Boise Valley Herald

In September 1942, the federal government, under Attorney General Francis Biddle, revoked the second-class mailing rights of the Boise Valley Herald, a small weekly newspaper from Middleton, Idaho. Despite its limited circulation, the paper held significant importance in challenging the "good war" narrative of World War II due to its principled stance and the weak justification for its censorship.

Unlike other publications on Biddle’s revocation list, which often carried xenophobic or racist content, the Herald was notably progressive, condemning Japanese American internment and advocating for racial justice. Its editor, Adelbert Cornell, a self-described "daylight farmer and lamplight editor," and his sons ran a modest operation that broke even at best, focusing on local news like births and weddings. The paper’s commitment to civil liberties and its lack of anti-Semitism or pro-fascist leanings led the ACLU to provide legal counsel, a distinction shared by few others on Biddle’s list. ^[1]

The Boise Valley Herald stood out for its editorial content, which defied easy political categorization. While it praised figures like Eugene Debs and Norman Thomas for their civil libertarianism and anti-war stance, it also criticized the New Deal for excessive government control, particularly through programs like the National Recovery Administration. The paper’s core themes were civil libertarianism—Adelbert was a longtime ACLU member—and noninterventionism, evident in its support for the America First Committee before the U.S. entered the war. Despite its controversial views, the Herald was respected locally, with Idaho Secretary of State George H. Curtis noting that Middleton residents admired the Cornells, even if some dismissed their "radicalism." The paper’s outspokenness, including its condemnation of discriminatory policies, may have provoked government ire, especially given the Cornells’ personal ties with local Japanese American farmers and their sons’ refusal to register for the draft in 1940. ^[2]

Biddle’s case against the Herald rested on questionable grounds, damaging his reputation as a civil libertarian. He cited the paper’s opposition to war on moral and religious grounds, its criticism of U.S. policies like the embargo on Japan, and its defense of Japanese Americans as evidence of sedition. One particularly misleading excerpt praised the "culture" of Japanese Americans, but Biddle omitted context showing it celebrated their assertion of citizenship rights against harassment. The revocation caused practical difficulties, with local postmasters sometimes rejecting even first- and third-class mailings. Adelbert Cornell responded defiantly, distributing the paper by hand and mailing "boot-leg" copies without return addresses. ^[3]

Despite minimal national media attention, local papers like the Idaho Statesman defended the Cornells, arguing their small publication posed no threat. The ACLU’s legal efforts, led by attorney Sol L. Alpher, emphasized the paper’s insignificance in impacting the war effort, but the government upheld the revocation, leaving mailing rights ambiguous and underscoring the tension between wartime censorship and free speech. ^[4]

References

1. Beito, David T. (2023). The New Deal's War on the Bill of Rights: The Untold Story of FDR's Concentration Camps, Censorship, and Mass Surveillance (First ed.). Oakland: Independent Institute. pp. 223–230. ISBN   978-1598133561.
2. Beito, David T. (2023). The New Deal's War on the Bill of Rights: The Untold Story of FDR's Concentration Camps, Censorship, and Mass Surveillance (First ed.). Oakland: Independent Institute. pp. 223–230. ISBN   978-1598133561.
3. Beito, David T. (2023). The New Deal's War on the Bill of Rights: The Untold Story of FDR's Concentration Camps, Censorship, and Mass Surveillance (First ed.). Oakland: Independent Institute. pp. 227–228. ISBN   978-1598133561.
4. Beito, David T. (2023). The New Deal's War on the Bill of Rights: The Untold Story of FDR's Concentration Camps, Censorship, and Mass Surveillance (First ed.). Oakland: Independent Institute. p. 227. ISBN   978-1598133561.