Premature Rejoicing

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23278, 14 August 1945, Page 5

Premature Rejoicing

A False Announcement Of Surrender Mysterious Origin Alleged By Telegraph—N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright (Received 9 p.m.) OTTAWA, August 12. AN erroneous flash that the Pacific war had ended resulted in a premature release on the air of a recorded broadcast which Mr Mackenzie King (Prime Minister) had prepared for the announcement of the Japanese surrender. Meanwhile, officials at the Prime Minister’s office stated that no official word had reached Ottawa. In Ontario church bells pealed, sirens howled and crowds went wild in parts of Toronto, Brockville and Peterborough. It was learned that Mr Mackenzie King had been at the radio station until about 6 p.m. and made a recording for release when the official word came. The erroneous flash which was carried to Canada by the American radio network came over the air shortly after 9 p.m. and the recording was broadcast almost immediately afterwards, giving listeners the impression that Mr Mackenzie King was in the studio. Mr Mackenzie King’s office, also assuming that the announcement was official, released copies of Mr King’s statement to the newspapers and a few minutes later, when it became apparent that the information was erroneous, asked that it be withheld from publication. The United Press of America issued a statement that a flash of mysterious origin saying that Japan had accepted the peace terms was fed into the United Press leased wire system. The flash, which carried a Washington date line, was not transmitted by the United Press Washington bureau. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Communications Commission were asked immediately to ascertain who could have cut in on the United Press wire system with intent to disseminate false information. The United Press in New York said that the United Press southern trunk wire, which operated through Washington, had broken suddenly shortly after 9.30 p.m. with the flash carrying the Washington date line laying that Japan had surrendered. Two minutes later the flash was killed by the United Press, when it developed that it did not originate at the Washington Bureau. The White House immediately issued a denial that President Truman had announced a Japanese surrender. This followed the United Press kill order by approximately one hour. The Bureau points out that the United Press in the south was immediately examined to see whether the interruption of the service could have originated in the regularly constituted Bureau. Many newspapers not ordinarily on the United Press Sunday night circuit were receiving the service, due to the possibility of a reply from the Japanese.