22. The US government made truth a victim
In 1917 the Wilson Administration created the Committee for Public Information. Its purpose was to monitor all information made available to the public regarding the conduct of the war, and the activities of the federal government. It was headed by George Creel, and became known as the Creel Committee. Creel believed that there existed little difference between telling the truth and outright lying to the public, as long as the desired ends were achieved. The Creel Committee decided what could and could not be reported to the American public about the war, both overseas and in the effort to support it at home. Under emergency measures rammed through Congress by the Wilson Administration, violating the strictures of the Creel Committee became sedition.
The federal government made a little comment regarding the flu, leaving its control to the several states, which for the most part allowed municipal and county governments to lead the fight against the silent threat. Wilson’s government did encourage Americans to continue to work, to increase production, and to participate in Liberty Bond drives and rallies. The government also supported recruiting rallies. It was aware of the high rate of infection at military bases and aboard ships, and deliberately censored the reporting of such information in the communities which supported them. For the federal government, this catastrophe was treated simply as a rendition of the seasonal flu.