Evening star., 1944-01-23

Since national security is censor
ships only reason for being, it is sig
nificant that the latest code announced
by Byron Price, Director of the Office
Of Censorship, removed restrictions
solely on information which is no longer
Of use to the enemy, or which is likely
to contribute to his distress rather than
his aid and comfort.
The basic assumption remains that
in matter Of days or even nours Axis
of1icials may have on their desks any
scrap of military information let fall
at Washington cocktail party, IN a
Detroit factory, on st. Louis street.
car, in Seattle bus, on a regional
broadcast or in the columns of trade
journal
How this can be so is explained by
the following circumstances, many of
which will startle the general public:
All Embassies and Legations in
Washington are authorized to send
confidential information by airplane
in diplomatic pouches, which are i'm
mune to search.
All such Embassies and legations
are permitted to dispatch uncen-
sored messages in cipher over COM
mercial radio channels.
Among the countries thus privileged
are Finland, belligerent on the Axis
side; Franco Spain, which has re-
peatedly declared it's solidarity with
Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy;
Fire, which affords hospitality in
Dublin to a japanese Consulate and
to German and Mussolini- Italian Le-
cations, and Argentina, the only spot
in the Western Hemisphere main
tanning direct radio telegraph and
telephone communication with Berlin,
Rome and Toxic.
In the United States alone there
are recognized almost 900 permissible
sources Of information, known as
appropriate authorities" They in
clude 53l members of Congress.
In general, If a newspaper, maga-
zine or periodical is once published
In the United States, it can be mailed
without censorship to any foreign
country not an enemy.
The Once of Censorship has no
control over letters or kilograms sent
from one point to another within
the continental United States. Com
munication is thus facilitated among
Axis spies in different sections of the
country, as well as the smuggling of
messages across the Rio Grande.
There is one probable leak. the
biggest OF all, the nature of which
cannot be limited. This gap could
be plugged only by multiplying ten
fold the staff of a certain agency.
Skeptical Of Secrecy Guard
Refusal Of the Soviet Union Il
admit Allied observers to its front.
line operations has often been ascribec
to the Kremlin's belief that under
present American and British system.
there Is no assurance that any secre
can be kept Inquiry reveals thai
about the United States and its ter
ritories an elaborate Gordon has beer
erected against outgoing communica.
tions, whether by courier, ordinary and
airmail, telegraph, cable, radio, Mors.
or wireless telephone. The safeguards
are more secure than those of World
War I, but ominous assures cape in
the dam. American censorship is de-
cidedly more vulnerable than that OF
the Nazis; while they, in turn, are
transparent beside those virtuosos OF
mystification. the Russians and Jap.
anese. Moscow and Toxic have evolved
methods that are alright against
friend and foe alike.
The ONCE of Censorship is reported
to have a 'gentlemans agreement
with embassies and legations that they
will not abuse the prerogative of en-
ploying codes. A stronger deterrent
may be knowledge that American cryp.
tographers work necessarily at the So
luton of all foreign codes and that
the penalty for a guilty diplomat might
be expulsion, severance of relations
with his government or even war.
Barter in diplomatic pouches operate:
under tacit understanding The Amer
ican Government does not tamper with
the pouches of diplomats accredited te
Washington and expects in return i'm.
munity for its own. In the long run
the balance of information obtained
is thought by some officials to be favor
able to the United States. Others ar,
not so sure.
The Office of Censorship has the
negative duty of supervising voluntary
censorship of domestic newspapers
publications and broadcasts, and the
positive one of scrutinizing outbount
mail, cable, radio and other communi