Evening star., 1944-04-30

Unless dramatic and unexpected po-
l.tical developments upset the plans of
the Allied chiefs of staff, the invasion
Of the western continent of Europe ap-
pears certain When and where it will
take place is a military secret known
only to very few men in the United
States, Great Britain and Russia. The
people of this country are guessing and
specula ting, but realize that until the
first waves of troops are being launched
against the enemy it is better for their
sons and relatives that only few OFF,
cials should know the ID" day.
From that time on however, it is
hoped that the various information
services and the censorship which has
been organized on large scale in Eng
land will deal fairly with the people of
this country and Great Britain and will
tell them without delay the good and
the bad news with equal candor.
The invasion of the continent is going
TO be the last large-scale operation in
Europe. The Allies and the Germans
have gathered the most up-to-date
fighting equipment for this final test of
power. New divices have been kept
strictly secret. The number of troops
and their composition also has been
closely guarded information.
1t is matter of no Importance for the
average citizen to know before the battle
begins how many or what type of troops
will 60 into combat. Even the propor-
ton of British troops in relation to the
number OF Americans is not vitally i'm
portant information for the general
public. The American chiefs of staff
have agreed on certain proportion.
Their decision has been based on the
availability of British forces in that
particular theater of war and If the
number of Americans is larger than the
British it Is immaterial at this time
provided the operation is successful and
the enemy is brought OF his knees.
Concealment in Past.
But it is strongly hoped that the va
rious channels which provide informa-
tion to the American public will be more
liberal and candid than they have been
in the past. 1t is essential that our in
formation services do not put heavy
muzzle on the correspondents who &C
company the invasion forces. And it is
oScayfjo1 fhof uoa1 haI ha
given out at the earliest opportunity
without any attempt to cover up mis-
takes or setbacks, under the now some
what Debated excuse that it might give
comfort to the enemy.
There has been much of this con-
cealment in the past from the japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor until the recent
campaigns in Southern Italy ano
Burma. The losses on December 7
1941, were greatly minimized, although
it is obvious now, two and one-half
years after Pearl Harbor, that the Japa-
nese knew within a few days how much
of the feet they had sunk or damaged
in the attack.
The same method of covering up has
been applied to the Italian campaign
where cur failure to break through the
German lines and reach Rome has
been sugarcoated in all the official
communiques and the reporters on the
spot have been prevented from giving
us the whole truth
The italian campaign has now be-
come of secondary Importance. 1t mat
tiers little from now on whether we sue
ceed in getting the airfields north of
Rome. The battle will be decided on
the coast of France, in France and on
the Rhine, if the Germans have enough
power of resistance. The German