Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-04-30
What Price Censorship?

newspapers as all newspaper and most newspaper
readers well know.
1t imposes censorship as a recognized and accepted
necessity because the kind of news published and the
time for publishing it must be considered in the light
of what advantage might accrue to the enemy.
Newspaper makers and newspaper readers alike
not merely willing forego usual practices rights and
convenences order to deprive the enemy of advantage
but insist upon doing so helpful service in winning
the
DUT care must be used as Mr.. Frank S. Hoy of the
- Lewiston, Me-. Sun and Journal told his fellow pub
hshers to determine at what point advantage to the
enemy prevented by censorship and suppression and
at further point confusion and harm to the Amer
lean people result.
The American people depend newspapers, in
than in peace for two essential services Mr..
Hoy declared
They want ALL the news the bad along with the
good it possible for them to have within the limits of
military necessity
And they want it as soon as possible and entirely
TRUE.
1.-THE people," said Mr. Hoy, "tum to the
papers for the truth
1T is our great responsibility to see that the pub
lie continues to GET the truth
I'VE are not going to win this war by surrender
from constructive criticism by polyanna talk of vic
tories when have actually lost, by Withholding
casualty lists, by making easy when know
it is going to require blood, sweat and tears
eGive the people of America the truth, good bad,
and they have what 1t takes to win
I'VE agree Fundamentally with General Mac
Arthur i'm his statement lin the demOcracies II Is
tial that the public should know the truth"
IF AMERICAN newspapers errng in any respect,
in the publication of news it IS not on the side
of non-conformance with censorship.
Mr. w. p. Steven, assistant in the Office Of Censor
ship said in recent speech in Council Bluffs Iowa, that
I'VE are amazed and delighted at the job of voluntary
censorship accomplished by American newspapers
But there is grievous error and great national
hazard to the account of newspapers-or of the poll
cies of censorship imposed against them-when the
public is conscious of too little information about the
war; and suspects INSTRUMENTATION exists in what is
printed with the consent at the command of the
government
The point cannot be made too strongly too often,
as Mr. Hoy so well made it, that the American people
have what it takes to win this whatever elements
of good and bad in the
They have no fear of what happens but only of
not KNOWING what happens
They do not shrink from defeats and casualties but
only from uncertainty and confusion about those matters
n I'VE them the TRUTH, Mr.. Hoy says, however
N it hurts, and they will stand up to it and WIN.
And condition of having truth in war, it is
fundamental that American newspapers must be left
free to do their reporting and their thinking,
which the final conclusion of Mr. Hoys valuable
address
AS long censorship remains protective func-
ton, guarding against newspapers being channels of in
formation to the enemy it is useful and VITAL When
becomes detrimen to free thinking and to the dis
semination of facts about the which the people
must have in order to know the real of their