CENSORSHIP DELAY QUESTIONED

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 19, 17 October 1942, Page 7

CENSORSHIP DELAY QUESTIONED

First Solomons Battle (Received October 16, 7 p.m.) NEW YORK, October 15. Newspapers strongly criticize the 65-day delay in announcing the loss of the three United States cruisers which were sunk in the Solomons. The cruisers Astoria, Quincy and Vincennes were lost on Augtwt 9, in the same engagement as the Canberra, the loss of which was announced in Australia 10 days later. “The delayed announcement raises the whole question of the wisdom of our war censorship and information policy,” says the “New York Times.” The paper declares that a fuller statement on the naval losses at Bear] Harbour is now lonf overdue. “There .is strong reason to doubt that a delay of such a length in announcing the loss of the three cruisers is justified,” it says. ‘The accounts make it seem probable that the Japanese had a fair notion of the damage they had done. Though their claims on that day were extravagant, they specifically included as sunk two heavy cruisers of the Astoria class and two more cruisers of tlie Australia class. The Australian Prime Minister, Mr. Curtin, waited only 10 days before admitting the loss of tlie Canberra, but the United States Navy declared that its own statement would be delayed till replacements had been sent.

‘The fact that the belated admission of the losses came just the day before the announcement of the sinking of a Japanese Cruiser and. four destroyers will lead many to conclude—however unjustly—that the bad news was held up in this case till there was good news to offset it.”