New-York tribune., 1900-07-29

London
ing with Observation-Disclosures on the whim or
unknown Gar in khaki
UNCENsORED CORRESPONDENTS
While thousands OF soIdiers-oficers and Tom
mes-were sending loose gossip and impress
sions in carelessIy composed uncensOred letters,
our careful reports were scrutiHized IL the
fate of the Empire hung upon the result We
we're made to feel again like little schooIboys
in the presence Of their master. have even
had my style and choice Of words complained
Of by man VINO had neither the ability nor
the right to pass upon either
You must not use the word retreat % he sad
20 me- no matter whether We did retreat
we were checked What is this phrase. We
fell into the BOeT trap on, trap won't DO
cannot pass il Why do you say there we're
1000 Beers The general agreement IS that
there We're $1,000 CIn this case $500 Beers was
the actual number. as We subsequently learnedJ
Why, / am surprised thaL you snpu!d nane IN
this dispatch complaining Of the field postOftce-
/ will not let a word Of 10 go. The field post
office is doing excellent work. You say your
Daily Mails are stolen and you do not get
YOUR letters All The officers you know are
complaining, ani-yCu say the clerks themselves
say that everything is muddl=d down the hn-t
That is very extraordinary / have nothing 10
complain Of 1 am sDrry. but / shall not pass
this message. on. come in, Mr. ---. / see sou
nave charged the Beers with firing on our
balances You must strike that OUT We can
not pass such attacks on gallant and honor
able enemy
\ CORRESPONDENT UITINATUM
one correspondent with a certain army had 50
ingratiated himself with the general and staff
that he was allowed 10 go h-tEer and -lIth-r %
see battles under other, nearby commanders
while the rest of The correspondents were
obliged 10 lie faII0w IN camp. one day i heard
maj ,hfs TOO favored correspondent was about
% enjoy himself again at our expense went
To the censor. Please give me pass % go
on the raid that is about 20 be made % the
Il am afraid I cannot the censor replied.
Then give me pass TO go to England I
said.
what do you mean? You cannot be in
earnest"
Office and sent here 10 report what goes on II
/ I cannot 90 this please pass me home I am
sorry to have reached this juncture but am
clear in my mind. must have a pass Iof the
raid pass 70 go home
II is only fair 70 say that the kindly and
courteous gentleman who acted as censor WheEe
| this took place greatly shocked by this
startling outbreak He took time 10 consider
my request. and in that time came 70 realize
/ that I had right and reason on my side pc
Iieve that ne then obtained his first correct view
I OF his own duties and of the position OF CORE
! spondent. He was defective as a censor, but as
/ a man and gentleman Other CORRESPONDENTS
besides myself think Of him with high respect
/ In many columns could not convey. by in
stance and anecdOte. a just idea OF the eccen-
/ tricities and bIUndeTs by which some censors
/ hampered and misUsed the public.
| Once | obtained an early view OF pT0clama-
tion b5- Lord Roberts and copied it TO cable II
home. The censor threw il out because the
| other correspondents had not yet come along
with it. Soon afterward was first again with
another piece of news
7 cannot pass it," the censor said
\
''Oh. yes he replied. but the others must all
get II before il can GO
/ In my other relations with him ] found him
the most just Intelligent and well disposed =
all the censorS I had dealt with, but he had only
a faint conception OF the aims and requirements
of modern journalism The above two decisions
rendered enterprise and liberal expenditure i'm
potent. brought the greatest newspapers on
level with the humbleSt, and made the reporter
for any single association capable Of supplying
the whole world with all the news
AN UNPLEASANT INCIDENT
Then there was the case OF one censor at
Cape Town who. whenever a beat (aS news
paper men call item Of n-Ws which has
been obtained exclusively by ne cOrrespondenu
il to his hotel to show 10 some correspondents
who stopped there. If these gentlemen saw by
the character Of the intelligence and the repu-
tation of the writer that the news was reliable.
they TeTrOte it and handed il 10 the same censor
next day.
All yes ne would say. I've heard Of this
before. Why. some handed il in yesterday.
but I did not believe it-hadn't heard of il, YOU
know He had destroyed The original, but he
passed" the thefts-
At last came Lord Roberts. who struck most
of the shaCkleS from our arms He gave Us
every facility and enCOuraEement in our work.
dined With the leading members of the corps,
and appointed four Of US 10 manage the daily
newspaper. The Friend" which ne established.
and which must Vet 20 he regarded as the
vehicle of broader view of the value and
position of the press than any general in action
it to us To speak for him the army and Great
SrIta nd md IN 2