hush-hushing it. When a piece of
that kind of copy lands on his desk.
the m. e.s function is to blue PEN
Gil it. To that extent he is properly
q censor.
Tough TO Dig Out
The truth is that we've had a
fairly strict censorship. at the
source. for some time. That is,
while diggers after news haven't
been forbidden to publish whatever
dope they succeeded in disinterring,
there's been plenty Of it that they
haven't been able to get at. And
quite a bit of this suppressed infor-
nation has been of a sort that it
would have paid Uncle Sammy to
have circulated.
Very recently the navy depart
ment established a sure-enough
censorship over the cabling or ra-
doing Of messages abroad.
It's easy to understand why coun-
tries with which we're at war
shouldn't be tipped off to items
that might help Lh"m in fighting us
and the dcr-c rses We are asso-
ciated with. The trouble with
naval and-Arnry officer as a censor
though, is that he isn't apt to have
lick of news judgment. No doubt
he can spot what's calculated to be
useful to The Axis 70 p, but IS ten.
ldency, in an honest effort to be
Thorough, IS to kill matter that
would be frst-class advertising
for US.
The censorial assignment, IT
short, logically is one for an able,
experienced professional journalist,
who'll do all the better if he's had,
on the side. some military expert
ence.
Byron Price fills The bill admir-
ably.
He's put in 80 years as a reporter
and editor on newspapers and news
associations. with the exception of
break during World War No. l,
when he was a captain of infantry.
Hes personally acquainted with
every newspaper old-timer in the
country. l had my own initial con-
facts with him in about 1912, when
we were, simultaneously. United
Press bureau managers. He's had a
long career in Washington. our ma
tional news center, especially with
the present conflict raging He's
very popular in news gathering cir
cles. The boys won't resent being
censored by him when he considers
it necessary. No scribe likes being
censored. to be sure, but, If it's un-
avoidable, he prefers it by one OF
his own gang who shows some in
telligence about it.
Nellett Best Guess
Washington's ne~spaperdom has
been expecting a censorship's es-
Enlistment for quite awhile, but
the general guess was that Lowell
Meliett one Of the presidents ad-
ministrative assistants and himself
a corking good editorial craftsman,
would be chosen TO manage it.
Probably ne too valuable. where
he Is. 70 be spared. Byron does Just
as well. anyway.
Colonel Wild Bill Donavan. CO.
ordinator Of information for the
White House, who also was sug-
gested. wouldnt have been 50 salts
factory to the profession, as too ex-
ciusively military.
Calling a censorship news dis
seminating bureau, like George
Creers Committee Of Public Infor-
nation. in the last war, takes some
Of the curse Of IL.
George knew how 10 be con-
structlve with his news, as well as
secretive.