Evening star., 1944-02-20
Palmer Hoyt Assures America
'OW Is No Propaganda Agency

Committee of our difficulties in get
ting news out Of the Navy. That
was in the early summer when
that job was really tech. The
Congressman evinced great surprise
and said: Il don't understand it;
I am member of the House Naval
Affairs Committee and I can get
any information from the Navy that
I want" It's a reasonable thing to
assume that this Representative
could do just that, but obviously
and unfortunately everybody in the
United States can't be on the House
Naval Affairs Committee.
Explains How News Comes.
The job of getting news out of
Washington for the American pub
lie is like housework, or more par
tlcularly, washing dishes. It has
to be done three times a day. II
1t isn't done three times a day the
dishes pile up in the sink. To that
end, the domestic branch has a
special department to clear mill
tary news. headed by George H
Lyon, well-known American news
paperman, whose staff follow in de-
tail all military and naval COM
muniques, picture releases, etc, so
that the $64 question may be pre-
pared for Mr.. Lyon. Mr.. Healy and
Mr.. Davis. The questions, of course,
are: why isn't this story released? -
Why can't we get out that story?",
Why is 1t we can't tell the truth
about the atrocities?', What are
German prisoners thinking about?",
What's going on in submarine
warfare?" These are the kinds of
questions that have to be asked. not
only every week, but also every
day; not only every day, but sew
eral times day.
OWL Saves the Day.
And don't get any idea that 1t is
only the military that hides behind
the asbestos curtain Of military Sc
curity. Civilian administrators are
often just as sbad-sometimes worse
And there, again, the Office of War
Information has big job to per-
form. 1t is up to them to convince
well-intentioned civil front leaders
that the American public has right
to know about rubber and gasoline
shortages about food supplies
about black markets and
all the other things that occur in
wartime
America needs the domestic
branch of OWL:
l. To get out the news:
2. To prevent confusion:
3. To coordinate home front.
patriotic drives.
The basic job of the domestic
branch is simple and clear. There
has always been some confusion in
the minds OF press and public, and
Government. too, for that matter, as
to just what the domestic branch
Job might be and whether or not
an Owl was needed anyway. Such
confusion arises principally from the
fact that the Owl has two branches.
One, the domestic branch, whose
duties we have discussed, and the
other, the overseas branch. which
Is designed primarily to make a
case for American Armies and
American aims both in enemy coun-
tries and in the satellite areas.
American Information Reliable"
Totalitarian countries where minds
have been conditioned for years by
untruths and half truths have come
increasingly to regard information
from American sources as reliable.
This is. a healthy situation, and it
is to be presumed that the reorgan-
lied overseas branch of Owl will
make even further progress along
this front.
Despite the criticism heaped on
the overseas branch, the Army has
often given public credit to it's work,
notably In Sicily; Gen. Mcclure
made the fiat statement that owl
broadcasts and leaflets distributed
behind enemy lines saved thousands
of American lives.