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Show TOE BULLETIN U. S. Joins World Wide Propaganda Drive; Frederick To 'Broadcasters Fight Government Control It Giargc of Censorship Follows New FCC Regulation. By JEROME ARNOLD (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) Twenty years ago the United States officially discarded its weapon of propaand set ganda, about reviving a true democracy in which there should be free speech, a free press and no holds barred. In the years that passed other nations found free expressions of opinion a handicap. Dictators arose with special rows to hoe in which part truths were more effective than whole ones, both for war-enforce- d, home conmixnption and broad. Radio soared into being, the mightiest modern instrument of propaganda. Soon the world's ether was torn by fiery cross currents, Fascist against Communist, dictator against democracy. More specifically: Germany, Italy and Japan are now directing propaganda via, short wave to Latin America, the continent which the United States promised to protect in Its historic Monroe doctrine. Dictators are vieing for political, cultural and economic supremacy on the world's last unexploited frontier. Propaganda Forces Censorship. Propaganda's most alarming quality is that it spreads like a cancer, forcing innocent nations to launch for self protection. In turn, these may grow until nations dictate what their radio stations and newspapers tell foreign nations. That Is censorship, a suppression of free speech and free press. This subject is pertinent today because the United States has begun active participation in the modern World war of propaganda, a participation started voluntarily several years ago by independent radio or ganizations but now under increas ing surveillance from Washington. This surveillance has reached such heights that the much maligned federal communications commission recently issued an unprecedented order to 14 "international" stations which broadcast by short wave, principally to Latin America. The order demanded that after next No vember 1 all foreign broadcasts must "promote international good will, understanding and tion." It further stated that when representatives of these stations appear before FCC for annual renewal of licenses, they must show their programs have reflected the "culture of this country." Broadcasters Complain. This, complained President Neville Miller of the National Association of Broadcasters, is censorship, because it would, for example, "require a licensee to suppress spokesmen for minority groups if either the licensee or the commission believed their views would not promote international good will, understanding and counter-campaig- counter-campaig- ra r RIVINGandis tooften break the monoto-nou- s, tecon- dium drivers indulge in versation. Sometimes this pastime leads to serious accidents. Following is a guide for motor- ists: Don't discuss anything debatable or Join in any arguments. Converse on innocuous subjects such as the weather, clothes, sports, hobbies, art, entertainment and books. Don't tell or allow your passengers to tell jokes. A person often closes his eyes while Joan Ed laughing heartily. wards in Kansas City Star. dren who were cadets when I led "Basement Going up!" a company in your grenadiers. "First floor all men's wear, Look at so and so, look at that one shirts, suits, baby linen, soft fur lieutenant generals, and I am nishings. up. Which floor, Going still a major. Majesty, I grow to madam?" the end of my mortal term. For "Second floor all ladies' wear, all my years of service, if for nothbabies' suits, soft shirts, habering else, grant me promotion." The Prussian king took his arm dashery, furnishings. Going up. Which and pointed to the window, where t line of artillery mules a munched their straw. "Major, you see those mules? n mule at You see the old this end? They have made many campaigns; the old one, this way, has made 20 campaigns. But. my good Herr Oberst, they are John W. Thomason still mules! Jr. in American Mercury. floor, There pii-ke- is Seven? madam? seventh floor, no madam." "Third floor all men's wear, shirts, baby haberdashery, and flea-bitte- ladies' boos. floor." furnishings. Shoots and Madam, there is no seventh "Fourth floor mear, habcrsuits, The captain of a cable ship re cently reported that he had re paired a break in a submarine cable off the coast of South Africa with little or no difficulty. How ever, even if all goes well, the job of locating and repairing an ocean cable seems intricate and arduous to a landlubber. Electricians on shore first determine by means of special instruments where the cable is broken. Then the cable ship steams to the spot. The ship lowers a grappling hook and steams slowly back and forth at right angles to the path of the cable. When the cable, which is often buried in the mud, is hooked, it is immediately pulled to the surface and repaired. lull wadies haberur-nishin- sl-o- ft gs bob. furneshary. L' madam, there's no seventh floor." "Fifth floor oots and boes, the Lambeth Walk, faby burnishings, and oh, etcetera. Madam, for the last time, there's no seventh floor!" "Sixth floor sirts and shuits, haberladies dashery, lady binen. For the last time--" (CRASH!) "Now will you believe there isn't a seventh floor?" Man Not So Smart Thousands of years before man began to have afternoon headaches from trying to think, the turtle had a streamlined body, turret top, retractable landing gear and a portable house. Mobile Register. DIRECTING A MESSAGE Radio operator selecting direc tional antennas at the Columbia Broadcasting system's interna tional station W2XE. These antennas enable the broadcaster to concentrate the station's power in any given direction. Whether the order will be rescinded is problematical, but meanwhile the United States is actively participating in the propaganda war. At Washington the state department has opened its new "division of cultural relations" under direction of Dr. Ben M. Cherrington, former chairman of international relations at the University of Denver. This office, maintaining a small personnel, was created by agreement with Latin American republics at? the Buenos Aires conference in 1B36. As the official United States agency cooperating with schools, professional organizations and radio groups in advancing American cultural ties with foreign nations, Dr. Cherring-ton'- s office has announced it "will in no way seek to control their activities." He was assured by Secretary of State Cordell Hull that the United States will make no effort to force ideologies down the throats of listeners in other nations; that he would proceed along democratic lines in keeping with democratic tradition and precedents. Cites Respect for U. S. Radio. This, however.x does not conform with the interpretation Mr. Miller places on the new FCC ruling. In a world of propaganda, the radio official has found this to be true: "Freedom of speech as an integral part of the culture of this country not only is a cherished tradition, but a living reality. We are advised by A $7,000,000 monuGENEVA. ment to unfulfilled dreams of world peace, the League of Nations palace, has already become a symbol of bygone days although completed a scant three years ago. Standing on the shores of one of Switzerland's fairest lakes, the most monumental building Europe has erected in recent times lies ghostlike and haunted by what M correspondent called "the dreams of stronger men." Since 1928 a total of 15 nations have left the "security" of the League and today only three major powers France, Great Britain and Russia retain membership. Contracts for the building were let on March 1, 1931, after elaborate preparations in which architects of five nations participated in an effort to preserve international harmony. In a further effort, from 800 to 500 workmen representing 10 different nationalities helped raise the structure. On the walls of the council chamber is a series of murals by several licensees of International broadcast stations that foreign listeners rely upon stations in the Unit ed States as a source for unbiased and uncensored news of the world. This reliance is based upon the fact that these listeners know that in the United States there is no govern ment supervision or control over the matter to be broadcast We feel that the confidence that has been de veloped in the independent operations of American short wave sta tions will be destroyed when it be comes known that an agency of the government . . . has laid down re quirements to control the program content of these stations. "The most effective way to devel op and foster international good will by the United States is to avoid copying the tactics of totalitarian governments who supervise and di rect all broadcasting." U. 8. Broadcasters Successful. Privately sponsored American sta tions have thus far been very suc cessful in winning listeners abroad. This was revealed before the FCC by Frank E. Mason, director of in ternational programs for the National Broadcasting company, during hearings probably intended to de termine the advisability of an offi cial government-sponsoreinterna tional broadcasting system. Four principal corporations are now engaged in this work, the Na tional Broadcasting company, Co lumbia Broadcasting system. Gen eral Electric company and Westing- house Electric company. Together they sent more than 400 hours of material each week by short wave, about 75 per cent of which is aimed at South America. This is also the principal objective of German and Italian broadcasts, whose reception has been abetted not only by nar row broadcast beams but by low-priced short wave receivers sold to South American listeners and "locked" on the wave lengths of cer tain European stations. Yankee ingenuity, coupled with unrestricted freedom of broadcast. has outmaneuvered that "kept" ra dio of dictator nations if Mr. Ma son's testimony is any indication. Observers sent abroad discovered that Japanese, Italian and German d short-wav- e panding DIRECTOR-GENERA- Jos- L eph A. C. Avenol, secretary of the League of Nations, whose policies have been under severe fire for alleged failure to trans mit complaints from invaded nations to League members. Since 1928 there has been a steady exodus of League members, each being required to give two years' notice. These nations, and the date their memberships expire, are: Costa Rica Brazil Germany Paraguay Japan Guatemala Niciramia Honduras El Salvador Austria Chile Venezuela Peru Spain December, lnjfl June. October. February. March, May. June. July. 1928 1835 1937 1937 1938 1938 1938 1939 August. March, ISM June. July. 1940 1040 May. UM1 AtII. 1MI Ar, fl ' aV John a HI ."if j n rlf ll t ri M i ' k 7. '1 MA m iliim m mm w tm mm iteBk mm mm mm . . . i to m mmmm Mmmrm',iiitiitimm IX Br ITS big . . . it's tough v TV . vv EBB m. 'tV - . M rVsM Miimiii mwm warn m m ; ; ; it's packed with thousands upon thousands of miles of safer, more dependable service. It's backed by a written Lifetime Guarantee, No Time or Mileage Limit. It's the value sensation of 1939. The famous Firestone Standard Tire is now priced so low that every car owner in America can afford to buy genuine Firestone quality. Call upon your nearby Firestone Dealer or Firestone Auto Supply and Service Store, ask about the big trade-i-n allowance on your present tires, and find out how little it costs to equip 'your car with Firestone Standard Tires; offerings were principal- ly in those respective languages, and not easily understood by South American listeners. American broadcasters overcame this obvious mistake by transmitting practically all their programs in Portuguese and Spanish. The mail response from such nations as Brazil has been tremendous. Seeking to improve their services, all American broadcasters are ex- Jose-Mari- Czecho-Slovakl- a, His First (and Last) Day Repairing Sea Cables The Art of Conversation On the Road Hopes of League Die a'Borning; Costly Palace Is Left Haunted a Sert, internationally celebrated Spanish artist, designed to picture mankind's long struggle for peace. Ironically, these murals were the gift of Spain. Designed in several buildings, the palace has a secretariat consisting of 400 offices, the headquarters of Secretary General Joseph Avenol who has been under severe fire from lesser league members for failure to transmit complaints from Albania "swallowed" and and respectively. Germtany, Italy by Avenol is alleged to represent the less forceful type of League leadership which has recently taken control, represented also by British Foreign Minister Viacount Halifax and Prime Minister Neville Cham berlain, neither of whom wishes to enforce the League covenant be cause since Jspan invaded Manchu kuo and Italy drove Emperor Halle Selassie out of Ethiopia. A New Elevator Boy Rebuke a Grumbling Officer is a story they tell of Fred erick the Great, how at one of his levees toward the end of his reign an old field onicer came up ana prayed a word with his majesty. "Why not!" says Frederick, who loved his soldiers. "Step over to the window with me, good llerr Oberst. You were saying " "Majesty," says the Oberst, "I have spent my life in your service. My hair has grown gray, following your standard. My health is broken, my old body is covered with wounds, from your campaigns and your battles. And Majesty, all these hard years, all this toil, all these battles and marches count as nothing when I see youn-ker- s promoted over my head chil .. i the Great Knew How short-wav- e facilities. LOOK! THE BIG BUT FOR YOU TRUCK OWNERS ytr$$totte CONVOY Here's a economy tire for the thrifty truck operator. Bulk with Firestone's NBC has jumped from 63 to 112 hours a week. General Electric has been operating two stations at Schenectady and has just opened a third on Treasure island at the San Francisco fair grounds. Watching their maQ response, these stations have made such improvements as General Electric' s narrow beam transmission system, whereby two separate beams are aimed at the eastern and western portions of South America. News broadcasts have been increased until many stations broad-eas- t bulletins every hour. The result of a purely objective campaign has been closer cultural ties between the United States and Pan America. Under more direct government supervision such as that ordered by FCC. broadcasters fear their listeners below the equator would orpin looking dubiously on the programs. long-weari- ng famous patented gCfs construction features, the Firestone Convoy is the value sensation of 1939 for truck service. Get our low prices today! IIMITMilll Set Ffmftmc Tim maW in the FlrcXsmc Factory am! Exhibition Building at New York World Fmlr. Mm mtlt tkt flMm Exhibit the Gotocn Omu International txpmkimn at San Fnmcuca, 1 inr1 ' r Ltom to tfcaVoha of FlrcMnc wbh RiehW Create UmdommuooorNmUomHSJBodNomoHu - |