PROPAGANDA WAR

Evening Star, Issue 23174, 25 January 1939, Page 1

PROPAGANDA WAR

IN SOUTH AMERICA FASCISTS ON THE AIR WAVES FEE RADIO SETS •Recent cablegrams reported that tho Lima Conference, at which the United States met the other American nations, had been the occasion for a flood of propaganda. This article was written by John W. White in the ‘ New York Times ’ before the conference. _ Germany has already begun an offensive war against the United States in South America, wrote John W. White from La Paz, Bolivia, on November 29. True, the war is one of propaganda, but it is none the less effective because of that. And there are many indications that the United States is suffering even worse from this verbal offensive than it might from a contest of arms.

Six European and Asiatic nations aro_ blanketing * South America with radio propaganda. Five of them content themselves with broadcasting news and comment that is favourable to themselves, and in giving their viewpoint on international. issues in wheh they are interested. But the German propaganda is a carefully-studied offensive against the United States. The German wave lengths are so arranged that they come through very strongly and clearly on both sides of the American wave lengths, which they are designed to straddle. Furthermore, the German propaganda itself is designed as an attack against American institutions, American activities in South America, and American prestige as a whole. Throughout all the South American continent it almost invariably happens that whenever an owner of a shortwave receiving set tries to tune in on an American musical or news programme all he can hear is a strong, clear German station tver which there is usually coming some abusive or offensive reference to the United States and the activities of its citizens in South America. “SENDING EXPLOITERS.” On the night of November 13, for instance, people throughout South America who tried to tune in on the United States short-wave musical programme could only get a strong German broadcast in the Portuguese language, very clear and very large fn volume, which was being sent to Brazil. A woman lecturer discusses the difference between Germans who settled in Brazil and tho America^;, Britons who go there. She explained that, Brazil needs, more than anything else technical men who will assist in developing the countriy and its industries. These technical men. she said, have been supplied by Germany in large numbers, and Brazil owes much of her progress to these German settlers. This, the speaker said, is in sharp contrast with the class of men who have gone to Brazil from the United States. Both the United States and Britain, she averred, have invested capital heavily in Brazil,and then sent men into Brazil to exploit the country at the expense of the Brazilians. Germans, she said, help the Brazilians make a great country of their territory, while Americans do nothing but suck the life-blood _ out of the country. It is obvious that _ the constant repitition of this motif must swing public opinion away from the United States in favour of Germany. Yet, so far, neither the American Government nor American institutions are doing anything to defend American prestige from this very real and effective invasion of South America by Germany, BROADCASTS TO BOLIVIA. The above-mentioned broadcast was typical of what Germany is sending to South American countries every day. On November 26, Germany broadcast an hour’s programme to Bolivia, in Spanish, along the same lines. There was a very attractive musical programme, after -which a lecturer explained the advantages that can accrue to Bolivia through its relations with Germany in contrast to alleged exploit-

ation by American capitalists. Thi* programme coincided with an extensive) campaign of newspaper propaganda) that has resulted from the arrival ini Germany of 50 Bolivian youths, invited by Chancellor Hitler to study ini German schools.

For weeks the German propaganda! service has been delivering to Bolivian newspapers hundreds of words of tele-, graphic news describing , the activities) of these Bolivian youths and their impressions of Germany. The German short wave transmissions are far superior to any of th» other short wave transmissions now) coming into South America. They arc* sent out by 50-kilowatt _ stations, in! comparison with the five-kilowatt traps-* mission from the United States, which! is seldom better than 45 per cent, cleatl and often is much poorer than that. Furthermore, the German wavi lengths are so arranged _ that thes? straddle the American stations. Thus# there are two very strong and clear) German waves on each side of the weald■ American waves, with! the result thati; it is almost impossible to pick up tha American programmes. It is obvious! that the German nropaganda has been! purposely designed against the United! States, both in the technical arrangement of the wave lengths as well as ini the nature of the programmes themselves. TRANSMISSIONS CLEAR. Radio experts in the United State* have been inclined to belittle the-.valuer of short ‘ wave propaganda to South) America on the ground that short wave transmissions are not clear and that!, people tend to ignore them in favour. of long wave transmissions. _ But the* German short wave transmissions araf unusually clear and of huge volume-. In many cases the German short wava transmission is clearer and almost invariably more interesting - ;, that ,'th«( local long wave broadcast. _ ■ To facilitate the-widest possible dissemination of this German propaganda# the South American markets are beingj" flooded with a very cheap Germanmade radio for home use that picks npi nothing except German stations. Tnl many cases, especially in the interior, these radio sets are even given away]: free to people who cannot afford to purchase them. :

Furthermore, the European , and Asiatic countries that have been broad-* casting propaganda programmes t« South America over short wave arai now enlarging their work by arranging for the rebroadcasting of nows programmes over long wave transmission! from local stations. Six Countries am sending daily programmes to;. South! America in the Spanish and Portuguese! languages oyer l short 'wave. Five of! them are now using the supplementary, long wave rebroadcast. The six countries which for some tima. have ■ been sending daily short wava programmes to South America ar® -Franco, Germany, .Great Britain, Italy* ■Japan, and Russia' All but Russia am these programmed with-long wave^programmes that am over local South American stations. '■ <■' 1 ;

SUPPLEMENTARY PROGRAMMES, Germany, Italy, and France are sup* plernenting their regular short wave programmes with a three-minute new* bulletin, which is sent to South America by short wave and then rebroadcast by local stations over long wave. These bulletins are so timed that tha radio audience gets an uninterrupted European news service of nine minutes.. The bulletins are broadcast from tha German, French, and. Italian stations in Spanish, and are delivered free of cost to all South American-stations that! will rebroadcast them.

The brevity of these ' news programmes does not permit of much propaganda, but, of course, the news front each country tends to stress the importance of the news of that country and plays up news events in the country, itself. For example, the German hews bulletin for several days stressed tha feat of the German aeroplane thatj flew to New York- and hack across tha North Atlantic.

In addition to the daily from Germany, the Germans arrange for frequent long wave rebroadcasta : of special events taking place in Ger-v many. These special events programme* are also delivered free of cost' to tha South American stations that rehroad- ■ cast them, and these stations are permitted to commercialise the pro-, grammes for their own profit. Japan recently began broadcasting daily to South America by short wave-' a one-hour programme of music and news, from 5.30 to 6.30 p.m.,_ Bueno* Aires time. News is transmitted in,., Spanish and Portuguese for five-min-ute periods, which are interspersed withl - Japanese music.