Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1899-11-01
BRITISH CONTROL WAR NEWS.
Nothing Can Come from South Africa
IIufil IL Has Raaxs fa.xa

Ii ever country was bottled up, South
Africa is. England has complete control
Of all news outlets, and she evidently has
enough censors over there to choke off
AN nfavfrable news, and some relations of
tie late lamented Blanro 10 send wild
ana woolly tales OF victories Won. The
cable companies in New York say that
they never knew of a place so completes
~ cut off as the scene of the present
hostliifies, and the censorship that Eng
land Is exercising is simply stunning. All
news Is not only censored at its start,
but 1t is held up from one to four times
en- route, and finally is for the most part
delivered through London American,
German and French newspapers and
press associations have sent Dig corps OF
men to South Africa, but they get mighty
little show, even with their messages
that have been mangled by the censors.
The English newspaper men get first
call, and, as result, London is the real
news center of the war.
In the first place, the Transyaal and
Orange Free State are utterly and COM
rsetely cut off, 50 far as land wires 90.
The only outlet has been through Dur
ban. in Natal, on the east coast, and
these cities are in British territory. There
was land line from Pretoria to Loren
20 Marquee, which ran through Portu-
guese territory, but this has been inter-
rupted either by actually cutting the wire
or by diplomatic chiesnery With Portu-
sal. Portugal sympathizes with the
Beers, but she has 50 much sea coast and
is so near England nat Johnny Bull has
her bluffed to a staudstill.
News from Glencoe, Ladyslnith and
other points in Natal can reach the out
side world over the Durham and west
coast line, or via Cape Town and the
east coast. From Durham the cable runs
$40 miles to Lorenzo Marquee (Delogoa
Bay. Then it plunges again into the
Indian ocean and emerges at Mosam-
biGue. 974 miles away, thence by cable
to Zanzibar, 692 miles further, and final
ly to Aden 1920 miles further. All
this by cable. At Aden the British CEN
sorship is supreme.
From Alden the news goes under the
whole length of the Red Sea to Suez,
1.403 miles, thence on land wires along
the Suez canal to Port Said, 92 miles,
thence by cable to Alexandria, 154 miles.
thence to Malta. 92S miles; to Gibraltar,
1,126 miles; to Lisbon, 800 miles; to
Lands End, England, 500; then by land
to London and from London to Dublin,
thence to Waterville, Ireland. Then
comes the long plunge over the CONNER
cial cable to Nova Scotia, 2,34S miles.
Eight hundred and forty miles of cable
remains, ard the news is at New York.
British military eensors have whack
at it at Durham, Alden, Suez, Alexandria,
Gibraltar and London.
Over the west coast route the start is
made at Cape Town, thence by cable to
Mossamedes, LBS miles: to Benguela,
234; to Loand, 296; to Acera, 975 miles;
to Sierra Leone, 1920; to Bathurst,
463. At Bathurst the cable leaves the
African coast and bobs UP next at San
tiago a British possession, near the Cape
Verde Islands, 470; to st. Vincent, 204
miles; to Madeira, /, ,169; to Lisbon 632;
thence to London, following the same
route as news from the east coast.
The only place in all this west coast
route where leak might occur is at st.
Vincent, where there is cable to Brazil.
England has forbidden all code and ci-
pher messages of any description to be
sent to st. Vincent and her orders are
being obeyed to the letter.
On all the east coast lines all cipher
and code messages are forbidden, just as
on the west coast, and nothing, even re-
motely relating to the war, can be sent
by anybody without the English 20. K"
at the various relay stations.