Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-04-22

ing of Congress a declaration oil
war, or
"2. Through news propaganda
goad potential enemy with hos.
tile words and actions and leac
him. in reprisal. to initiate 6
military offensive. causing Con
eress to declare war in self.
defense.
News Was Withheld
America. under President
Wilson, went into the FRS
World War on the first of these
two patterns, and. under Presi.
dent Roosevelt, went into the
Second World War on the sec.
ond."
The book lists several instance:
in World War II where politica
censorship, under the guise Of
military security" caused i'm
portant news to be withheld. The
outstanding case developed wher
Edward Kennedy defied the cen.
sors and reported that the arms.
tice had been signed.
The withholding of this news
Mr.. Cooper says, was history:
most fragrant example of misuse
of military censorship on polit.
ical news" He calls Mr.. Ken.
nedy's action 1.-The most fragrant
instance of violation of that par.
ticular kind of censorship. -.
The one begot the other,
neither could be justified"
Mr.. Kennedy. then heading the
Associated Press staff in France
and Germany. was among tn,
II correspondents invited to wit
ness the armistice ceremony al
Riems, France, May 7, 1945.
On the way from Paris. 6
general pledged the group tt
keep the information conf1den.
tial until authorized to release
it. Returning to Paris after
ward. the correspondents founc
the censors were holding the
stories they had written.
Security Not Involved
1T is important to note that
military security-that is, the
safety of allied soldiers-was MOI
involved in the reason for thu
censorship" Mr.. Cooper wrote
The reason, which became
known later, stemmed from {
decision to crafty a desire o.
the Russian Premier. Jose.
Stain /. to set up his own sur
render ceremony in Berlin :
Later that day. MIR. Kennedy
heard about two broadcasts from
the German radio. One said
Germany has capitulated un.
conditionally." The other quoted
the German Foreign Minister az
saying. After almost six years
struggle, we have succumbed."
In the light of this, Mr.. Ken.
nedy asked why news of tht
armistice was still stopped by thu
censorS. When told that M
orders had come to release II
he informed the chief censo
that he intended to break tn
story" anyway.
(The Associated Press in
vited Mr. Kennedy. now as
sisrant editor and publisher of
the Monterey (Calif.D PENN
sula Herald, to comment on
Mr. Cooper's story of the Ken
nedy Case" His statement
follows:
| C'I am glad that after IL
; years Kent Cooper has come
; out with an explanation of
the attitude of the Associated
Press on the We Day story.
: / regret that he has given a
: distorted account of what hap
pened.
1.-The fact is that I accu-
rately and promptly reported
the news that the war in Eu-
, rope was over. l violated no
confidence or pledge in doing
so and when l had an oppor-
tunity to place the full circum-
stances before Gen. EiSen-
hover he restored my creden-
tials as a war correspondent.
cit is also a fact that Rob-
/, crt Mclean, president of tn
Associated Press, yielded to
? pressure generated by a po-
lltical censorship and by a
! historical clamor of other COR
respondents beaten on the
story He repudiated my ac-
ton in sending the news. He
did so without having heard
my side of the story and with
: out knowing the circum-
stances. Mr. Cooper did not
see fit to take an opposite
stand.
t"No account of the reasons
which Mr.. Cooper now finds tc