According to the provisions of a new law, all foreign-language newspapers in America must submit to the post office a translated copy of all articles that deal with the United States Government, or with the domestic, international, war, or other policies of any nation that is now engaged in the war. We fully agree that in time of war there can be no room for unbridled agitation, which--whether it stems from malicious intent or from ignorance--often prejudices the best interests of the entire nation. The interests of the nation are placed in the hands of a Government elected by the people. It is the duty of the Government to protect the interests of the people, to whom the Government is alone responsible. For that reason the Government has the power to control all the forces that can work either good or evil for this country.

The press has great power because it moulds public opinion. One good newspaper can be of greater service to the country than several divisions of soldiers. On the other hand, one bad newspaper in the hands of an unintelligent or unscrupulous agitator can do more harm to the country than a whole corps of enemy soldiers. Censorship of the press during war time is necessary. No person with a sound mind can demand that in time of war the Government shall be deprived of the right to censor the press within certain limits.

The Government controls giant armies; it controls what we eat and wear during war times, and such control is not only sanctioned, but is even demanded by the most radical elements of the country. Therefore, it is difficult to understand why, under the same conditions, the Government should not have the right to control the press and to limit freedom of speech, especially when it is well known that the pen or the spoken word is mightier than the sword or the gun.

On the other hand, such control should be exercised in a practical manner, without unnecessary waste of energy by either the Government or the newspapers. In our opinion, the present method of censorship of the foreign-language press is far from practical. It does not ease the censorship work of the Government, and it imposes great hardships upon the newspapers. The newspapers are obliged to make translations, to carry the burden of extra expenses, and to waste much valuable time. This is not productive work.

The Government, on the other hand, must maintain a staff of employees to read the translations, and another staff to check the translations with the original texts. If this is not done, the control would be nominal only. This, also, is unproductive work. For that reason it cannot be said that the present control is "businesslike".....

The very same results could be achieved if the Government would establish local censorship boards, or appoint censors that understand foreign languages.

Is it possible that the Government of this country has such a low opinion of one seventh of the foreign-born people in this country that it must stamp them with a mark of distrust and place censorship control in the hands of Americans who do not understand any foreign languages, who must read the translated copies and with the aid of assistants compare them to the original texts? This is a very mean and undeserved aspersion upon the foreign-born citizens of this country.

We believe that the Government should appoint regular censors, who understand foreign languages, instead of forcing foreign-language newspapers to carry such a large extra financial burden, which neither brings any benefit to the Government nor serves the purpose for which censorship is intended.