Evening star., 1942-10-02

tens of thousands already knew
does not seem to fit in with sound
protective measures.
The Detroit News-Newspapers do
not usually preen themselves with
pride when they do not print the
news But = :" the life of our Com
mander in Chief is a military OBJ
jective the Axis would 60 far to take
That life was put in the hands of
American newspapers when he asked
them to refrain from all mention of
the tour. And so it was done. ANY,
way, this was news we were proud
not to print.
Dayton tOhio) Daily News-The
journey has undoubtedly accom-
plished at least two ends. The ap-
pearance of the President in such
industrial centers as Detroit and in
military encampments throughout
the country could not have failed to
bolster industrial and military mo-
rale. This was doubtless the direct
purpose of the trip. In addition,
arduous as the journey must have
been, it gave relief to hard pressed
Executive who, because of his war
burdens and the conditions of war,
has been for months virtually
prisoner in Washington.
Cincinnati Enquirer-Why should
censorship requests be carried to the
point of keeping from the American
public an event of such obvious in
terest as the Presidents Nation
wide tour =? The silence i'm
posed may have facilitated
some of the arrangements for the
tour. But it is exceedingly
doubtful if the convenience of trav-
ing in comparable secrecy makes up
for the damage done, in the mind of
the average man, to the position of
the American newspaper.
st. Paul Pioneer Press-"If the
movements of the President must be
covered with complete censorship
OF this kind, question arises
as to the propriety both of his leav-
ing Washington for this purpose
and of his doing so in the midst of
" POiiCiSol SdIIlpdlSIl. SlIlCC
secrecy must be imposed and COM
ment must be suppressed. it would
seem morally incumbent on the
President to make none of these
tours of the country except on abso-
lutely essential missions during DO
| litical campaigns. If the danger to
his person is SO great that such
pS,o ,ct H.. toIr Co.
his safety. it seems foolhardy for
the President to tour the Nation for
the purpose of inspecting war plants.
Any information that he might de-
/ sire about war plants or production
can be on his desk at any minute"
Cleveland Plain Dealer-"The sup
preston raises more serious
question than censorship and the
prestige of newspapers. That ques-
ton is one affecting public morale.
1t seems to us that the public re-
action is likely to result in the ques-
tioning of all the news that is
printed or broadcast"
Cleveland News-As a one time
experiment, no harm can come from
this incident. But we do not hesitate
to say that if it is repeated, the
American people are in danger of
losing one of the four freedoms.
There is no essential difference be-
tween a press that has been blud-
geoned into a conspiracy of secrecy
with the Government and a press
that joins such conspiracy to avoid
being bludgeoned
Akron Beacon JOurnal-Much of
the benefit derived from the trip was
Cancelled. in our opinion. the minute
the American public found out that
it had been kept for two weeks in
complete ignorance of the Presi-
dents journey. The natural reaction
is the question How much more
news is being kept from us?' There
is no sense to carrying censorship
to such lengths. 1t fosters mistrust
at time when full confidence in our
leadership is sorely needed.
Kansas City Star: 1t was a spec
tacular thing that the President
could make a tour of the United
States taking two weeks with COM
plete secrecy as to his movements
The secretive Russians have had a
saying that Americans are such in
corrigible takers that they tell all
they know, and perhaps more. But
on this trip of Mr.. Roosevelt's there
was not leak The secrecy was
justified as a precautionary measure
for the safety of the commander
in-chief. AS to the President s
reasons for making this first hand
survey perhaps the most important
was one he confided to his friends
that he felt the need of getting
away from the Washington atmos-
phere and obtaining an outside view
of the country, of its spirit, and Of
the war effort. =" The President
should be refreshed and given a bet
ter view of the momentous problems
with which he has to deal by his
swing around the Nation.
The Knickerbocker News, Albany,
N. Y. independent Republican, -
There would have been no
harm in announcing beforehand