Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-07-20


conveyed the news of the revolt of the
press correspondents against the unfair
and untruthful censorship over their
dispatches exercised by order Of General |
Otis. Eleven correspondents signed a
public protest against the course thus
far pursued, and the protest is now
before the authorities at Washington
for their consideration.
1t should be borne in mind that this
protest is not in any manner an "anti-
imperialism scheme" The signers
represent the New York Herald, the
New York Sun, the Chicago Record
and the Chicago Tribune, all wild
organs of expansion and imperialism.
and representatives of The Associated
Press and the Scripps McRae League,
non-partisan news associations. The
protest against the administration
attempt to deceive the people, there
fore, comes from the administration
friends, so far as the newspapers i'm
mediately connected with it are con-
cerned.
This protest only confirms what the
opponents Of the war policy of the
administration have all along insisted
was the case. They have charged that
the news from Manila was shamefully
'doctored'' by the press censor, and
that deliberate attempts IN this
direction were made for the purpose
of keeping the people Of this country
in ignorance of the real truth of the
situation. In support of this claim
they printed extracts from letters sent
by soldiers to their friends at home,
and the statements of returning volun
teers. The organs of imperialism made
every attempt to discredit the situation
as thus presented, and now their own
correspondents on the spot, by their
manly protest, compel them to eat
their words.
| How far the authorities at Washing
ton are responsible for this disgraceful
state of affairs is matter of con
lecture. but it is evident that they will
attempt to throw all the discredit upon
General Otis at Manila. 1t is given
out from the departments that the
public has been informed faithfully OF
all information received from the seat
of war. But is it to be supposed for a
minute that General Otis would de-
liberately and persistently deceive the
head Of the War Department? On the
contrary, it is more probable that Otis,
after taking the correspondents by the
neck and preventing them from telling
the truth, by editing and penciline
their dispatches, was more honest in
his immediate communications to the
War Department, and that the latter
deceived the people of this country il
, the information it made public.
However, at last the .'cat is out O
the bag" and the people of the United
States know the attempts that hav,
persistently been made to deceiy,
them and keep them in ignorance
, They know now that the campaign
! has been failure. That information
, which was made public in Manila ant
sent directly to the camps of tn
! Filipinos, was suppressed when cor
/ respondents attempted to place it Of
: the wires for transmission to the grea
! newspapers of this country. The
. know that the campaign, in addition
h to being failure in the accomplish
n ment of actual results, has also bee
i one of deceit and deception in its deal
o ings with the people of the Unite
4 States.
1t is hoped that this disgraceful eS
i. posture will effect change in tho polio
!. Of the administration. 1t ought t
n effect radical change in its entir
war policy, and induce it to take steI
looking to speedy ending of hostil
% ties, by extending to the people Of tn
u Philippines at least the same cor
ii sideratiun that has been held out {
: the people of Cuba. This, however,
n too much to expect. But in all d
IL cenoy, after thus being hold up to I'll
ns scorn and contempt of the world, Il
Ia administration ought to abandon i
IA policy of falsehood and deception.