The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1942-07-09
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National and International Problems
Inseparable from Local Welfare


an appointment which is of direct and
immediate interest to every newspaper,
every publication, every radio station
and every reader in the country. The
appointment went to Elmer Davis. His
vastly important job is that of head
of the newly-created Office of War
Information.
AS Time put it, Mr.. Davis task is
''to tell the L. S. as much about the
war as possible, as fast as possible,
with as few contradictions as possible"
Control of the news is very simple
matter in the Axis countries, where
newspapers and all other mediums of
news and opinion are simply the tools
of the clique in power, and are forced
to solemnly distribute the most out
rageous lies if that happens to suit the
current purposes of the dictators. (The
press has gone so far down hill in
Germany, for instance, that thousands
of intelligent Germans automatically
regard anything and everything printed
i'm the papers as false Control of the
news is very different thing in
democratic country with a tradition of
"a completely unfettered press. Informa
tion of military importance must be
kept from circulaion-and at the same
time the right of expression of free
opinion must be vigorously safeguarded.
Honest criticism must be maintained,
even while sedition is stamped out.
That job calls for a man with wide
Experience and knowledge, superior
intelligence, and full measure of
downright, old-fashiOned common sense
The President obviously picked and
chose among many men before finally
selecting Mr.. Davis. For many months
there has been a mounting demand that
something be done to clarity the news
and censorship problems Before the
Office of War Information was formed,
There were four bureaus which dealt
i'm one way or another with these prob
lens. Archibald MacLeishs Office of
Facts and Figures; Lowell Mellett's
Office of Government Reports Robert
Horizons Division of Information Of
the OIM, and Colonel DonOvan's Office
Iof the Coordination Of Information.
There was too much overlapping, too
much misdirectiOn of effort, too much
red tape and complication. 1t was, in
short, the old case of too many cooks
spelling the broth, and some of the
cooks weren't particularly expert.
All of these bureaus, except the last,
have been abolished, and the last has
been given a new naff1e and placed un-
der the control of the staffs of the
Army and Navy.
In press circles, the appointment of
Mr. Davis was greeted with cheers. He
had Il distinguished newspaper career
on the New York Times. After that he
freelanced and distinguished himself
as a writer of fiction and magazine
articles. He was an instant success as
Il radio news annaliSt, where his plain,
homely yet authoritative way of talk
Ii ing brought him a very large national
audience. Opinion is that he is as good
| Il man as the President could have
picked that under his direction
the government information service
will take on real vitality and meaning.
No nation on earth is so well in
formed as to the progress of the war
as ours. 1t is true, of course, that many
newspapers have UNDERSTANDABLE play
ed up American victories and played
down Axis victories and have so ere.
ated distorted picture of the actual
events. But any newspaperman is free
TO dispatch or print anything so long
as it does not serve the interests Of
our enemies. Any editor is free to
crilicize any government official or any
government policy, 50 long as he does
not preach revolution and sedition. The
| American press and syndicate serv,
ices are far superior to those of any
|othcr country. Mr., Davis can be
trusted to do his part to maintain that
kind Of Il press.
Writing in the American Mercury
Albert a. Brandt, II German professor
who left the Reich after Hitler cam,
to power, says that The Nazis long age
considered the possibility of Il Civi
War and made elaborate preparation.
for dealing with it.
DR.. Brandt goes into convincing de
tail in describing these preparations
according to him, 80 divisions of the
Idread SchwarZe korps have been sta
ltioned ut strategic points within the
Reich, and are ready to deal brutallI
with revolt on Il moments notice Ger
many is literally crawling with spie'
lwho report constantly to the secre
lpolice. Old concentration camps have
|been enlarged and new ones built-onc
which is completely unocCupied as yet
lis equipped for more than lOO,OW
Ipeople. The man who planned all this
land who heads the organization is th
Infamous Heinrich Himmler-a maj
? lwho looks like mild schoOlmaSter an'
-lWho has the temperament and TIN
characteristics of the CrueleSt an,
: clcraftieSt savage. Literally millions o
people have died because of Himmler'
lpolicies-and many thousands of thos