Department of the press, we will organize literary meetings at which our agents unnoticed will give the passwords and countersigns. Discussing and contradicting our policies, although always superficially, without touching their essence, our press will conduct an empty fire against official newspapers so as to give us only an opportunity to express ourselves in greater detail than we were able to in our preliminary declarations. This, of course, will be done when it is useful to us.
These attacks against us will also seem to convince the people that complete liberty of the press still exists, and it will give our agents the opportunity to declare that the papers opposing us are mere wind-bags, since they are unable to find any real ground to refute our orders.
Such measures, which will escape the notice of public attention, will be the most successful means of guiding the public mind and of inspiring confidence in our government. Thanks to them, we will as the need arises excite or pacify the public mind on political questions. We will be able to persuade or confuse them, sometimes printing the truth, sometimes lies, referring to facts or contradicting them according to the way they are received by the public, always carefully sounding the ground before stepping on it. We will surely conquer our enemies, because they will not have the press at their disposal in which to express themselves in full. Moreover, with the above mentioned plans against the press, we will not even need to refute them seriously.
The trial balloons thrown out by us in the third category of our press, we will deny energetically, in case of need, in our semi-official organs.
In French journalism there already exists the Masonic solidarity of a password; all organs of the press are bound by professional secrecy; like the ancient augurs, not one member will disclose his secret if he is not ordered to do so. Not one journalist will dare to disclose