GREATER CARE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 May 1942, Page 4

GREATER CARE

SHOWN BY THE WRITERS OF LETTERS FOR TRANSMISSION ABROAD. BUT SOME STILL INJUDICIOUS. Recently, as the war has come nearer to New Zealand, there has been a marked improvement in the standard of care of persons writing letters overseas, according to a report issued recently by a censorship authority. In the four months of this year, the number of letters subjected to treatment by the censor has declined by approximately one-half, and letter writers appear to be taking their responsibilities more seriously. There are, however, still too many correspondents who cannot resist the temptation to pass on bits of news that should not be passed on, and who are annoyed when their letters receive the attentions of the censor. There has been an improvement, but that the authorities still regard the situation as unsatisfactory is shown by the prosecutions which have in recent, weeks been instituted against those who break censorship regulations. The censor is there neither as a prying busybody, nor specially to get careless people into trouble. He is there to, see that this country, its sons and daughters overseas, and its shipping are protected from those who insist on putting into their letters news that may possibly interest the recipients, but which is unquestionably of the highest military value to the enemy. It is the responsibility of the writer to see that dangerous information is kept out. The censor cannot see every letter, so it is not right to put in doubtful facts and leave it to the censor to decide whether or not they can be allowed'. DANGER OF CAPTURE. Correspondents must remember, said the authority, that 'with large Japanese naval forces within striking distance of the sea routes from New Zealand, the chances of a ship carrying mails being captured are not remote. Mails are regarded as an important prize, because in the hands of expert intelligence officers, they can yield a rich. harvest of military and political facts that could be obtained by no other means. “Too much information of military importance is still finding its way into overseas letters,” he said. “Most of it is put there thoughtlessly, but it is not less valuable to the enemy because of that. The commonest form of carelessness is to give details of defence, installations. Whenever a new aerodrome or a new gun emplacement is established, it seems that someone feels that he must write overseas with 'full details of it. Too many writers also talk about the movements of ships. It is not difficult to see how valuable this sort of information would be to the enemy.” POLITICS NOT BANNED. A common misapprehension is that political opinion is not allowed in letters. This is not so. Provided that what he says is not subversive, a correspondent may say what he likes about the administration of this or any other country. It should, however, be remembered that expressions of political opinion, if they fall into the hands of a clever propagandist, may be twisted to give the impression that there is strife and unrest within New Zealand. It has been and still is a favourite assertion of enemy propagandists that the British Empire is cracking up, and that there is dissension among the Allies. A letter written without the realisation of this clanger may enable the enemy to build up .his case, and shake the faith of millions of our silent supporters in neutral countries, or occupied territories. “The censorship regulations are designed to protect this country while it is at war, and are not merely restrictions placed on the people thoughtlessly,” the authority concluded. “Every correspondent has in these times a heavy responsibility to guard against writing anything that might be of military Value to the enemy. If he fails in this responsibility, the censor I is forced to step in.” ’