Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1898-05-21
aelisfellaneous 8eading.
TO HOLD BACK THE NEWS.
How the Government Wrestles With the
Newspapers.

How the Government Wrestles with the
Newspapers.
One of the most serious problems
with which the government is having
to contend just now, is the newspaper
correspondent. The Spaniards can be
managed with some little difficulty /;
but when it comes to holding down
the newspapers, that seems to be an
other contract.
The Associated Press is not giving
any trouble. That is managed easily
enough. In fact, there is very good
reason to believe that all of the war
dispatches of this agency are now be-
ing edited and revised by the war
board at Washington before they are
sent out. Generally, the statements
made by the Associated Press are true !;
but often they are too old to be of val
ue. Again, the reports are sometimes
misleading. Inaccurate statements are
sent out purposely. 1t is not, OF
course, for the purpose of misleading
Americans. Associated Press state
ments are sent all over the world, and
they are made inaccurate sometimes
in the hope that they will mislead the
enemy.
But the big daily newspapers OF the
north and west are not inclined to put
up with this kind of thing. They look
upon war news as being as legitimate
as any other kind, and knowing that
they cannot rely upon the Associated
Press, they exert themselves to the
utmost to collect all the news they
can. And they are hustlers, too. BY
means of hundreds of correspondents
around Key West, the West India is
lands and others scattered all over the
world, they come pretty near gather
ing all the news that is going. They
annoy the government wonderfully
sometimes; but they are not altogeth-
er an annoyance. Many times they
get important news first and give it to
the government hours, and even days,
in advance of official advices from
government agents.
But the government has the best OF
the situation down at Key West.
There the cable station is in charge OF
an army officer who carefully scrutin-
ICES every dispatch that is sent, and
who will not allow word to 60 which
gives information of the movements
of the army or navy. When Samp-
sons feet put into Key West prepar-
atory to sailing for Porto Rico, the
Associated Press did not send out any
thing about it; but number of spe-
cial correspondents managed to get
the news to their papers by sending
boats to the nearest telegraphic station
on the main land. Many of the cor
respondents made strenuous efforts to
to fool the censor into allowing them
to report the departure of the fleet.
One filed cable like this: "NeWs-
paper fleet sailed for Porto Rico this
morning" Afterward he went back
and filed another cable like this:
"Correct message by striking out the
first word" But the trick was too
fimsy. The censor said that as all
fleets looked alike to hi q, he had not
sent the first message.
But out at Porto Rico and elsewhere,
the correspondents have it more their
own way. Many of the newspapers
have dispatch boats of their own.
Some fly the American flag and others
fly the flags of foreign countries. The
secretary of the navy permits them to
90 along with the fleet under the
orders of the acting admiral. Cable
stations are scattered all about, and
the correspondents send cables wher-
ever they please. News, for instance,
might 20 from st. Thomas to Brazil ,
from there to London, and then back
to America. Sometimes the cores
pondents slip up as to facts; but that
is usually under. circumstances when
it is impossible to secure accurate in
formation in time to get it to their
papers.
But, after all, no matter how the
government may be annoyed at its
inability to revise all "copy," these
independent newspapers do a great
work. 1t is better even for the gov
ernment to suffer an occasional mis-
carriage of plans on account of prema-
ture publication, than for the American
people to be kept in the dark. Some
time ago a large portion of the Spanish
populace thought the Spanish fleet had
taken New York. 1t is easy to imag-
inc the possibilities in America if the
press were muzzed as it is in Spain.
Soon American corruption would be as
widespread and as general as Spanish