Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-11-06
how DISPATCHES ARE SENT Home
The Correspondent Must Learn to
Rough 1t.
MANY NARROW ESCAPES
From Tit-Bits.

given much thought as to how such intelli-
gence is collated and melted out to the pub
lie: and it probably never occurs to them
that while they read the paper in COM
fort the writer may be in dire danger I'M
der shot and shell, seeking moments
rest after thirty hours of ceaseless excite
ment, or hunting for meal to satisfy the
snawins pains of hunger.
But such experiences are common to the
war correspondent, who carries his life in
his hands and braves dangers daily such
as few men are ever called upon to face
Newspaper readers who complain of late
ness of news in time of war can have no
idea of the difficulties under which it is
sent home The correspondent. after re-
ceivinE his impressions of a battle with
the aid of the telescope must frequently
ride eighty or a hundred miles before he
can put his letter on the wires and must
write as he rides. Sometimes. if he is for
tunate enough to get hold of a sensational
piece of exclusive news, he will charter a
special train or steamer at immense cost
and pay heavy special rates for transmits
sion.
Censorship.
But even when this is done. he has no
guarantee that his letter will reach home
for some days The telegraph is slow in
strument in war time, and the wires are
nearly always either blocked or engaged.
grams are often detained in the post office
two or three days. though their transmits
sion is matter of the utmost Importance
and everybody at home is waiting anxious
~ TOT the intelligence contained in them.
When at last the telegram is DISPATCHED
supposinS II Is an important one, it rarely
bears much resemblance to the original
copy The censor does not hesitate to mutt
Iate the report at his pleasure, and in this
way facts are often entirely reversed
IN the recent war between Greco and
Turkey. for instance, correspondent
wrote: THE prince this morning rode
through the streets uncheered.'' hut on
reaching England the message read: The
prince this morning rode through the
streets loudly cheered." Similarly in the
news OF the defeat, names were altered so
as to make ii appear that the defeated side
mad been victorious
war correspondents expenses are. of
course. very heavy. The bicycle will prob
ably be largely used In future wars hnt
hitherto the correspondent has depende5
on horses and carriages, which can sell
dom be hired under Is for a single Journey
men an interpreter is usually engaged by
correspondents of first-ciass PAPERS which
brings the bill up considerably 1t is a
lact that the incidental expenses of one
correspondent in the recent eastern war
commenced. '
Long Dispatches.
Altogether there We're some twenty cor
respondents engaged in wiring their i'm
pressions to all parts of the world, and tel
esraphic. travelling and living EXPENSES
pounds. VI
Inc American correspondents spent an
almost unlimited amount, charteriny speciaI
steamers with the utmost freedom The
Times correspondents were paid at the
rate OF D,cD a year, and in addition re-
celved t. a day for expenses.
On one occasion Reuters corrnsnonde,t
fafa =,
words long. which, as the telegraphic rata
as a. word, must have cost about fg,
The rate for urgent telegra ms-which SIM
ply meant that the message was to be dis
word -
quite quarter of a million words must
nave been telegraphed from Athens and
Ccnstantinople during the war, and the
probability is that the total number would
be nearer half a million. Reckoning it at
only a quarter of a million, however, the
ccst OF the dispatches. directly and indi-
1ectiy, could hardly have been less than
f2U.00O '1-'
1t was not always necessary TO travel
eighty miles to serd off a telegram. local
stations being sometimes within ten or
twenty miles; but messages could never be
ieit az local stations with confidence The
correspondent of London paper on Gne
occasion sent OFF an urgent telegram from
a local post office, wherce it had to be
forwarded to Athens OH its way to London
Inc news was important and exclusive
ald the correspondent prided himself on
having done a good piece of work Four
days later however he was breakfastinr
WITH the superintendent of telegraphs in an
AtneHs hotei, when his copy was brought
10 the superintendent for transmission!
Rough Life.
The war correspondent must be prenare5
TO rough IL No downy bed awaits him at
the end of a weary day. He must turn in
Tn SrFf1e4 IsGa
the front. and sleep as lightly as he can
with a loaded gun at hand BY the time
the war is over he has almost forgotten IN
uadress at night time. His shoes are scarce
~ ever on his feet. AMI he sleeps in his
clothes for weeks together He must he
content With one course fer dinner or with
no dinner at all. perchance, unless he can
shoot something and prepare it himself.
IN IheSsaly We lived on lambs which the
soldiers killed. or which we could huy for
three shillinSs 1t was not usually dim
cut TO get under cover at night. The peas
ants invariably fled before the advance of
the troops, leaving their little homes al
most intact What became of the moor
fugitives heaven only knows but their
empty houses were Ravens of res, to a
ured stranger in that strange and troubled
land.
have never met anybody after returning
from tee seat of war who has not been
curious TO know what war is like. With
the recent war fresh in my mind 1t seems
10 me that as spectacle the best COM
parison is the stage on big night at the
opera, viewed through the reverse end of
an opera glass. War Is like that
Awful Scenes.
1t is sublIme-as specialization a dis
lance II is when you get nearer the fight
ing that you realize the sickcning horror of
IL all One mana Greek off,cer-feiI dead
within three feet of me. i brought away
the piece of shell which killed him. His
fel.ow-o:hCers picked him up and kissed
MIN. and he was carried away.
II Is :, terrible thing to see a man killed
IN war l saw the light fade out of the
soldier face. and he looked like wax fig
IRE rather than a man who had been lead
ing men moment before.
had many narrow escapes myself. Once
when passing through a ravine / suddenly
heard nrinS, and on emerging from the
narrow pass i discovered that / was the
OBJECT aimed at. II is a horrible sensation
SHOTS hew in all directions, whizzing past
my ears The most awful fact of IL all is
that you Cannot see where the shots come
from. The enemy may be miles away. but
the IRE plays around you threatening
every moment 10 cut the thread on which
YOU life hangs.
The thing which most SUI prised me in tho
eastern war was the callousness of many
of the soldiers They joked and Laughed
and smoked cigarettes though war were