The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-07-18
IN A DILEMMA.
A Member of the Presidents
Cabinet Declares
That Either Otis or the Cor
respondents Must Go.
A CHOICE OF EVILS.
Either Course Fraught With
Serious Consequences.
Corbin Says Round Robin "
Will Be Ignored.
Asserts That Nothing Has Been
Kept Back.
A CHOICE OF EVILS.

New York, July 1S.-The Washington
correspondent of the Herald quotes a
member Of the cabinet as follows:
Either Major General Otis or the
newspaper correspondents must go.
ITO deport correspondents will prob
ably be accepted at home and abroad as
a return to the old Spanish methods of
muzzling the press.
ITO ERIieve Major General Otis will
mean an aficiaI acknowledgements of his
failure and decentralization Of military
discipline
The above statement was made when
the member of the cabinet was asked to
discuss the problem which confrOnts the
administration as a result of the pub
lication of the newspaper correspond
ents round robin" protesting against
the course of General Otis in preventing
the real facts regarding the Philippine
situation becoming known.
IGNORED AT THE WAR DEPART
MENT.
Washington. July 18-It was stated
at the war department today that no
attention Whatever would be paid to
the Round Robin of the Manila cor
respondents. The protest was not sent
to General Otis and it is said he Will
not be called upon for an eXplana ton.
In addition to this it was intnnated that
very encouraging news had been re-
ceived from the Philippines and that the
situation was much better than had
been generally believed.
Regarding statements that cable dis
patches received in Washington and
other news regarding the war had been
censored contrary to the usual custom,
Adtutant General COrbin today said:
Yes. these complaints nave been
brought to my notice; word of expla-
nation is perhaps due to the country,
nous amount of work the Office has
been called upon to perform has taxed
to the limit the endurance of the clerks,
who. by the way, are as competent as
any that can be found anywhere Com
plants were made by several of the as
sistant and clerks that our clerks were
being annoyed and their time was taken
from legitimate work by direct applica-
ton for information from people in no
way connected with the office or public
service. AS a matter OF protectlon OF
the public interests and good admins
tration the circular of June p was is
sued. The censure of the so-called CEN
sored press is without just cause; and
evidently made under miSapprehenSlOn
of facts There has been no informa-
ticn received from General Otis that
has not been given to the press prompt
ly on the bulletin board IN the nan OF
this Office; every fair-minded represen-
tatiVe of the press will bear witness to
this statement What would the mana
ger of any of the complaining papers
ness of the paper was inquired for of
the printers rather than at the business
office of the paper? This is a case eX-
actIy in point.
THE standing instructions Of the presi-
dent and secretary of war are that the
public shall be given all information we
receive: this has been done and will
continue to be done. Of course, plans OF
campaign that would be of help to
Aguinaldo and other rebels have not
and will not be promulgated but all facts
Of interest that have transpired have
been given in fullness."
CAUSED A SENSATION.
The publication of the war corre-
spondents' formal Indictment Of Gen.
Otis management of the Philippine
campaign caused a sensation in the
denartments here. Secretary Hay had
received late adVices from civil as Well
as military sources in the Philippines
which led him to declare that the s1tua-
ton there was certainly improved ma
terially and the prospects for the future
had frightened very much With
these adVices. the secretary said Cen
Otis had had nothing to do and they
were from disinterested persons whose
opinions must carry weight Generally
there was strong disinclination exhibit
ed by the officials to discuss this last
round robin"
Gen. Miles, who was acting as secre-
tary of war in the absence of Secretary
AISer and Assistant Secretary Meil1le-
john. would not comment upon the dis
patch and Adjutant General COrbin
took the same attitude.
ENGLISH VIEW OF IT.
London, July 1S.-Most of the morn
ing papers comment upon the joint
statement of the American correspond
ents in Manila regarding the censor
ship there.
The Times says:
General Otis can not conceal nor
explain away the great fact that he
tails 10 bring the war to an end He
might just as we'll cease playing the
ostrich and allow the correspondents to
tell the public what they see."
The Daily News says:
The moral of it is that the CORE
hard upon him and that his determina-
tion to let the cat out of the bag may
still prove a blessing to modern states.''
The afternoon newspapers of this city
generally in commenting on the protest
of the American correspondents in Ma
Mia against the censorship denounce
the conduct of the American Philip
pines campaign. as it has been man
aged by Secretary Alger and Major
General Elwen S. Otis.
The St. James Gazette says: The
great American people have been hood
winked by its general and its adr an
suppressions of the truth and sugges-
tions of the false, of Russian ingenuity
and thorOughness
The Pail Mall Gazette says: The
correspondents have done their duty to
the public as journalists and gentle
men should"
The Times in its leading editorial ar
ticle today says:
| ''Alger has run the war Office as a po-