Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1899-11-09


in history did the Washington newspa-
per man assume to give an account of
everything of Importance that was
done at tie capital without the slight
est regard to the amount of space re-
quired OF the expense involved. The
Office of the correspondents OF the big
newspapers were converted into camps.
The keys of the workshop were lost,
B cots We're placed in the corners and eX-
) ira tables arranged for the reporters
! who handled special wires. From
morning until night and from night IN
til morning the work OF collecting
writing, editing and telegraphing the
war news went on.
The day after the news of the blow
, ing up Of the Maine came the s0rre-
spondent of one great New York daily
which publishes an afternoon edition.
received ct o'clock in the morning
this dispatch:
} We are ready
He was not quite ready that morning
but ever afterwards during the war, he
was. and noon, midnight. and the wee
sIla' hours ever after were the same.
After that dispatch came the Offices
were always open and the men always
ready because for several months the
machinery of the government depart
ments never stopped. An army officer
made up his bed in the office Of Adju-
tant General CoTbin. and . naval Off
GER did the same in the Office of Com
mdore Crowninshield. chief of the b.
lTeau of navigation. and there they slept
every night, ready TO receive dispatches
land attend to orders. An arrangement
was made by which the newspaper Of
fees were notified by telephone whsl
there was important news to be pro-
mulSated after midnight and reporter
would promptly answer the summons.
IN the early days of the war much IF
the most important information came
in the dead Of night and was either
given to the press at once or with
held to be placed on the bulletin board
the first thing in the morning. Eter-
nal vigilance was the price of the re-
porters' race for the news which they
gave 10 the public through The medium
OF the newspapers and they will never
forget the vigils which they kept night
and day on the White House portico.
in the corridors outside the door OF the
offices OF the secretary OF state and the
secretary Of the navy. in the room OF
the adjutant general of the army. N
the bureau Of navigation of the navy
department, and elsewhere throughout
the city where news was to be obtain
ed. They did it all cheerfully and
while they never complained the hard
ships that they suffered were in many
instances very serious.
The newspaper writers who went to
sea in the fleets with Sampson and
Schley. and those who followed Shafter
from Tampa on that nightmare cam
paign into Cuba underwent difficulties
that would have appeared Unsurmount-
able if anticipated. Their chief profess
sional troubles arose. however. from
their inability to forward their dis
| patches after they had been written. In
Washington. the greatest difficulty vas
borne in the necessity of first ferreting
out the news before preparing it for
! transmission to the newspapers. Cheer
ful testimony is given to the fact that
| the officials of the administration. in
spired. perhaps. by President McKin-
! ley's habit of taking the pubic into his
confidence as far as practicable treat
ed the newspaper men fairly and gen
crOusly. There is no complaint to be
made on that score, and yet matters Of
| great administrative policy were being
/ decided upon every day and every
night that it was important to the Off
Gals of the administration to keep Sc
I cret and which it was equally impor-
tant to the newspaper correspondents
to find out all about.
! They insisted. however. upon judging
for themselves after obtaining news,
whether It should or should not be pub
| lisheG. and that they used good judg-
ment is testified to by all fair minded
officials of the administration The
navy department succeeded fairly well
in concealing from the newspapers the
secret work of the war board and to
/ do so they took the utmost precaution.
| The board itself was working largely
in the dark in their long game Of hide
anG-seek with Cerveras fleet and 20
| have published the information coming
10 them from all over the world re-
gardins the movements Of the Spanish
/ and American ships wOuli have been
20 destroy utterly the value of their
strategic work. The newspaper men
| managed to follow the main plan Of the
war board quite closely. however. and
! il became necessary even before war
was declared, to issue d general order
prohibiting any officer, clerk. or en-
ploye, Of the navigation bureau from
giving out any information concerning
the movements Of ships. orders to OIL
GERS and other official business. This
did not suffice however. ard on May
u. the following order. unique in the
history OF the navy department was
issued:
Department Of the Navy. Bureau Of
Navigation Washington. d. c. May
IA. 1898.
by direction OF the secretary of the
nay. It is ordered that no person con-
nected with this bureau in any capac-
ijy shall have any converse ton what
ever upon subjects in any manner per-
tanning to the navy with representa-
tiyes Of the press. (Sigued)
a. :. CROWNINSHIELD.
Chief Of Bureau"
Later it became necessary to cease /
printing even in confidence the orders