The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-02-10

press officers are approaching the whole problem by asking the news papers to cooperate in a voluntary censorship. To just what extent this will apply is to be cleared up within few days, after conferences with publishers and the press asso- citations.
 The whole trouble began several months ago, when good deal of news of value to potential enemies" got into the papers. Most of 1t, the navy confesses, came from officers who just couldn't keep their mouths shut, gave out figures or released statements they shouldn't, or talked too much at cocktail parties. Twice the secretary circularized all naval establishments, asking the person. nel to pipe down. When that didn't do any good, the problem was put up to the newspapers direct.
 EDITORS
 COOPERATE
 First step was a personal and confidential letter to newspaper edi- ! tors and correspondents asking them to refrain from using news of ship of aircraft movements, new naval construction projects, or develop ment of secret weapons. There was no intention to crack down on any one who doesn't cooperate with this program, and it's all on the pa- triotic appeal basis. Only three out of some 1900 editors have said they wouldn't cooperate.
 Photographing naval or military installations designated as secret or restricted is another matter. Presi- dential orders of last March cover this offense, providing $1 1000 fine and a year in prison for violations, and this covers also unauthorized photo graphing of any factory making war supplies All news photos, therefore, are passed by army and navy be- fore publication.
 If it all sounds bit silly and unnecessary, one hypothetical case will show the necessity or censorship. Take a. new army or navy installa- tion in Hawaii. The Japanese i1telli- gence systems are naturally after all the information they can get. Sooner or later they may get it, but if we can force the Japs to spend g. year of hard work getting the dope for themselves-spending 8 lot of money on the job, getting some of the information wrong and l having gaps in what they do get right-then the secrecy policy has paid.
 Also, there's the advantage of keeping the other fellow guessing. If a squadron takes off from naval base, its departure can be observed. But if the destination or purpose of the ship movements is unan- nounced, then the other fellow has to send fishing boats all over the Pacific to find out what goes on.
 It's amazing, too, how even the littlest bits or information can be revealing. If news gets out that $50 men are stationed at an island air base, it doesn't take foreign powers intelligence service very long to figure out just how many planes are kept there, and what they're for.
 STILL PLENTY
 OF NEWS
 To keep the public generally 1n- formed on military and naval affairs, the services do intend to give out all the general information they can. There is plenty of news which can just as well be printed, and will be. But there are on the books now, un- der the old espionage act of 1917, all kinds of authority for cutting down on the publication of news which seems detrimental to national de- fense effort, with staff penalties for violation. A presidential proclama- ton could put this machinery into gear. And in time of war, there would be a centralized national clearing house of information, like the old Creel committee of 1918. which would dish out only what it thought fit to print, and make YOU like it.