St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1900-02-21
A PLEA FOR THE BoERs.

We are permitted to print a private
latter written to st. Johnsbury friend |
mon the South African side of the pres
.n+ war. The writer is Charles E Rus
cell graduate of the Academy in 1881,
,rho now holds responsible position on
+be New York Journal. While the letter
was not written for publication it has
al, the vigor and strength of Mr. Rus
sels newspaper work and his old friends
N the Academy will be reminded of his
discussions OF public affairs while he was
q student here. Mr.. Russell writes as
follows;
One great difficulty about the South
African question, so far as the American
nnhl;c is concerned, lies in this, that all,
~ practically all, information furnished
70 rs about it, comes from English news
naners, and have no acquaintance with
nress so untrustwoIthy. | am
speaking deliberately and dispassion-
atelv when l say that the most reek-
less and sensational newspaper in Amer
;ca is almost truthful when compared
with any London daily, writing of or
dealing with subject in which it is for
the interest, or supposed interest, of Eng
land that the apparent record shall take
a certain tinge. | will give you two
Illustrations of which | have personal
knowledge. The first is that huge his
torical falsehood about the continental
coalition against the United States in
1898 and the intervention of Great
britain in our behalf | had that sifted
IN its foundation, and there was never
any coalition, nor any thought, dream
or chance of any coalition. Great Britain
did no more in our behalf in 1898 than
Siam did and not one-tenth as much as
Brazil did. Great Britain's part in the
Spanish-American war consisted OF lead
ing and being the spokesman of party
offoreign diplomats that called at the
White House early in April to ask Presi-
dent Mckinley to avoid the war and in
holding up the torpedo boat Somers aud
Cruiser Albany (then un6nished.) The
story of the coalition and British inter-
vention was the fabrication of London
newspaper. 1t was a lie, known to be a
lie, and repeated as lie by the English
press that repeated it and strove, as it
still strives, to hammer it into place in
accepted history.
The other illustration refers to the
monstrous campaign Of Islander, misrep-
resentation, distortion and invention
that the English press carried on con-
corning the Dreyfus case. All of the in
formation we ever had on this subject
came through the English papers. l
know that great part of it was wholly
wrong; believe that all of it was wrong.
| was in Paris last summer at a time
when according to the London press the
city was seething with incipient revolu-
ton. | have never seen a great city so
quiet, so seltpossessed, so good-natured,
and so remote from any excitement.
have walked in the evening in the Rue
h ROYAL and the next day have read in
London papers how riots went on that
night in the very street that | found to
N be so quiet and even lifeless. During the
N time was in Paris there was not rip
ole of concern anywhere. Yet the Eng
lish press daily saw the overthrow of the
Republic close at hand and the return o.
ROYALTY. Wien | reached home / found
NJ that this country had been flooded with
n these preposterous fakes and all my
n friends believed that rioting went or
+ every night and day in city where,
81 pledge you my word, there was no more
NJ chance for revolution than there is il
n Greenwood cemetery. Yet all the Eng
4 sh-reading world was convinced to thu
n contrary, just as it was convinced tina
n France had done an act of Infamous in
Il justice in the case OF Dreyfus-both idea
Il being the product of the same vile pot O
English journalism. Some day hope t,
tell you more about the Dreyfus case
which feel is thoroughly misunderstood,
in this country, but now | want to tel
you about South Africa
lust as the London newspapers lie
about the coalition and lied about Pari
and Dretyus they have lied about Sout
Africa and the Beers, only far more ii
n dustrlously and persistently. For year
It has been the purpose OF Cecil Rhodes
~ Chamberlain and the other rufians c
the chartered company to make the Doe
II deteSted in the eyes of the world so tina
when the time came for the great grab c
n the Boer territory to which Rhodes an
W Chamberlain have looked forward sine
1880 they might appear justified, pal
n tlcuIarly to the American public, who's
M moral condemnation they particular
n desired to avoid. A general outcry frot
this country would at any time hay
prevented the spoilation. because
would instantly have aroused that "noT
conformlst conscience" which men lil
Chamberlain have most to fear.
have studied the South African ma
Ter since Jameson's raid to the presef
hour. | havehad it almost daily in min
Tor very peculiar reasons, not wort
gong into here. My reading has exten'
ed from Douglas Campbell's magni6cer
NE work The Puritan in England, Hollan
and America" to the last diatribe in til
mornings Tribune. have talked wit
E7;tngshmen in England, with returnt
Ditlanders, with Jameson raiders, wit
Dutchmen and Americans that have bee
IN the Transvaal, with our own mt
sent there to make absolutely imparti
Investigations. The whole course of Il
trouble from the Jameson raid to t
nights war office bulletin has past und
my eyes and great part of it direct
unuet my supervision, so far as public
Lon In this newspaper is concerned.
nave cehntey made up my mind th
Tue justice of the cause of the Beers is Il
stronger than was the justice of the eau
OF the revolted North American colonis
ana that results to mankind no less m
.nentous Tor good hang upon their v
.1ly than depended upon the success
nc declaration OF Independence.
am going to take up enough Of 20