The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-06-07
A POST OF DANGER.
War Correspondents Take Risks and
Need Courage.

Boston Transcript.
The information that twenty-one war cor
respondents have lost their lives so far in
the South African campaign from wounds
and from disease is not surprising. Taking
into account the brevity of the campaign
and the smaller number of correspondents
with the army, the mortality among jour
nalistS In our Cuban war was fully as
great. The test in Africa, however, must
be quite as hard the one In Cuba
Where the men in Cuba had yellow fever
to fight. the South African men have had
typhoid; and the number of hot little en-
gagements which the correspondents, quite
naturally, are bound to get into has been
great in Africa. One man who has had a
good chance to compare the risks Of the
two expeditions has just been dangerously
wounded at Vryburg-Mr. c. E. Hands, of
the London Daily Mail, who accompanied
Mahons dash for the relief of Mafeking,
and managed TO get shot on the eve of
the success of the expedition. Mr.. Hands,
who had already quite distinguished him.
self in this South African campaign, was a
member of the principal newspaper mess
at Tampa and in Cuba. He is wiry, lively,
aggressive little Englshman, individual
enough to be very much liked by some
people and bitterly hated by others He
went everywhere, saw everything and filled
Trilby's definition of mice, clean English
man. to a sufficient extent to be ready to
fight bleed and die for bath. He was a
natural humorist, which is a good quality
in a correspondent. He had a high-pitched
insistent voice, and has an animated in
terrogation point He had, however, other
journalistic virtues besides disposition to
find out about things. Correspondents in
the field are more dependent, perhaps. than
any other sort of workers on the virtues
of honesty, truthfulness and personal 10y
atty. Men who are deficient in these quail
tiles quickly become hated and despised by
their fellows, and often cut off from OPP
portunities. Hands was not deficient in
any one Of them, and for that reason
found his fellows serviceable. I should
judge from his success and prominence in
South Africa that he had shown the same
qualities in South Africa.
In military camraign. indeed. the OPP
portunities of a correspondent depend more
on his personal qualities than they do on
his ability or previous reputation. Much is
dependent on the favor and confidence of
ofhcers AS rule military officers do not
at all dislike to have a newspaper corre-
spondent or two with them. He generally
knows something Of what is going on out
side the particular headquarters with which
he is connected, and his knowledge and
gossip are welcome. He has an opportu-
nifty, in his coming and going, to be service
able. If he is good fellow, and possesses
fund of fresh stories. so much the better.
III he Is personally disagreeable. or cannot
be depended upon to keep secret, he will
simply not be tolerated at any headquar-
tiers. Any reputation which he may have
had, unless Ii has had the effect to intro
duce him particularly to military men, is
not of the smallest use to him now. for the
general information" of army officers is
not commonly wide, and they very likely
have not heard of his little fame, whatever
IL may be. On the other hand. they are
quick to estimate a mans qualities as q
man and brother. and experience has
made them good judges of human nature
Let them once admit a man to their conf
dence. and his position in a regiment or at
the headquarters of general officer are
every whit as good as that of a man in his
own club. Correspondents in such posi-
ton are subjected to no humiliation, and
certainly not treated as spies or intruders:
the most momentous military secrets are
sometimes placed I'm their keeping. This
confidence. indeed. may be embarrassing to
the correspondent, for what shall it profit
him IL he knows everything and can tell
nothing?