New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-05-23
WAR CORRESPONDENTS.
THE FARCICAL CAMPAIGN IN THEseAhi
MIR. ROSES BRILLIANT sTRokE-
CHANCES FOR BooK-WRITERs
Iondon. May IL

trernitv Of disaster and disgrace. and not only
pleads their cause vito passionate rerVoi' o",
also has organized national fund anu hosP''"'
service for the wounded. Other !our'ais VIC
with one another In reviling the Greens "' "
nation OF imbecile towards, who are justly pu"-
ished for their msdeeds and DO not ue'e' ~
pity. Ordinarily there Is an instructive ie0o"
.ga,n.+ hitting a weak antagonist who Is pros
,r.,a and he,pless in the dust; but unhappy
Cr.eca e Knocked at and despised In her mo-
want or desnair There IS perhaps practicai
.oo.on for the resentment which has been eH-
,,..h hv tho ipnon,inious collapse or the Greeh
.r,. Tho enternrise Of the London Journals
no. bean bafsed by a burlesque campaign OK
ha.t,ea without bloodshed, stampedes ana re-
treats without strategy and comicai adventures
Of military correspondents under hags Oh 'i"oe'
Ths peneral press agencies and the prlnclpoi
Jondon Journals made elaborate ana cosby
preparations for describing the campaign wiz"
realistic effect and minuteness or detai. lhe'o
was a swarm Of correspondents on each sue vi
TIA frontier when war was declared, ana eacn
had a retiuue Of retainer5 ana an expensive
scr,nrnent OF horses mules tents and supplies
Even the halfpenny Daily Mail "h'ch mas
barely entered upon its second year. was repre-
sented by four or more correspondents IN 'he
6eld. The illustrated journals had scores Vi Ill
lists at the front in readiness with pehciI a'''
camera TO reproduce the stirring scenes OF wal
and the picturesque effects or costumes i"o
teIesraphic companies had shown great energy
in reinforcing the corps or opefa'o's anu "
multiplying facilities for the TRANSMISSION VI
n.w. The managing editors OF the London
nress kesnly alive TO the resources OK compet-
tors had bestirred themselves to find the best
"a tharo
unteers-and TO supply them with adequate ie'-
g.. -, ,rodi+ for tho expenses Of the campaign
After all these precautions and preparations
80. ,ba most faro,cal and grotesque war IN
military annals The correspondents have mao
.oan. onportunity for emulating the achieve
wants ~ Forbes MacGahan and Russell mo
,.nvsnaners while subjected to heavy expenses
An the field and In telegraphio tolls. nave Deeh
advertising a. whimsical military farce ana have
got little credit for their enterprise Naturally
vhe London press is resentful and contemptuouS
and without compassion for the Greeks
AN 1MpREssIONIsT IN THE FIELD.
NJ r. w Stevens. who since the publication
"a h,. auercan letters on tho Land Of tho
Dollar has been known as an lmpression's'
.rorg oorrespondents. describes in Tho Mali
this week how Thessaly was won without hsht-
X.
fronting each other. and in a position for de-
c,s,ve hattie On the following Tuesday night tho
Turks were in Larissa and the masters OF ines
sa,v. and they had not lost half dozen men
Aur,ng the interval There had been an inexpli-
cahle stanpede OF the Greeks. and the Turks
had followed them in a state Of bewilderment
not understanding what had happened. With
100000 men under arms in Epirus and Thessa1y
the loss OF life on both sides is well under 1Ooo'
Notwithstanding all the heavy cdnno1adiu8 ana
rapes upon pages Of Geographic description IN
rho London press This is all that Mr.. Steevens'
she Imuressionist. can mako Of II, and no has
talent for descriptive writing with strong color.
1Je could choose q commanding position on the
1,,sde for seeing G. great battle. but when there
,uss no lighting but only riotous stampede all
aionp the line under cover Of darkness. he could
only lament his lost opportunity and arraign the
Greeks asa race Of swaggerers and towards.
Iaurels as war correspondents were not to be
won IN q campaign 80 bloodess and grotesque;
but 1.-THE Mails'' men. at least, had the Wit TO
perceive the humor OF the situation and TO sup
DIV touches OF genuine comedy. When Volo was
evacuated by the Greeks as mpetuously as
1-arissa had been the correspondents took charge
of the panic-stricken town. Mr.. John Reid. bear
ing q flag Of truce. and accompanied by Mr. Fred
eric viIHers the well-known artist. and TWO
Consuis, marched out OF the town to meet the
conouering Turks Mr.. Stevens recognized his
associate, called in Edhem Pacha. and arranged
4he terms OF equalization. Then the deputation
returned reinforced by Mt Stevens and Heu-
4ers agent, and escorted by a troop Of cavalry.
The Mayor Of volo signed the capitulation, and
the Greek warship lying OF the town never fired
q gun All these details have been anticipated by
cable. but / repeat them for the sake Of ernpha-
sizing the fact that the war correspondents. in
stead of having the employment which they ex-
rected. have been prominent figures IN a bur
lesque performance.
The correspondents with the Greek Army are
emphatic In their denunciaion OF tho Crown
Prince, who not only proved himself to be
1oor soldier, but also established a rigorous
system of press censorship by which dispatches
were blocked. He is even charged by them with
altering the text Of dispatches and msrepresent-
Ing the military situation; and apparently he
found more congenal employment In revising
tho correspondence work than in enforcing disci-
pline and directing the campaign Edhem Pacha
was the war correspondents companion and
friend and few complaints are made OF Turkish
censorship of dispatches; but the Crown Prince
1rdustr.ously bafied the efforts Of the pressm en-
to communicate with their home offices. and
compelled most OF them TO send couriers "a
Athens or else go themselves Consequently he
ss roughly dealt with in the hour of his humili-
alton. He is charged with cowardice. incom-
potency and lack Of self-possession. and is held
personally responsible for the disasters OF the
campaign. Probably these structures are over
colcred by personal resentment. He was neither
general nor soldier, but II he had been really
efficient commander ne would have been power
less to counteract the defects Of organization by
which the Greek Army was pan alyzed. II wa:
an army without morale and discipline. and was
no badly served by the War Department and thu
Don-combatant branches that the cavalrymer
were without horses. the artillerymen withou
guns and the soldiers without food. The hes