Imperial Valley press., 1945-06-14
LIFTING OF EUROPE NEWS
CENSOR BIG JOKE

News gathererS IN Europe, puDllSnerS
of newspapers and millions of readers in
America were all agog week or so ago
when the cables carried an announce
ment from SHAEF (Supreme Headquar-
ters American Expeditionary Force that
"all censorship is off.
Scores of war-weary and censor hound
ed war writer's sharpened their pencils
and got ready to start rolling all the
news and the REAL news out to hungry
readers. Newspaper publishers began re-
arranging space so that the cabled and
wiralessed stories of what is going on IN
reconstructed Germany could be told
without let or hindrance.
Then everything went flop. After all
there was no lifting of the censorship.
Europe remains in the same old news
black-out, brown-out and nothing-out as
it was when battles were being fought.
Tracked down, news writer's found this:
That SHAEF now eliminates the code
which would suppress unauthorized, IN
accurate or false reports, misleading
statements and rumors, or reports likely
to injure the morale of Allied forces or
Allied nations" Make what you can out
of that one!
NOW comes Il new OIueI lIOI iOstdHuc.l
ters-an order that throws censorship out
the window Or does it? 1t reads: In
order to Clarity the position OF this head
quarters, all correspondents are informed
that censorship in this theater is hereby
discontinued EXCEPT for major troop
movements and details connected there
with AND SUCH OTHER MATTERS OF
HIGH MILITARY IMPORTANCE AS
ID u N Y
SUPREME COMMANDER"
Instead of carte blanc for reporters,
it is carte blanc for the high command
ers Troop movements and information
thereon, are easy to understand. But
when it comes to matters OF high mill
tary Importance" the eager news writer
knows he is licked. 1t might mean any
thing The high command still is the
high and mighty and in areas where
fighting long has ceased
Is news flowing out of Germany? Are
the people here at home being informed
of what is going on in reconstructlng
Germany and about the occupational
program? Not on your life. The curtain
stays down. What do we know or hear
as to what Russia is doing in Germany?
Not an authoritative word. What we get
comes from MOSCOW SOQIC0S tIlQ ID liltuCs
over there to suit the taste of a political
censorship. -E+
SHAEF had been charged with main
tanning a political censorship. 1t was
guilty, too. The order quoted above is
it's puny, insincere effort to get out from
under that charge.
If SHAEF wants to escape that lndlct-
ment it can do it in a word.
Europe is in mess. Germany tops the
mess. We know it is in mess. Our mil
lions of fighting men were there as 1T be-
came a mess. Now the American people
are entitled to know exactly what is be-
ing done about it and who is doing it,
The good old American intelligence will
determine the why's and wherefors of
what is going on - if they have the
chance
Take it at any angle and the whole cen
sorship business comes squarely up to
President Truman. He alone, or at least
he can, of his own accord, set things
right He had nothing to do, perhaps with
the order itself, but the bureau that is
sued the fake and fraud is responsible
to him and he can give the word to end
such high-handed tactics.
1t is time, long past the time, VIXEN
the news gatherers should be liberated
from military control SO that again they
may "tell all the world"