The Wrangell sentinel., 1942-12-18
Censorship For Alaska
 Gets Airing
lBv Associated Press

lBy Associated Press)
 WASHINGTON Chairman Fred eriek Van Nuys of the Senate Jud- fcial committee this week chaleng- ed the legal authority of Censor shin Director Byron Price to censr mail between the United States and it's territories. Van Nuys expressed his iveWs at a press conference after Price had testified for three hours behind closed doors before the com mittee.
 Price. talking to reporters before the Van Nuys conference. sald ne had no doubt that it was the inten- ton Of congress, in passing the first war powers act last year to pro- tet the security of communications in our country.
 Xan Nuys said he thought the censorship of mail. except that go- ing to foreign countries, has all been illegal up to date. l don | think the commander in chief has any more right to censor mail be tween Alaska or Puerto Rico and the United States than he has 10 censor mail between New York and California
 Price Obstinate
 The bill authorizing censorship ol communications between the United States and its possessions and ter ritories is at issue now, Price said as a result of the senatorial lnYesu- gatiOn.
 The mandate of the commander in chief certainly includes man date To control communications ln o, aronnd ombat areas. he declared. 50 far as the intent of congress Is concerned. l never have had the snahtest doubt that il is the intent Q, congress to protect the securly n, communications in and out of the C, c,untry." .-.
 ..scause all communications from ,..- nossessions and territories must pass through areas where there Is n,.lsotg aanger .oI enemy intereep- Ian or must go through combat z,=,.a prfee saIu. he felt the censor sl5, or these communications IS ne ces.ary Tor security purposes.
 senator George Norris said stall of 4Oo censors in Seattle now reads letters passing between Seattle ana Alaska. lie said the Senate commit fee had been shown a form bearing The initials of various federal agen- cies When a censor finds something he considers Of interest to one or more of the agencies, Norris said, ne copies it on the form with the name of the addressor and addressee and sends it to the agencies involved.
 Norris, asked by reporters II he were satisfied by the operation ot the censorship as he heard 1t eX- plained by Price said: No, no, no!
 Both Gruening and Delegate An thony J. Dimond appeared before the commietee, Van Nuys said. The governor repeated his attack on the abuses of censorship" and Dimond opposed censorship of any charac- ter"
 System UnAmerlcan
 think Price is doing as good a job as anybody could under the circumstances. Van Nuys declared Price admits the whole system is unAmerican and undemocratic, but he says it is necessary in time of war"
 Emphasizing that he was yoieing his personal opinion and not that ot other committeeman, Van Nuys said he was going to hesitate a long time" before he voted on the pending bill. He said Governor Gruening presented a letter from a high naval official in Alaska who said there is no need of censorship between the United States and the Territory. The chairman said Price admitted there had been many in- stances of mistakes in intercepting and copying parts of letters travel ing in and out of the United States to and from Alaska but attributed them largely to the inexperience Oi some of the 14,000 employees of the censorship service.
 Van Nuys said he disagreed witt Prices iyew the President, as com mander in chief. has the right tc censor mail between Alaska, Flaw ali. Puerto Rico and the United States. If that is true, the chair man asked, what is the necessity fo this bill? Price replied that hf wanted explicit authority in stat uatory form to protect his office.
 Congress Challenged
 Van Nuys said he objected to tn censorship between the states ant territories because it indicated q tendency by agencies of the govern ment to ignore the palpable inten of congress in passing legislation He contended that section 303 o the first war powers act specificall
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