Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1900-07-27

republics.
Yet Davis's experience was not in the
slightest degree unique. 1t is a most re-
markable circumstance that no English or
American soldier or civilian of character
has come in close contact with the Beers
and experienced their treatment at first
hand for any length of time and has had
aught but praise for their conduct. 1t is
of record that the English wounded in
the hands of the Beers received the ten
derest of treatment, and that the prison
ers received the same fare and better
lodging than the Boer soldiers. 1t was
noted with amazement that the English
prisoners at Pretoria were allowed to
draw books from the public library,
and that the officers were provided with
a piano. tennis court and fine gymnasium.
Winston Churchill. son of Lady Ran
dolph Churchill. who himself was for a
time a prisoner at Petoria, describes the
unusual liberties allowed English prison
ers-liberties of which he took advantage
to make his escape.
At the beginning of the war, Poultney
Bigelow, the war correspondent, who at
the time of the Jameson raid had made a
trip overland through the T%ransvaal and
had visited the bOer farmers in their
hom6s, retold the story of that trip and
of the uniform kindness and hospitality
with which he was received when every
English-speaking person might eason
bly, have been treated with suspicion and
GOODNESS. He told of the cleanliness of
the farm. houses, of the simple whole
someness of the fare, of the GOd-fearing
lives led by the peOple-pictures that in
every detail would describe our Puritan
forefathers. Yet during the whole war
the English dispatches have been full Of
assertions and innuendo calculated to
spread the belief that the Beers were a
filthy. semi-civilized people. who knew
and practiced none of the amenities of
civilized warfare. And TO the shame of
American journalism be it said, no less a
name thar that of Julian Ralph-a name
which never before was smirched with the
charge of Misrepresentation appended
to such SANDERS as these. That Ralph has
gone outside of what heretofore has been
his invariable rule of never making an
assertion that he did not know to be true
of his personal knowledge. is susceptible
of proof from the fact that at no time
? from his landing until the time of the
[ accident that sent him home, was he out
: side the lines of the British forces in
r South Africa. and he saw nothing of Boer
, life unless among the few Boer prisoners
held by the English.
But most remarkable of all is the icon
= version" of Richard Harding Davis. If
: ever there was a newspaper correspond.
ent whom readers had reason to believe
would toady to the English, Davis is tht
man. No more inveterate t%uft-huntel
than he has appeared in American Jour
= nalism for many a long year. An arts
tocrat by birth and breeding, it was rea
sonabls to suppose that his sympathie:
5 would 20 out to the land of titled arts
j tocracy. Readers who knew Davis werC
u not disappointed, therefore, when glow
} ing tales of British deeds of valOr begaI
' to appeal In the newspapers II maya
"A zines over the name of Richard Harding
l. Davis. They were expected. But afte
r the relief of Ladysmith and when it wa.
announced that Butler would remain
Il there a month or so, Davis decided t.
Join Roberts's advancing column. Rob
erts, however, had reached BlOemfOn
IL tein and announced that he would stOl
there for six weeks or more. So Davi
determined 70 go around to Pretoria b,
way of Lorenzo Marques and view tn
d war from the BOer side. His syndicat
u letters from Petoria, dated during April
ie have appeared during the past W weeks
lie The result of his contact with the BOer
~ in their homes is that which is to b
ii noted in every person of intelligence an
~ honesty who has gone, voluntarily o
involuntarily, among the people of tn
little republics. His praise of their mod
II GRAFTON, their fortitude, their sympath.
g. for the British lead and wounded, thei
IS observation-disclosures to the bravery an
I'd character of their opponents, lis III
~ stinted. His condemnation of tn
| English cause is equally unstinted. Iii
q contrast of Boer and British methods G
- warfare and of the attitude of the tw
ne peoples is based upon personal know
edge; and certainly his knowledge c
n Great Brltain's position is not limited
a lie compares the British attitude to this
of a bully who, knowing his cause fC
of attack to be baseless, attempts to bolste
~ it up by calling names and attributing t
- his victim everything that is vile.
That is a good comparison.
The Sea Serpent in Politics,
Northheld News.