The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-05-15
MAN WHO KILLS THE WAR NEWS
HOW KEY WEST CENSOR GETS
IN HIS WORK.
Amusing Efforts of Correspondents
to Smuggle Dispatches Through
Many Hot Stories Smothered.

Key West, May 1.-THE cable office
in Key West, since the world became
interested in war talk, has been the
most interesting spot on the island. The
most interesting, the most important
man by all odds here is the censor. One
naturally comes TO associate the two
together. The cable office is a small
brick building which stands only rev
yards from the government dock IN
fact, it is only a few yards from any
pcint on the island to the water, ana
when the tide is at the highest point the
sea sets back through most or the
streets. When the newspaper dispatch
boat comes in from the gulf they al
ways land as near the cable office as
possible, and when correspondents land
at the same time the race for the cable
office is more interesting than any
SteeplechaSe ever ran Some or them,
after a long cruise, go staggering on
their sea legs like drunken men, others
are weak from seasickness. and stun
others are limping from bruises recelv-
ed from being pitched about In the
rough sea. But sickness and bruises
are forgotten when land is reached, and
every effort is put forth to be the first
to file copy
If il be late at night, five seconds
gained in the race from the dock to the
cable Office may mean an exclusive
story for one of the great dailies in the
north. Cable transmission is necessar-
lily slower than by sending by overland
wires, ard the correspondent who files
5000 words at midnight is pretty sure
that no other paper will be able TO get
anything for its morning edition from
Key West that night
But after the copy has been filed, the
CORRESPONDENTS trouble is not at an
end. Every word of it must be read
and passed upon by the censor. No
matter how much time, hardship or
expense it has required to get the story,
If, in the judgment of the censor, 1t
ought not to be printed, it cannot be
sent. If it gives any information as to
the movements of the feet or the army
it cannot go.
There are something like $50 news
paper correspOfdents in Key West and
while most of them appreciate the wis
dom of the government censorship of
news matter, some of them have grown
impatient in their eagerness to tell the
interesting stories that are to be told,
and have tried all manner of ingenious
statements for getting matter past the
censor. Usually, however, all plans
have been detected by the censor, and
the apparently innocent or stupid dis
patch has been returned to the writer
with mo- written in red ink across 1T.
The most trying period of the cores
pondents was on the day the fleet left
for its cruise eastward. Every CORES
pendent in Kew West knew that the
great battleships were steaming away
far from Havana in quest of the big
Spanish game. Every newspaper man
was eager to SEND the story. but not
line. not word would the censor per-
nit to pass.
From a hundred papers came the in
curry, 'has the fleet started" Even
the answer yes" to this inquiry was
not permitted to go. Some of the COR
had arranged cipher
code with their home officials, but the
code was useless. Everything that had
the appearance of a cipher-everything
that was not absolutely plain and ex-
plainable-was stopped.
One correspondent worked out a plan
he thought would give the desired in
formation to his paper, but he failed.
Early in the morning he filed dis
patch. the first reading as follows:
Tine newspaper fleet sailed this
morning toward Porto Rico"
An hour later he went to files a per-
sonal message to his editor reading:
Correction: Omit second word in last
dispatch"
When he handed the last dispatch
the censor met him at the receiving
desk and with a kindly smile handed
back the first dispatch with these
words written across it:
"All fleets look alike to me-"
The censor has had some very anus
ing experiences with other than the
men. Repeatedly he has
been severely rebuked for holding up
private messages. which he believed to !
be cipher dispatches for newspapers. /
The proprietor of a gambling room
wired north the other day for a new
roulette wheel. He gave full descrip |
ton of the board he wanted and re- !
luested an immediate answer.
After waiting "a hours without re-
ceiving any reply he went to the cable !
office to see If his message had been !
sent. He found the censor had filed 1t I
up, believing IL to be cipher message /
TO a newspaper. The censor apologiZed /
and let the message go through. and I
The answer came back within a few |
hours and the proprietor had a. bright Z
new roulette table within the week. /
The censor, however, is greatly liked /
Dy the newspaper men. and spends /
most of his time in chatting with them /
Dn the porch of the Key West hotel He 1
S an officer of the regular army and /
simply discharges faithfully and well ,
the duties assigned him from Wash /
ngton. Such of the correspondents as /
nave attempted TO send nothing but |
very undisguised facts fare the best at !
mis- hands