Control of Foreign Vessels in American Waters: The Neutrality Act of 1935, as amended in May 1937, empowered the President to place special restrictions on the use of the ports and territorial waters of the United States. The restrictions which could be imposed involved limiting access to American ports and territorial waters by the submarines or merchant vessels of a foreign state. Special restrictions could be imposed at the President’s discretion once he determined that such restrictions were needed to protect the commercial interests of the United States and its citizens, or to promote the security of the United States. Once limitations on port usage had been imposed, it became unlawful for any foreign submarine or armed merchant vessel to enter a port or territorial water of the United States. Only the President could prescribe the conditions and circumstances which would justify an exception to the rule.[428]
On October 18, 1939, President Roosevelt issued Proclamation No. 2371 declaring it unlawful for belligerent submarines, whether commercial or ships of war, to enter the ports or territorial waters of the United States except when forced into such ports by force majeure.[429] The Panama Canal Zone was exempted from this order. Following enactment of the November 4, 1939 amendment to the Neutrality Act,[430] a new proclamation with identical provisions was promulgated in conformity with the revised law.[431]
Chapter VII
CONTROL OF COMMUNICATIONS
A contemporary “revisionist” school of historians devoted to a reappraisal of accepted views of the cause and effect of American participation in the Second World War, attributes significance to the charge that the Roosevelt and Truman Administrations selected, withheld, and released data to historians in a manner calculated to distort the reasons for American involvement in that war.[432] Similar charges of selective withholding or release of information, have, of course, been levied against the Eisenhower Administration.
A daily reading of responsible newspapers quickly discloses abundant examples of careful selectivity in the release of information by government officials, can scarcely be denied. Indeed scholars, journalists, and the American public are becoming increasingly dependent upon the release of information by the federal government for their interpretation of recent historical and current events.[433] Whatever the import of this development, however, it is not within the scope of this treatise. The present chapter is limited to a survey and classification of statutory provisions relating to the withholding and release of information by the government. It is accordingly appropriate merely to acknowledge the possibility that intensive research subsequently may disclose to what extent public opinion has been prejudiced, distorted, or confused by the federal government’s policies concerning the release of information.
The Release of Information by the Government
Statutes concerning the release of information by government agencies appear to have been drafted with a view to accomplishing the following purposes: (a) the convenience of other federal agencies; (b) promotion of program administration or enforcement; (c) to enable public opinion to influence and restrict administrative action. Legislative provisions aimed at disseminating information for the convenience of the public are included with (b) and (c).
The Convenience of Federal Agencies: The Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 contains the only clearcut and noteworthy example of the convenience type of provision thus far ascertained. Section 19 of that Act affords the Tennessee Valley Corporation access to the Patent Office as an instrumentality and agency of the United States Government. The Corporation is authorized to study, ascertain, and copy all methods, formulate any scientific information necessary to enable it to employ the most efficient and economical process for the production of fixed nitrogen.[434]
Publicity as an Instrument of Program Administration: As an instrument of program administration, publicity may be utilized to influence or coerce conformity with a program of control, or to facilitate the servicing of agency clientele. The use of publicity as an integral part of a control program is exemplified by routine publication of that which is prohibited, as well as by disclosure designed to exact compliance with government policy by subjecting those exposed to unfavorable publicity. Section 102 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, for example, prohibits the accumulation of scarce materials in excess of personal or business needs or for purposes of speculation. The President was directed to publish either in the Federal Register or elsewhere, a list of materials the accumulation of which would be unlawful.[435] Violators of this section of the law would presumably suffer from publicity about unlawful hoarding, if and when their activities became known to the federal government. More explicit, but indicative of the same intent, was an Act of July 1940 permitting the President to publish a list of persons designated as collaborators with the Axis powers. Any person so designated was prohibited from receiving military equipment or munitions for export.[436] In a proclamation of July 1941, President Roosevelt authorized compilation and publication in the Federal Register of “The Proclaimed List of Certain Blocked Nationals” under the Act.[437]
In statutory provisions for registration of categories of persons, or maintenance of lists of various kinds, it is difficult, if not impossible, to discern the various purposes to be served by such requirements. Thus, if the major objective of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of June 1938 was to secure for the government current information concerning persons representing foreign governments or businesses, and to impose a penalty for failure to register as a foreign agent, certainly a minor purpose was to insure that members of the public also should have this information available to them. Section 4 of the Act required the Secretary of State to retain in permanent form all statements filed under the Act, and to make them available for public examination and inspection at all reasonable hours.[438] One can hazard a guess as to what extent this publicity provision was designed to intimidate so-called foreign agents.