Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 98, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 May 1918 — HOME ADDRESS IN CASUALTIES [ARTICLE]

HOME ADDRESS IN CASUALTIES

Washington, May 2.—The war department will resume tomorrow publication of the home addresses of men reported on the casualty lists from France. Orders to that effect have been issued and the list given out tomorrow morning will be in the old form followed prior to Secretary Baker’s instruction sent from France early, in April. This action means that it has been determined that any military information the enepiy might gain from the lists would not be of sufficient value to justify the added anxiety among the relatives of soldiers, occosioned by suppressing this aid to positive identification. It ends a controversy that was waged in congress for a time which caused an open rupture of friendly relations between the war department and the committee on public information and which President Wilson himself was called upon to take a hand in settling. When the department began issuing casualty lists without addresses the committee on public information refused to handle them on the ground that they were of no news value in that form. Since then the lists have been made public by the adjutant general office direct. Army officers are inclined now to continue with the present arrangement, holding that the committee went wholly (rut of its proper field in refusing to handle the limited lists.