56329-1918-Text-of-United-States-Cable-Censorship-Regulations — Page 1

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THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, JULY 26, 1918.

NOTICES.

COLONIAL SECRETARY'S Department.

No. 231. The following United States Cable Censorship Regulations, issued on the 21st May, 1918, by the Chief Cable Censor, Navy Department, Washington, D.C., are published for general information.

Text of Cable Censorship Regulations outlining Requirements in regard to all Messages to and from Foreign Countries.

United States Cable Censorship Regulations, Issued May 21, 1918, by the Chief Cable Censor, Nary Department, Washington, D.C.

FOREWORD

1. Cablegrams will not be passed unless the identity of the addressee and sender is satisfactorily established and the text is clear.

2. It cannot be assumed that because a message is clear to the sender, who is fami- liar with all the surrounding circumstances, it will be equally understandable to the Censor, who is unfamiliar with the circumstances.

3. Careful observance of these regulations is required.

4. The Trading with the Enemy Act of October 6, 1917, provides as follows:

"Any person who willfully evades or attempts to evade the submission of any such communication (mail, cable, radio, etc.) to such censorship or willfully uses or attempts to use any code or other device for the purpose of concealing from such censorship the intended meaning of such communication, shall be punished as provided in section 16 of this act" (10 years or $10,000 or both).

1. FOREIGN CENSORSHIP.

Strict compliance with these regulations, while required, will not insure the passage of any cablegram either by United States or foreign censorship. The British and French censorships are largely coordinated with the United States censorship, but these and other foreign censorships from time to time promulgate rules of which senders of cable- grams should keep themselves informed through the cable and telegraph companies.

2. SENDER'S RISK.

All cablegrams are accepted at the sender's risk and may be stopped, delayed or otherwise dealt with at the discretion of the censor, without notice to the sender.

3. COMMUNICATION WITH THE ENEMY.

No cablegrams will be accepted for transmission to Germany or her allies or to territory under her control.

4. NO INFORMATION REGARDING TRANSMISSION.

No information regarding the transmission of cablegrams is permitted to be given. Cable service involving notification by the company to the sender as to whether the cable- gram has been delivered is suspended.

5. PLAIN LANGUAGE ADDRESS,

(a) A complete address is required in every cablegram, that is, an address which will clearly identify the person or organization the cablegram is intended for.

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(b) Except where a code address is permitted under these regulations, the address must be in plain language. The use of an abbreviation of the entire postal address, pro- vided such abbreviation is sufficient in itself to insure the identification of the addressee by the censors through whose hands the cablegram will pass, is not prohibited; but all abbreviations of address are used at the risk of the senders, and censorship gives no assurance that any specific abbreviation will in all cases suffice to insure identification of the addressee or ready delivery of the cablegram.