CHICAGO SUN'S CABLE EDITOR SAYS COMMUNIQUES BEST SOURCE OF NEWS

Emphasizing the importance of the high command official communiques for an understanding of the war, Ernest von Hartz, cable editor for the Chicago Sun, yesterday called for detailed impartial facts in the newspapers of America. Von Hartz, currently attending meetings at the Institute on War Problems, said that "Washington is today the news capital of the nation," but pointed out that no complete understanding of the progress of the war could be gained without thorough attention to the high command communiques of all nations, which have so far proved extremely reliable.

Unofficial reports, he said, such as those emanating from Stockholm, Sweden or Berne, Switzerland, are usually dictated by wishful thinking and are thus often unreliable. Von Hartz believes that the American people can take all the bad news that the newspapers dish out.

Criticizes U. S. Censorship

The cable editor criticized American censorship for its lack of organization or centralization of authority. Giving as an example one scoop from Australia, he told of the difficulty of giving accurate news when all stories must pass through the hands of army, navy, and Washington censors, all of whom may contradict each other.

Britain, which started off just as badly, has now straightened the situation out, he said. But while hoping that American might take England's example, von Hartz admitted that he was a victim of every newspaperman's dislike of the censor which is like "the public dislike for the baseball umpire."

"The average reader has far more intelligence than the publishers give him credit for and should be told the whole truth even if the truth is that we are on the verge of defeat," he said.

Kerch Front Important

Commenting on the recent reports from the Russian front, the Sun's news man stated that the Nazi drive on Kerch was the one to be watched. "Even if the Russians lose Kerch they may still hold the Caucasus," he said, "but it is this drive which holds the balance."

"The Karkhov offensive is only an attempt to relieve the southern front, but the important fact is that the Russians, after 11 months, can still take the offensive," he believes.

Commenting on the college's role in the war, von Hartz stated that he believed institutions for higher learning should continue to educate youth "to work out its own salvation. Our generation didn't do so well," he added.