Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-08-10
War Department Seen
EntongIed in Politics
Ban on Information to Soldiers
Aids Democrats, Says Lawrence
By David Laurence.


By David Laurence.
When the war is ended and the oues-
ton Of consolidating the various mill
tary services into one organization
comes up again for consideration, it
will be pertinent to inquire Just what
was the efficiency Of the War Depart
ment itself during the war.
There will be many who will wonder
whether the War Department did not
grow so big in this war as to become
top heavy and clumsy in certain of its
operations. One Of the most glaring
examples of ineptitude Is the way the
War Department is trying to handle
the question of information going to
soldiers overseas, 1t is perhaps a COIN
cicence that what the War Depart
ment is doing tends to help toward
President Roosevelt's re-election-but,
nevertheless, there will be many who
will believe that what was done was
not pure coincidence
Thus, the War Department has seized
or provisions of the soldier voting law
which were inserted by Senator Taft
and now is banning certain MAGAZINES
and newspapers from distribution in the
camp stores on the theory that the law
makes it necessary to do this. Ali that
Senator Taft did was to provide that
public funds should not be used to dis
tribute political propaganda. His pro-
visions did not by any stretch of the
magination-except that of the War
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES a bona fide book
or magazine just because it happened
to have in its contents some political
discussion.
Advantage to Democrats.
Yet the War Department has taken
the narrow view of the Taft provisions
an6, by taking such view, it immeas-
ursbly helps President Roosevelt's
chances for reelection This is be-
cause the soldier vote is supposed to
be preponderantly Roosevelt any,
way.
Obviously 1t is TO the advantage of
the Democrats TO maintain the status
quo. So If any newspapers or maya
zines that contain political discussions
, happen to tell the soldiers something
about the Republican nominee running
and that We still have the two-partv
system, this might possibly get some
votes for Gov. Dewey. The War De-
partments action thus tends to
strengthen and maintain the advantage
that Mr.. Roosevelt had before the pres
ert campaign began.
The alibi or excuse offered by the
War Department is that the soldiers can
always subscribe to magazines or that
their parents can send them newspapers
and magazines. This is a legalistic an
sWer that evades the issue. For the
favored publications are delivered faster
by special mail facilities.
The War Department has no right
tc ban any bona flde magazines or pub
locations from being distributed among
our troops overseas or in the camps in
this country. Moreover, public funds
should never be used to buy large guam
titles of magazines or newspapers for
tree distribution no matter how innoc-
| uous they are from political view
point. The moment the Government
itself starts selecting magazines, 1t is
doing virtually the same thing that DR..
Goebbels does in Nazi Germany-trying
to tell the troops what they should Or
should not read
The soldiers and sailors of our armed
forces can get magazines at the news
stands in this country and they should
be permitted to get them at the post
exchange newsstands overseas II the
War Department will allow the post
exchanges to be run on the same basis
as any commercial stores are managed.
There is no obligation upon the War
Department to furnish reading matter
for the troops. Publications should be
sold as are cigarettes or postcards
through the usual stores in the camps
here and overseas.
Preference List.
The War Department recently gave
out preference list" Of publications
and carefully excluded those publica-
tions which happened to have positive
editorial policies. The argument made
was that the soldier voting law COM
pSiACo SuSli SciCStlOli W NC IndQc ana
that the selection was based on "scien-
tific surveys
Actually, the War Department began
discriminating against publications with
positive opinions long before the soldier
voting law was passed. Likewise, the
War Department gave fast mail privi-
leges to certain favored publications.
enabling them to increase their circu-
lation abroad, and denied that privilege
to other publications, using the lame
excuse that there was not enough
cargo transportation" This also was
before Senator Taft's amendment be-
came law
The War Department has a good deal
to explain in the handling of publica-
tons for the soldiers. Strange it is
that the Navy doesn't seem to get tam
gled up in such hot political contro-
versies. Maybe the thing to do after
the war, if there must be consolidation,
is to make the War Department a SUBJ
division of the very efficient Navy De.
partment
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