Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-11-06
World We Live In

congratulations on a mag
nificent editorial. Your COM
ments regarding Federal CEN
Sorship echo the suspicious,
and the fears, of many of
us. Apparently our Execu-
tive Department places itself
above the law, and is now
prepared to sacrifice our ma
tional heritage of freedom of
the press upon the altar of
a political-public relations
type of expediency.
This claim of the Chief
Executive to be above the
law is not new claim. 1t
is precisely the claim made
by George III of England
almost 200 years ago when
he lost his American colo
mics. 1t is precisely the claim
advanced by both Hitler and
Mussolini when they placed
most of Europe under the
iron rule of their dictator
ships. Most Importantly, it is
precisely the claim advanced
by the Communists-and the
means by which they keep
their peoples in virtual ig-
norance of the Sino-Soviet
aggresSions.
Are we-the descendants
and national heirs of those
hardy pioneers who had the
audacity and foresight to
draft into the United States
Constitution a Bill of Rights
guaranteeing dom of
speech and freedom of the
press - expected to voluntarily
give up our civil liberties I'M
der the guise of national
expediency?
l think we would all agree
that a certain amount of
secrecy is required due to
current world affairs. On the
other hand, many of US
even those who are Demo-
Gratis like myself are ap-
palled at the present tend
ency to manipulate and
withhold the truth from the
American public under the
guise Of the national welfare.
There is no excuse for
withholding the truth about
how many ships were stopped
and how many ships were al
lowed through the Cuban
blockade. There is no excuse
for withholding the contents
OF the Chief Executives Sc
cret messages to Premier
Khrushchev in regard to the
Cuban blockade. Surely the
enemy is aware of all the
facts in regard to both of
these items. The only per-
SONS from whom the truth is
being withheld are the
American people themselves.
l think we would all agree
that it is necessary to create
a proper national image as
far as our contest with the
Sino-Soviet block is con-
cerned. On the other hand,
many of us are concerned
that the means being used
to achieve this end result
are as dangerous to our per-
sonal liberties as the enemy
we are attempting to defeat.
There is most certainly no
excuse for converting the
Assistant Secretary of Defense
into a Minister of Propa-
ganda with the power to de-
eide that the truth given the
American people is going to
be only that part of the
truth selected by the admin
istration to piece together a
desirable image.
The image our administra-
ton should be attempting to
create is an image es-
tablished by our acts, not
one created by manipulating
the truth.
1t was Thomas jefferson,
the father of the Democratic
Party. who said:
In every government on
earth there is some trace of
human weakness, some germ
of corruption and degener-
acy. Each government
degenerates when trusted to
the rulers of the people
alone. The people themselves
are therefore its only safe
repositories. And to render
even them safer, their minds
must be improved to a Ger
tain degree. :"
1t is only through an en-
lightened and truly free
press that the American peo-
pie remain safe repositories
of the government carved
out Of the wilderness for
them by their forefathers.
Stephen G. Creeden
Your editorial titled,
World We Live H." leaves
the thoughtful reader Won
dering if, perhaps, The Star
has become overly alarmed
about a situation that devel-
i