Falsehood In War-time 1928 PDF book by Arthur Ponsonby

The object of this volume is not to cast fresh blame on authorities and individuals, nor is it to expose one nation more than another to accusations of deceit. Falsehood is a recognized and extremely useful weapon in warfare, and every country uses it quite deliberately to deceive its own people, to attract neutrals, and to mislead the enemy.The ignorant and innocent masses in each country are unaware at the time that they are being misled, and when it is all over only here and there are the falsehoods discovered and exposed. As it is all past history and the desired effect has been produced by the stories and statements, no one troubles to investigate the facts and establish the truth.Lying, as we all know, does not take place only in war-time. Man, it has been said, is not “ a veridical animal,” but his habit of lying is not nearly so extraordinary as his amazing readiness to believe. It is, indeed, because of human credulity that lies flourish. But in war-time, the authoritative organization of lying is not sufficiently recognized. The deception of whole peoples is not a matter which can be lightly regarded.A useful purpose can, therefore, be served in the interval of so-called peace by a warning which people can examine with dispassionate calm, that the authorities in each country do, and indeed must, resort to this practice in order, first, to justify themselves by depictingthe enemy as an undiluted criminal; and secondly, to inflame popular passion sufficiently to secure recruits for the continuance of the struggle. They cannot afford to tell the truth. In some cases, it must be admitted that at the moment they do not know what the truth is.The psychological factor in war is just as important as the military factor. The morale of civilians, as well as of soldiers, must be kept up to the mark. The War Offices, Admiralties, and Air Ministries look after the military side. Departments have to be created to see to the psychological side. People must never be allowed to become despondent; so victories must be exaggerated and defeats, if not concealed, at any rate, minimized, and the stimulus of indignation, horror, and hatred must be assiduously and continuously pumped into the public mind by means of “ propaganda.” As Mr. Bonar Law said in an interview to the United Press of America, referring to patriotism, “ It is well to have it properly stirred by German frightfulness ”; and a sort of general confirmation of atrocities is given by vague phrases which avoid responsibility for the authenticity of any particular story, as when Mr. Asquith said ( House of Commons, April 27, 1915): “We shall not forget this horrible record of calculated cruelty and crime.”'An amazing collection of carefully documented lies circulated in Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and America during the Great War' - and a warning from history. Dedicated, without permission, to those in the United Kingdom media and State apparat currently agitating for hostilities with Russia, and for White War Three.'There has to be the war to make the usury system work. The lack of money to carry on business will cause the misery of the people to be intense. The government will NOT print money to relieve the suffering. The only way they will allow it to come into existence is for it to be borrowed into existence from the banks of the Federal Reserve System and their sister usury banking systems throughout the world. It can be borrowed into existence faster if the government is made to borrow money to buy an expensive airplane (costing 50 million dollars each), than if the government has to go to the trouble of contracting for 1,000 - $50,000 houses one at a time. Then too, the plane will be obsolete in five years and will have to be re-ordered, a never-ending source of business. The cheaper houses will be around for a long time....' ---RICHARD KELLY HOSKINSAuthor: Arthur Ponsonby Publication Date: 1928