The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1862-04-21
TAa News and sAs Public.

All oar city contemporaries seem 70 Be en-
ploysd in discussing the extent 70 which war
news ought to b. eoumunicaasd 70 the pub
lie. We do NOT ~ Why We, TOO. should NOT
take hand In the discussion.
We think il very proper In . General 70
take stsps for preventing the communics'on
Of army movements through the press, OF
through any other channel, to the public, nm
les II be such ~ relates 70 transactions A.
ready known to thu public, or such - No him.
elf expressly permits. The reason upon
which such restriction 10 founded 10 too o.
vions to require notice 1t would, indeed, be y
good general rule to allow only such news 70
tr~uspirs ~ may have received the sanction Of
the War office. Yet 1t seems 70 a. that when a
ersa. battle has been fought-no matter what
may be the result-ths public should be put
in possession Of the facts, let the result be
what It. may, - coon as possible. Napoleon
swsys kept Paris supplied with such intslli-
gsncs 40 he chose to communicate relative to
his movements, through bis bulletins, which
formed. in Sact, q concise and satisfactory his
tory Of the war. In the same way, It seems
to ~, our Generals might send reports Of their
movements, which might be laid before the
public, Ill things which it might be improper
to make known having been first carefully
excluded. The publication Of such reports
a. soon No received would answer good puT-
pose In more ways than one. 1t would put an
end TO the enormously exaggerated rumOrs by
which the public are liable TO be distressed
every moment in the day. 1t would soothe
the minds of the people, II there 10 nothing
really alarming, and enable them TO look their
situation calmly in the face, II there To- We
should not sss them At one moment exalted to
the skies by hope, and At the next cast down
TO the earth by dependency. They would be
eure Of having tho truth, whatever it might
be, whether good or bad Nothing can be
more detrimental 10 u cause, among those
who adhere to it, than false statemsnts with
regard TO successes The truth will be sure to
come out at last, and, when q victory is claim
ed where defeat has been sustained, the re-
action in the public mind is always proportion
ate 10 its previous exaltation as soon as the
truth leaks out One of our contemporaries
alludes to q curicus instance Of this. related by
polybius, in his narrative Of the I'd Punic war
A Roman consul, whose army had been al
most entirely destroyed in the first Of those
treme udous defeats which Hannibal inflicted
mon his countryman, wrote home that he had
gained victory, although he had not the
third part Of his army around his banners, and
had retres,ed or rather He'd some thirty OF
forty miles from the scene OF conflict
The Senate proclaimed it to the people
and the people were intoxicated with
;oy. In the mean time, however, stragglers
beg IN TO come in a. first singly, then
in couples, finally in bands. All of them told
the same tale They had been beaten on he
bloc diest field LONE had ever seen until that
day. The reaction was tremendous. Rome
was mad with despair, overwhelmed with
grief. incapable, from CONSERVATION, of taking
council for the general safety. 1t were better
had the hattering tale never been told
This VIA the frat lying bulletin of which we
have any account There have been many
since, and none Of them have been productive
of good, 80 far Us we can learn.
Truth is always best, under all circnm.
stances In war it is especially SO. We
do not mean that General should blab
out his secrets, or that the Government should
tell what it is improper to divulge. But when
il has ascertained the truth with regard to any
operation in which the public is deeply inter
essed, and when it 10 not important to keep it
back, then out with it at once Let it be laid
at once before the people.