There were laws and regulations that governed what could and could not be said about the war. Three of the major Allied forces censored the contents of their soldiers’ letters home—Russia, Britain, and United States. Russia was one of the first to do so, expanding the powers of its ‘Office of Military Censor’ in July 1914.[1] Britain and Germany made similar efforts in 1916, roughly two years into the war.[2] The information that Americans received about the war came entirely from the British by 1914, since the British successfully severed the German Atlantic telegraph communication lines[3].  Parliament had already passed an act that gave power and authority to create censorship regulations, including the Defense of the Realm Act prepared in 1913[4]. With the foundation of the Press Bureau, which later was turned into the Department of Information in London in 1917, the censors and filters became even more thorough and restricted on what information was spread to the media[5]. 

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            British restrictions included withholding any and all information about the military to unauthorized personal, limiting who was allowed where and when on the frontlines, especially for reporters, and preventing any information or opinions that might harm his majesty or his subjects[6]. The press was most restricted by these actions, for they were threatened with arrest should they “spread reports likely to cause disaffection or alarm among any of His Majesty’s forces or among the civilian population”[7]. The reporters who failed to sneak into the warzones were normally restricted, censored, or even arrested when they got too close to the military or its activities[8].  

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            When America entered the First World War in April 1917, it took a page from its British allies when it came to the media. President Wilson created his own bureau to censor the media of any and all problematic or threatening news and opinions, via the Committee on Public Information (CPI), or the Creel Committee, named after its chairman George Creel[9]. Their duties included everything from creating propaganda to giving the famous ‘Four-Minute Men’ speeches to inform the public about the war aims, as well as using and censoring all other forms of media about the war, from speeches to movies, and especially the newspaper[10]. It was the sole job of the Committee on Public Information to both promote the war effort and also censor any and all media that could harm the military efforts or support of the war[11]. American soldiers knew that these censorship restrictions were in place. As Jim Leigh from Lowndes County makes clear when he wrote his parents: “Wish I could write you more about any experiences, work, location and the war, but we are forbidden to do so [,] you know”.[12] This means that even if soldiers did write about the reality of war or even mentioned locations, their letters would never had made it back to the United States. So in order for soldiers to communicate with loved ones overseas, soldiers would have had to censor themselves to stay in contact or not write at all.  

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Woodrow Wilson's Creel Committee, established 1917

 

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These restrictions were challenged in court. The Supreme Court case of Schenck v. United States began in 1917 and taken to the Supreme Court by 1919, determined that free speech could in fact be regulated “if it caused a clear and present danger to national interest[u1] ”. This case began during the war and was brought to the Supreme Court because Charles Schenck spoke out against the war and “obstructing the recruitment and enlistment service of the United States…..when at war”.[13]  In its decision, the Supreme Court upheld Wilson’s censorship laws, and the Espionage Act of 1917.

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The most relevant parts of the Espionage Act of 1917 for newspapers and news stations was Section III:

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Whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully make or convey false reports or false statements, with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces of the United states, or to promote the success of its enemies…….. or shall willfully utter, print, write, or publish any language intended to incite, provoke, or encourage resistance to the United States, or to promote the cause of its enemies,…… whoever shall by word or act support or favor the cause of any country with which the United States is at war or by word or act oppose the cause of the United States therein, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or both.[14] 

 

There is also Title XIII of the Act that affects any and all mail:

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SEC. 4. When the United States is at war, the Postmaster General may, upon evidence satisfactory to him that any person or concern is using the mails in violation of any of the provision of this Act, instruct the Postmaster at any post office…. return with the words ‘Mail to this address undeliverable under Espionage Act’ plainly written or stamped upon the outside thereof, and all such letters or other matter so returned to such postmasters shall be by them returned to the senders thereof under such regulations as the Postmaster General may prescribe.” Approved May 16, 1918.[15]

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           The Court ruled that freedom of speech could and would be regulated or even suspended if it present a “clear and present danger” to national interest or security, which means that if one did try to speak out against the war, publish an article against it, or resist the Committee on Public Information, they would be facing very real legal consequences and jail time. [16]

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          The situation for newspapers, The Commercial Dispatch included, was that they had to abide by the Creel Committee and all its many censorships regulations. Editors and publishers had very little room to write perspectives that challenged American involvement in the war.   The published newspapers had to support the war effort and could not contain anything that may present a ‘clear and present danger’ to the United States’ involvement in the First World War.  The soldiers had their own filters to keep military locations and reality a secret from the public.[17] Therefore, the letters were heavily censored--reviewed by at least three or four times by either people or committees—before being published in The Columbus Dispatch.  

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