Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-12-20

words are spaced apart Trained to watch for just such
canouage the letter over to specialist
chemical bath reveals that between the prosac WORDS IS
message in invisible writing.
Languages usts for good censors In one station
alone the staff can collectively read speak and translate
huenty 70 foreign tongues One expert can identity
each of the 70 languages while another linguistic marvel
not quite as adept knows 81 varieties of the written word
including Urdu language used by millions OF people IN India
Contrary to popular conception letters written in
obvious code the censor's principal headache
In the first place codes except those authorized by
Washington are allowed go further than the malmans
pouch. Such letters never forwarded at all
Recently intercepted letter had all the earmarks OF an
important message Nazi agent abroad The plain white
paper replete with Symbols ianges, fractions letter
combinations and similar dsguses On the bottom was an
looking map staff of decoders went to work. ana
up smiling Far from being scheoue OF toop
sailing dates the message turned out 70 De
silly note from pranste who wanted to test the efficiency
of the censorshps DECIDING staff He convinced that no
could crack his ingenious bit OF penced CODE Inc censos
did it in three hours fiat.
But for every false alarm there dozen enemy schemes
which keep the constant state OF aertness rng
recent spy trial developed that Naz agents tried to
snugge out important information the back of postage
stamp, only to run into these postal watchdogs'
Musical Clues
PHoNocRAp records too given the eye and ear test
before being forwarded foreign countries There
who spend hours listening recorded music for possible
clues planted by spies.
Amateur movies and photographs are sometimes used to
convey secret messages All of them tested carefully
But the censos chore is not all counteresponage The
foreign mails are full of untentona intelligence which must
be scssored for general safety As everybody knows in
these days of ongange bombes the weather IS not subject
for general circulation Thus letter from mother writing
to her son in the AEF about snowstom have to be
cut before being forwarded Similarly soldiers in Europe
the Pacific writing home mention only geneaes lest
they reveal military information.
That that letters to and from this country
are stripped to strictly personal gossip Freedom speak
and write ones mind is still of the bulwarks of
liberties officials the last to want to
clamp these rights As long letters do not con-
tain military facts or dangerous nors, wide latitude is
allowed.
Censorship does delay innocent correspondence Inter
national letters cleared through the postal stations
hours after being received Indeed because of the efficient
Army SYSTEM boys in North Africa already receiving
their Christmas mail Accompanying the landing force
staff of military postal experts who expedited mail between
Africa and America Soon after the first beacheads
established the Army postman began to make his rounds
Proving that the hardhearted" well every
one ese knows the value of that traditional slogan: The
mail must 60 through"