WAR NEWS CENSORSHIP AROUSES THE PRESS.
SECRETARY BAKER SEIZES GABLE STORIES CAUSING DELAY AND EXPENSE—REVOKES ORDER AFTER TWO DAYS.
Despite the fact that Congress refused to give to Government officials power to censor newspapers, Secretary of War Baker took it upon himself for two days this week to do it anyway. He ordered that all cable press dispatches, relating to American troops in France, addressed to newspapers and press associations be sent to the War Department in Washington, to be passed upon there and then turned over to the addressee by the Committee of Public Information.
The procedure came without warning to or permission of the press.
Important dispatches were tied up in the War Department for many hours,
and when they were released the newspapers and services had to pay the
extra telegraphic tolls from Washington to their location.
This fie-up existed from the night of July 3 to the night of July 5, during which time the newspapers protested against the unwarranted invasion of their constitutional rights.
On the night of July 5 his order was revoked by the Secretary of War and the Committee on Public Information issued the following statement:
"The emergency having passed, the War Department states that press ca- bles from France are again permitted to go directly to addressee without reference to Washington. These pre- cautions, however, must continue to be observed:
"(1) Information tending di- rectly or indirectly to disclose the number or identity of troops in the expeditionary force should not be printed.
"(2) Only names of staff officers may be used. Names of line officers, also reference to individual units, should not be printed.
"(3) Information calculated to disclose location of permanent base should not be printed.
"(4) Information designed to be- tray eventual position of American force on the firing lino should not be printed.
(5) All reference to returning transports must be suppressed."
THE FIRST NEWS
News of the censorship first be came known through the following report issued by the Associated Press on July 4:
"Since July 3 dispatches to the As- sociated Press, telling of the Ameri- can troops in France. have been di- verted by official order from their usual channel of delivery and have been delivered first to the Secretary of War for his approval.
"There is no censorship of the press in the United States, Congress hav- ing refused to enact such a law, but newspapers and press associations have voluntarily been observing the requests of the Government.
"Heretofore news dispatches leav- ing France have been censored by the French officials or the American censor with General Pershing's ex- pedition. or by arrangement with London. This, however, is the first instance in which an executive de- partment of the United States Gov- ernment has seen fit to divert dis patches from their destination and withhold them for official inspection.
"In this case no notice of the Gov- ernment's intention was given, and the first intimation of the practice came when dispatches addressed to the Associated Press. New York. by its Paris correspondents, were by offi- cial order delivered to the Secretary of War in Washington, who, after inspecting the disatches, delivered them to the Associated Press Bureau in Washington.
"Other dispatches addressed in the same way were delivered to the Sec- retary of War and through the Com- mittee on Public Information deliv- ered to the Associated Press in Washington with certain portions eliminated.
"The volume of matter diverted to Washington was very large, and no adequate provision for the examina- tion or censorship had been made.
The War Department was over- whelmed, and a consequent delay of hours in important dispatches re- sulted."
BAKER'S EXPLANATAION.
Previous to revoking the censor- ship order, Secretary of War Baker said the step was necessary "for the protection of newspapers as well as the War Department and the Army." He explained:
"At present General Pershing's head- quarters are not organised, so that he is not in a position to take care of dispatches bearing on troop move- ments, and this can only be done for the next few days by the War De- partment. Newspapers now have no way of making sure of the authentic- ity of their dispatches touching on troop movements except through the War Department, and this course is the safer for all concerned."
When Secretary Baker was asked if he possessed power to compel newspaper correspondents to send their dispatches in care of the War Department, he said:
"A Government has power to con- trol information regarding the move- ment of troops, but the question of authority has not arisen and will not arise. The newspapers are co-ope rating splendidly with the Govern- ment.
Mr. Baker was then asked what
steps the War Department would take
to compel newspapers to submit din-
patches from France to the War De-
fartment if one or more newspapers
should disregard this form of censor.
ship and make an issue of the right
of the Government to enforce such
a policy.
GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY !
"No newspaper will make such an issue." said Mr. Baker. "The ques- tion of the Government's authority will never be raised. You may say for me that the cooperation of the newspapers has been ideal and per- fect, and that it will continue."
In revoking the order, the War Secretary did not acknowledge that he had no right to censor press dis- patches from abroad.
The Secretary stated he assumed the responsibility for the diversion of press cables to Washington, and later it was asserted by officials that the action taken was neither unconstitu- tional nor illegal, but was justified by the general powers of the President to provide for the public safety and common defense. It was justified also, they said, by the broad powers given to the President in recent war legislation.
Major Frederick Palmer, official censor with General Pershing, showed the newspaper correspondents in Paris on July 4 a copy of a telegram from Ambassador Jusserand to the French War Ministery asking on be- half of Secretary of War Baker that the Ministry of War order the French censorship burean to forward all cables relating in any way to Ameri- can troops in France to the Secre tary of War in Washington for cen- soring by General McIntyre, after which they were to be forwarded to the newspapers.
Major Palmer has installed three Americans in the French censorship bureau in Paris to handle dispatches for the United States relating to American troops. Besides, the French censors pass on all dispatches and they are transmitted by way of Eng- land, where the British censor has the right to delete any matter accord- ing to his judgment.
CONGRESS MAY INVESTIGATE.
It is known that just before the Fourth of July legislative recess mur- murings of dissatisfaction bad been heard over the manner in which Government press bureaus and par- ticularly the Committee on Public Information was conducted.
Some Senators and Representatives
thought that Congress was entitled
to be better informed on this subject.
particularly as a large amount of
Government money was apparently
being expended,
The action of the War Department in ordering the censoring of all press dis atebes from France addressed to American newspapers probably may afford the basis of the inquiry that certain Congressmen think necessary.
Opinion is strong that the danger of information valuable to Germany reaching that country from the United States does not lie in publi- cation in the newspapers, but in the carelesness of the Government itself.
It is believed that the German spies in America are not relying on the newspapers for the information they send to Berlin.
INSTANCES OF TIE-UP.
Two cable dispatebes addressed to the New York Times by its represen- tatives in Paris, Wythe Williams and Charles H. Granty, were telegra hed to the War Department by the cable company in New York and examined by the Committee on Public Informa- tion before the cable company was permitted to deliver them to the Times in New York. It was said by an official of the committee that in the case of each dispatch the cable company in New York had been noti- fied to release the dispatch within a short time after the text had reached the committee.
Up to the night of July 5 the com- mittee bad followed the practice of sending censored cable dispatches to the offices of Washington correspond. ents of the newspapers to which the dispatches were addressed.
The correspondent was expected to transmit the dispatch to his newspa- per by telegraph at the expense of the newspaper.
In one instance the committee itself telegraphed to a newspaper a cable dispatch from France that had been diverted to Washington and sent a telegram, saying that the committer had been unable to reach the corre. spondent of the newspaper by tele- phone.
Considerable delay was apparently caused by the effort to reach the cor- (Continued on Seventh Page.)
COLUMBUS PAPER
IN TROUBLE.
POLITICAL FACTION TRIES TO FORCE SUSPENSION OF MONITOR—HAS NOT YET.
A resolution calling for the imme- diate suspension and liquidation of the business of the Columbus (Ohio) Daily Monitor was adopted by the boar of directors of the Monitor Publishing Company on July 3. Up to 8 a. m. on July 6 the paper had not quit.
The following statement was given THE FOURTH ESTATE on July 6 by Sam B. Anson, publisher of the Mon- itor:
"Myself and other employes on our own responsibility printed one edi- tion of the Monitor yesterday, and unless the courts intervene today we will repeat.
"The paper is not in financial dif- ficulties, but political interests which oppose J. S. Ralston, who controls the stock, served notice on him that unless the Monitor was immediately discontinued an effort would be made to throw his Ralston Steel Car Com- pany into bankruptcy. It was made a condition of the ultimatum that the Monitor plant could not be sold.
"Efforts are being made today looking toward a receivership and a continuation pending a reorganization of the business. There are several interests willing to buy the paper if that course is permitted." The Monitor was established as a daily on July 10, 1916.
LORD NORTHCLIFFE GUEST OF NATIONAL PRESS CLUB.
Lord Northcliffe addressed the members of the National Press Club, Washington, on July 4, and after de scribing the disadvantages and harm of the earlier censorship of the British Government, he became a censor himself. He talked for nearly an hour to the Washington newspaper correspondents and there was much of value in what he said, but at the conclusion of his address he explained that he had been talking most frankly in an effort to be of aid to America and her newspapers and re- quested that "nothing I have said shall be quoted."
Lord Northcliffe said he expected to be in America for several months and at some future time he would accept an invitation to return to the National Press Club and deliver a speech for publication.
After "putting the lid on" so far
as the publication of his remarks-
concerned, Lord Northcliffe -
introduced to the members of the club
by President Wilcox and Edward G.
Lowry.
Many members and guests
of the club urged him to agree to a
report of his remarks, but he said that
he would prefer to delay making any
public statement.
Prior to his address Lord Northcliffe was entertained at dinner on the roof garden of the Press Club.
SHORTAGE OF LABOR FOR PAPER-MAKING.
For what is said to be the first time in its history, the Great Northern Paper Company has been compelled to advertise on a large scale for help. Under "Help Wanted," the Great Northern is running the fol- lowing advertisement in large display in Boston Papers:
"Great Northern Paper Company
requires the services of about 7.000 men for the purpose of cutting a large quan. tity of four foot pulp wood on Penob- acut and Kenaebee waters and along lines of Bangor & Aroostook Railroad, and for the construction of about 18 miles of turnpike road.
"Crews are now being organized for this work."
