CENSORSHIP REGULATIONS. Executive order relating to censorship of telegraph, telephone, and cable lines, April 28, 1917. CENSORSHIP OF (Official United States Bulletin, No. 1, p. 8.) EXECUTIVE ORDER.1 SUBMARINE CABLES, TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE Whereas the existence of a state of war between the United States and the Imperial German Government makes it essential to the public safety that no communication of a character which would aid the enemy or its allies shall be had. Therefore, by virtue of the power vested in me under the Constitution and by the joint resolution passed by Congress on April 6, 1917, declaring the existence of a state of war, it is ordered that all companies or other persons owning, controlling. or operating telegraph and telephone lines or submarine cables are hereby prohibited from transmitting messages to points without the United States, and from delivering messages received from such points, except those permitted under rules and regulations to be established by the Secretary of War for telegraph and telephone lines and by the Secretary of the Navy for submarine cables. To these departments, respectively, is delegated the duty of preparing and enforcing rules and regulations under this order to accomplish the purpose mentioned. This order shall take effect from date. THE WHITE HOUSE, April 28, 1917. 1 OBJECTS OF CENSORSHIP. WOODROW WILSON. The Committee on Public Information announces that arrangements have been made to put the Executive order into instant effect. Conference with the heads of the cable, telephone, and telegraph companies have been held in Washington during the week and all plans have been worked out in detail. An expert personnel, previously selected, and the generous and complete cooperation of the various companies combine to assure expedition and efficiency from the outset. The objects of the cenorship are these: (1) To deny the enemy information of military value or any information prejudicial to the interests of the United States or to the interests of other enemies of the Imperial German Government. (2) To obtain information of value to the several departments of the United States Government. (3) To prevent the spreading of false reports or reports likely to interfere directly or indirectly with the successes of the naval or military operations of the United States or likely to prejudice relations with foreign powers or the security, training, discipline, or administration of the naval and military forces of the United States. Secretary Daniels has assigned Commander D. W. Todd, Director of Naval Communications, to have charge of the cable censorship, and Commander Arthur B. Hoff will be in control of the New York division. Brig. Gen. McIntyre has been selected by Secretary Baker to direct the telephone and telegraph supervision on the border. The censorship of telephones and teiegraphs will affect the Mexican border only. The Committee on Public Information will provide the clearing house necessary to relate the activities of the naval and military censorship to every department of Government.--(Official United States Bulletin, No. 1, p. 8.) Regulations for cable censorship, May 1, 1917. [Official United States Bulletin, No. 1, p. 8.] These cable censorship regulations are issued for the guidance of the public. CABLE CENSORSHIP REGULATIONS. Codes. The following authorized codes may be used, conditioned upon their acceptability under the censorship regulations in effect in the foreign countries concerned. The name of the code shall be written in the check and be signaled free: A. B. C.; 5th. Scott's, 10th edition. Western Union (not including five-letter edition.) Lieber's (not including five-letter edition). Bentley's Complete Phrase Code (not including the oil and mining supplements). Broomhall's Imperial Combination Code. Broomhall's Imperial Combination Code, rubber edition. Riverside Code, 5th edition. A. Z. Addresses.-Must be complete, but properly registered addresses may be used where permitted by the censorship abroad. However, code addresses registered subsequent to December 31, 1916, may not be used in messages to and from Central South America, Cuba, Porto Rico, Virgin Islands, Haiti, San Domingo, Curacao, or in messages transiting over the Commercial Pacific cable or via Trans-Pacific wireless. Text.-Cablegrams without text will not be passed. Signatures.-All cablegrams must be signed by the name of the firm, or, in case of an individual, by at least the surname. Code addresses as signatures are not permitted. Decoding and translation of cablegrams.-All code cablegrams and cablegrams written in the approved foreign languages will be decoded or translated by censors. Suppressions, delays, etc.-All cablegrams are accepted at the sender's risk and may be stopped, delayed, or otherwise dealt with at the discretion of the censor, and without notice to the senders. No information respecting the transmission, delivery, or other disposal of any cablegram shall be given by paid service, and requests made by mail must be addressed to the telegraph or cable companies and must be passed upon by the censor. Telegraphic and post acknowledgements of receipt (P. C. and P. C. P. services) are suspended in all countries. Information to senders.-Any explanation of a text word or words, etc., required by the censor from the sender in the United States shall be obtained by a collect message from the censor to the sender and by a paid reply from the sender of the cablegram. Coded cablegrams filed directly at cable offices where a cable censor is stationed, as at New York, Key West, Galveston, and San Francisco, should be accompanied by a translation. This will expedite the works of the censor and thereby greatly reduce delay. Regulations for cable censorship, No. 2, May 31, 1917. [Official United States Bulletin, No. 22, p. 5.] The Office of the Director of Naval Communications and Chief Cable Censor has issued Cable Censorship Regulations No. 2, effective May 31, superseding and amending No. 1, issued May 1. The regulations follow: Language.-Cablegrams to Central and South America, to the West Indies, and to points reached by the Pacific routes, may be written in plain English, French, or Spanish. Codes. The following authorized codes may be used, conditioned on their acceptability under the censorship regulations in effect in the foreign countries concerned. The name of the code shall be written in the check and will be signaled free: 1. A, B, C, fifth. 2. Scott's tenth edition. 3. Western Union (not including five-letter edition). 4. Lieber's (not including five-letter edition). 5. Bentley's Complete Phrase Code (not including the oil and mining supplements). 6. Broomhall's Imperial Combination Code. 7. Broomhall's Imperial Combination Code, rubber edition. 8. Meyer's Atlantic Cotton Code, thirty-ninth edition. 9. Riverside Code, fifth edition. 10. A, Z. CODE ADDRESSES. Address must be complete; but properly registered code addresses may be used, where permitted by the censorship abroad. However, code addresses registered subsequent to December 31, 1916, may not be used in messages to and from Central and South America, Cuba, Porto Rico, Virgin Islands, Haiti, San Domingo, Curacao, or in messages transmitted over the Commercial Pacific cable, or via transPacific wireless. Cablegrams without text or with only single-word text will not be passed. Signatures.-All cablegrams must be signed; in the case of individuals by the surname at least; in the case of a firm or organization, by the 1 The Naval Communication Service authorizes the following: Recent orders to cable censors have interpreted and altered the paragraphs on "Addresses" and "Signatures" in Cable Censorship Regulations No. 2. Heretofore it has been required only that "the full name of the sender must appear on space provided in blank." The following order has been issued: "Every sender of a cablegram must place his full name and address on the face of the cablegram, and likewise the full name and address of the addressee. This will not be considered a part of the cablegram, but is for the information of censorship." In addition to limiting, as, at present, signatures on cablegrams to the surname of an individual or in the case of firms or organizations to the surname of a responsible member or officer thereof, when satisfactory information regarding him is on file with the censor, censors are now instructed to pass organization signatures of two or more words when understandable. Examples: "Pacific Mail" for the Pacific Mail Steamship Co.; "Second National" for the Second National Bank of Boston; "Studebaker Corporation'' for the Studebaker Corporation of America.-(Official United States Bulletin No. 35, surname of a responsible member of the firm or officer of the organization, when satisfactory information regarding him is on file with the The full name of sender must appear on space provided on blank. Code addresses as signatures are not permitted. censor. SUPPRESSIONS, DELAYS, ETC. Suppressions, delays, etc.-All cablegrams are accepted at senders' risk, and may be stopped, delayed, or otherwise dealt with at the discretion of the censor and without notice to the senders. No information respecting the transmission, delivery, or other disposal of any cablegrams shall be given by paid service, and requests made by mail must be addressed to the telegraph or cable companies and must be passed upon by the censor. Telegraphic or post acknowledgments of the receipt (P. C. or P. C. P. services) are suspended to all countries. Information to senders.-The cable company will notify the station of origin by free service when a message does not conform to the censorship regulations. Any explanation of a test word or words, etc., required by the censor from the sender in the United States or Canada shall be obtained by a collect message from the censor to the sender and by a paid reply from the sender of the cablegram. Coded cablegrams filed directly at cable offices where a cable censor is stationed, as at New York, Key West, Galveston, and San Francisco. should be accompanied by a translation, and if it is certified by some responsible member of a firm it will tend to expedite the transmission of the message. Figures.-Unrelated numbers or code words which translate into unrelated numbers prohibited. Serial numbers.-The serial numbering of cablegrams will be permitted when the following conditions are complied with: Four figures will be used. The first two figures will be the daily serial number of the cablegram. The second two will be the day of the month. In the first nine messages of each day the first figure will be “0.” On the first nine days of the month- the third figure will be "0." The serial number will be the last word in the message and will immediately precede the signature. USE OF TEST WORDS. Test words.-Test words are permitted when senders comply with regulations which will be furnished on application to the censor or telegraph and cable companies. To relieve individuals and organizations transmitting money by cable of the necessity for furnishing copies of their systems of test words, affidavits will be accepted to cover the use of such test words. Organizations and individuals desiring to use test words to authenticate their messages and to act as a check on the amount of money transmitted, must furnish an affidavit to cover the following: "The test word will be the first word in the body of the message. Such test word will have no other meaning or use than that of authenti cating the amount of money transmitted or that of preventing fraud by unauthorized payments of money." The letter transmitting the affidavit should state the cable landing point or points through which the use of a test word is desired—that is, a bank sending messages from New York, Galveston, and San Francisco should so state in their letter transmitting the affidavit. If the bank handles cable business through one cable landing point only such as the New York cable origin, the letter of transmittal should state this point only. Affidavits should be mailed to the Chief Cable Censor, Room 209, Southern Building, Washington, D. C. Prohibited. Military information, aid to the enemy, information of movements of all vessels to submarine zone, private codes, cablegrams not understandable to the censor. It is the constant study and effort of the cable censorship to ease the situation of the American trader and correspondent, consistent with the objects of military censorship. Among the significant changes above from Regulations No. 1 are: 1. Instead of requiring the signature in full of a firm, corporation, or other organization the signature of the surname of a responsible member of the firm, corporation, or other organization is accepted when satisfactory information regarding him is on file with the censor. 2. When translations and decoded copies of cablegrams are certified by some responsible member of a firm or organization they will be expedited in transmission. 3. When the context in which figures appear is clear they will be allowed, but unrelated numbers, or code words which translate into unrelated numbers, are prohibited. 4. The serial numbering of cablegrams will be permitted when the following conditions are complied with: Four figures will be used. The first two figures will be the daily serial number of the cablegram. The second two will be the day of the month. In the first nine messages of each day the first figure will be "0.". On the first nine days of the month the third figured will be "0." The serial number will be the last word in the message and will immediately precede the signature. 5. Test words are allowed when senders comply with the above regulations. General Order relating to divulging Naval information of value to the enemy, June 11, 1917. (Official United States Bulletin, No. 27, p. 2.) Secretary of the Navy Daniels has made public the following general order: 1. The department has reason to believe that information of a character most valuable to the enemy, and which might prove most disastrous to the Navy, has in some way reached the enemy. In view of the strenuous efforts that have been made to pre vent the dissemination of such information, the department believes that in practically every instance this has resulted from certain information being given in confidence to or spoken in the presence of, a close relative or a friend who, failing to appreciate the |