"Lincoln's Surveillance State" Op-Ed NYTimes July 6, 2013

[Liz Rosenthal]

David: Concerning the 150-word-limit, I don't think the info you provide says anything different from what I said. Believe me, if you penned a letter of 160 words, it would not get thrown out simply on that basis. Plus, I have seen significantly longer letters in the Times; these seem to appear in instances where the letter-writer has expertise in an area relevant to the issue being addressed and keeps the letter focused on the issue. Additionally, it helps to write the letter in your own words rather than including extensive quotes. You use up a lot of space with the quotes that you could be using instead to make your point.

I am aware that you didn't set out to write a letter to the editor, but, in my opinion, that should have been your first step. The letters section is the basic way that misinformation and misrepresentation is corrected in the Times. Sometimes, a letter will be singled out by the editors for a letter "discussion" to appear in the Sunday edition, wherein readers are invited to comment on the letter, after which the original letter-writer has the last word. On the other hand, retractions of factual statements made in the Times are fairly rare.

In reading Stanton's order, which I somehow missed until now, and then re-reading one of your earlier posts that quotes from the enabling legislation, probably all that needed to be said in response to Mindich's column was something like: "While it is true that Secretary Stanton did issue an order requiring military control of the telegraph lines, and that Lincoln approved the order, Professor Mindich mischaracterizes the purpose of the order by claiming that all communications were to be 're-routed' through the War Department. In fact, Secretary Stanton issued the order pursuant to the Railways and Telegraph Act, whose purpose was to ensure the efficient movement of troops and munitions via the railroad. Telegraphic communications were central to railroad operations. As you can see, then, Secretary Stanton's order did not require surveillance of public communications but the efficient operation of railroads and communications for military needs during the biggest emergency this nation has ever faced. It is unfortunate that Professor Mindich feels compelled to point to a particular measure of the Lincoln Administration taken during a cataclysmic war as precedent for the overly broad, unending surveillance being conducted by the N.S.A. of American citizens." This comes to 155 words.