El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-05-07
QUALIFICATIONS AND DUTIES.

War correspondence is now regul-
ar branch of journalism. There is ne
yer any lack OF eager claimants for ad-
mission to it's raDk.-men of daring,
resource and ability, who are attract
ed by the. fascination of war, and by
a desire to play part, however hum
BILE, in the most awful, grim and
tragic drama e acted on the human
stage. They are handsomely paid for
their services. There is no restriction
on them in the matter of expense, for
the Newspapers are only too ready and
willing to spend enormous sums of
money = fresh uud important news
from tLe -eat of war. The chief qua l.
fications for this hard and adventurous
life are ply steal strength, the endur-
ance to sub5ist for days on meagre
at night in the open; iron ner-
yes and mental vigor; sound
sense and rapid jud gment; quick, OBJ
servant eye, capable of taking in the
ever-shifting scenes and changing in
cidents of field of battle, and a ready
vivid pen to convey ones Impressions
to paper. The war correspondent has
often, in the disch rye of his duty, to
run as great risk of being killed or
wound as Eny soldier in the fighting
line. 1t has fallen to him often, also.
10 render a great service to the army
which he accompanies in the field. A
recent libel action betv cen two war
correspondents who went through the
Soudan campaign of 1896, attracted
consid era BILE public notice. A
charge of cOwardice at the battle OF
Firket was made by the defendant
against the pla. ntiff which happily
as the result of the action showed
was completely disproved. But the
defer dant ivarced tie extraordinary
theory that it was the duty of a war
correspondent to keep we'll in the front
in order to give good example OF
bravery to the firing line. OF course,
t.e first duty Of q war correspo 1dent Is
to look afte- the interests of his paper,
and he could not do his journal a
greater dis-servce than to get killed
or disabled in action when he might
have avoided that catastrophe by the
display of a reasonable precautiOn.
The general in command could.
with as much reason, be accused OF
cowardice for keeping at such dis
lance outside the line of fire as enabled
him, without running any unnecessary
risk, to observe the va"y1ng fortunes OF
the fight and control the movements of
his TT ops. The large number of war
who have b en- killed
in recent campaigns is evidence of the
fact that these journalists carry their
lives in their hands, even in the ordi-
nay discharge of their duties on the
field of battle.
"Before far-reachiug rifled firearms
were brought iuto use," writes DR..
Archibald Forbes, sit was quite easy
to see battle without getting
into the range of fire. But this is no
longer possible, and in the future will :.
be still more impossible. With guns
of precision that airy six miles, with
mobile artillery having range of more
than three miles. and with rifles that
kill, without benefit of clergy, at two
miles, the war correspondent may as
we'll stey at home with his mother I'M
less he has hardened his heart to take
his full share of the risks of the ba tie
field. Indeed, if he has determined to
look narrowly into the turbulent heart
of each successive paroxysm of th e
bloody s.ruggle-and it is only by do
ing this that he can now make for
himself genuine aid abiding reputa-
tion-he must lay his account with Gu
during more risks than fall to the lot
of the average sOldier.'