Show THE SUPPRESSION OF NEWS The censorship from South Africa as I Aftfa it can be deduced from the publications publcatons and suppressions of the past two weeks again Invites reflections on that new feature of time AngloSaxon govern Iorn meat The censoring authorities evi dently deemed some points worthy of the public knowledge They permitted I I I I prompt announcement of the Inception mmouncemcll Incepton I of Bullers westward movement and his crossing the Tugela They gained I confidence enough to publish Bullcra advance notice of the assault on Splon kop of the capture of that position and then of its abandonment But intervals inter-vals of silence bptwucn each scant morsel mor-sel of Information have evinced its determination de-termination that the details must not he known They have sent piecemeal pecemeal reports of losses from which the public pub-lic can gather that there has been considerable con-siderable fighting not reported and can draw the further deduction of the lack of success from the suppression of the news The foundation of all this Is the imperialist im-perialist Idea that the people have no concern with the prosecution of military mili-tary enterprises A censorship to prevent pre-vent Information of movements from reaching the enemy has a reasonable basis But In South Africa as In time Philippines the enemy Is I fully informed of the movements while In both cases news sent across the ocean has no means of prompt transmission to the enemys side that are not controlled by the military authorities Possibly stronger than that military dislike of I popular criticism la the passionate de size that news shall not get out which will hurt the Government with the total to-tal result of taking the attitude that the people who pay the cost of war und whoso sons are exposed to wounds and death must mow nothing more than the scant announcement which the military mil-itary censors vouchsafe Yet the futility of all this Is shown In the actual results as illustrated In England today The suppression of Intelligence I In-telligence when the people know that fighting Is going on causes the public to draw deductions certainly as bad and I possibly worse than if the whole truth were known Confidence Is shaken I more than It would be if the public had full information on which it could I rely And as for the suppression of unfavorable un-favorable news it Is only putting off I the evil day The truth is certain to come out sooner or later and If the public then learn that vital Information has been suppressed 1 the reaction and dissatisfaction are aggravated by the suppression American and English liberties have been founded on the principle that the people are entitled to full and unbiased knowledge of public affairs The Napoleonic Na-poleonic or imperial system employed the device of trying to hoodwink pub lie opinion by false reports or the sup I presslon of true accounts History I shows conclusively which Is the best I PIttsburjf Dispatch 1 |