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GERMAN BOOKSA'.,AND-:MAGAZINES (Continued from page 6)
w-itnter. A.. few, on the tother hand,.are of
outs-tnding- qulity..an  promise. This is
especially true of those produced for youth,
which have been given special attention by
Publications Control and by German publish-
ers.  Better over-all -production depends
upon removal of such major obstacles as
shortages of paper, food, transport, communi-
cations, and information about the outside
world. Except for the small amounts off in-
formation that come to German researchers
and writers through interzonal trade, the
radio, and press, they remain cut off fromn
world intellectual currents.
What they produce, however, is designed
to reach the mass and not the few. Tn the
past, German publishers have tended to pro-
duce books in editions of 5,000 to 10,000 and
at prices averaging four, five, or six marks.
These edition sizes ;are too small and the
price is too high for the ordinary German.
Land ICD's are actively promoting plans for
producing books of the highest-priority sub-
ject matter for one mark or less on newsprint
paper. Other zones have demonstrated that
such books can be produced in editions of
50,000(o'r 100,000 and sold at very low cost.
All US Zone publishers are being canvassed
for titles important enough to justify these
larger-issue editions,. If ;paper were available,
two or three titles a week could be produced
in the US Zone by this process with facilities
already available.
Publication of this unbiased material would
be fruitless if it did not reach large numbers
of the German people. To Imake fresh reading
matter available to the public, the Publi-
cations Control Branch operates special cen-
ters of information. Seventeen of the pro-
poised 20 US Information Centers already
have opened. Most of these are now being
used to capacity by German readers who
show their increasing interest by constantly
asking for new materials. These centers
serve German radio personnel, journalists,
editors and writers, physicians, political and
cultural leaders, scientists, dramatists, stu-
dents, youth and youth leaders, ministers of
religion, and the general public. Each center
has from four to 160 magazine subscriptions
and 2,542' to 8,000 volumes. Approximately
4,000 more books per center are en route
from the US War Department and from
individuals and institutions. These shipments,
in addition to 1,000 volumes per center now
being brought in from Switzerland, Sweden,
and Denmark, will greatly increase the scope
and quality of material available to readers.
Responsibilities Shifted on Rails
In an effort to return the German railroad
system to its pre-war position as a respon-
sible common carrier travel agency, compar-
able to those of other countries, close US
military supervision is being removed from
US military trains on the Reichsbahn system,
the Office of the Theater Chief of Transporta-
tion, Hq EUCOM, announced.
Working on the theory that the only way
in which the Germans will be able to return
to efficient operation of their railroads will
be by allowing them actually to operate their
system, EUCOM officials stated that military
passenger train operation will be transferred
from US military to German responsibility
as rapidly as possible. RTO's and their U'S
Staffs are being drastically reduced, and
Germans substituted.
Transport Division, OMGUS, is to be
given reports of conditions in the operation
and service on military passenger trains in
the US Zone for appropriate action. These
reports, made by train commanders, are to be
sent to Hq EUCOM where they will be noted
and passed on the Transport Division for
action.
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