July 19.
The ceaseless war of propaganda which has been carried on for a very considerable time past has taken a new turn which has created a sensation in Germany. Commander King-Hall is a writer on international Polities of considerable reputation, and for some time past he has been circulating his letters to those who care to subscribe for them a comparatively small annual sum. The whole system is a remarkable reversion to the old form of newsletter with the difference that whereas that used to be laborously written by hand, the modern version is printed. Incidentally it is a somewhat strange thing that in these days of circulations of astronomical size it should be possible to find a market for the newsletter, which suggests that not everyone is contented with the manner in which the modern Rewspaper presents its wares, and that there is always a burning desire to find out all about' the news behind the news. That is not entirely the modern newspaper's fault. limitations of space, etc., always necessitate ing that much information shall appear in what after all is precise form, the complete accuracy of which depends entirely upon the ability and impartial outlook of the writer. In the case of Commander King-Hall the writer is reputed for seeking to Present comment on important international events in the most impartial manner possible and to acquaint his readers of their real significance, and the substantial support he receives from the public suggests that his endeavours are thoroughly appreciated. On the face of the cables which have been received up to the present there is absolutely no evidence whatever that Commander King-Hall is actually responsible for sending some thousands of these newsletters into Germany, and until that has been definitely proved, the only normal assumption is that his work may have been reprinted by some enthusiast and disseminated throughout Germany. Even if a worse interpretation is accepted that this has been done under the auspices of the British Government,—and of this there is no evidence to hand,—it could only then be taken as an extension of the propaganda war which the totalitarian states have been waging consistently and a. counter. which is the circumstances by no means improper.
The means of spreading Commander King-Hall's views is characteristic of an organized attempt, to defeat the German censorship. From various countries, enclosed in enver lopes, different in colour and size these newsletters have been posted. and apparently have succeeded in filtering through the official obstructions to such communications, while the report that some of them were actually posted in Germany itself suggests that there is a very extensive and competent organization responsible for this particular type of counter-propaganda. It would be interesting to know how many such missives reached their destinations, but that probably will never be divulged. That a very large number of them must have done so is eviden~ ced by the indignation they appear to have aroused in Germany, for it may safely be assumed in these days that the greater the degree of indignation shown the more imposing the success of the particular mandeuvre against which it has been aroused. It is conceivable that the particular letter, dealing with the strict censorship in Germany which prevents full publication of speeches made by British statesmen would create the greatest indignation. The type of censorship which {s being applied in Germany is just that which to be successful must be as unobtrusive as possible, for the more it is brought home to a reading public that it is receiving only what the govern~ ment thinks it should have, the more is it Ukely to regard with suspicion what is officially provided for it. From the abbre~ viated reports of what Commander King-Hall wrote it is clear that he was criticising the policies of the German Government and criticism of that nature is the last thing which it is likely to accept lying dow! Hence the indignation of the ofMfcially-ce trolled German Press, and the position seems to be that by the expression of such indignation the German Press is playing the game of whoever is responsible for sending these letters into Germany; they are recelving the greatest possible amount of publicity and will undoubtedly make large sections of the German public all the more anxious to get hold of them.
The fact of the matter is that, in such propaganda wars as these, it is not always possible completely to exclude information unfavourable to the government of the country it controls. Despite every endeavour to prevent people listening in to broadcasts expressing views contrary to those of the government controlling it. there is plenty of evidence to show that broadcasts by the B.BC. especially arranged for German consumption do in fact obtain a hearing. Only recently further broadcasts were directed to German listeners from certain European subterranean stations. What is particularly irksome to the German Government is the persistent differentiation between it and the people of Germany. That the whole of the Germans do not see eye to eye with their rulers is more than a little likely, and when those people are being told that at present they are only hearing one side of the case, and that the utterances of British statesmen have been practically entirely suppressed in Germany, there are many who will ask themselves why this should be so. The greater freedom enjoyed by the British Press permits of extensive reports of the speeches of German leaders being presented to the British public, and there cannot be the slightest doubt that the public in the Democratic countries is better informed of the trond of international affairs than people residing in' totalitarian states can ever hope to be. It is open to doubt whether the manner Jin' which the utterances of the German leaders'have been given such great publicity abroad is, in all its aspects, the best thing, for It is quite clear that in this war of nerves, upon which the dictator Powers have embarked, this wholesale publicity is giving them too' such assistance, and there is always the Possibility, even' though it'might be a slight one. that if on occasion the speeches of such men as Herr Hitler, Field Marshall Goering and Dr. Goebbels were reduced in the British newspapers to the space of a "three-linear." much less of the sabre-rattling would be indulged in,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.