The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-06-10
THE WAR NEWS

Even newspaper man, CndSTlHeu
by the failure of his order to do its
own work, cannot escape a sense of
amusement as he reads the daily dis
patches from the seat of war in the
East. The greatest newspapers of the
world are represented there. They are
spending fortunes daily to get at the
facts. They have engaged the ablest
and most resourceful correspondents
that modern journalism has discovered
or developed. Not device is neg
Iected, not a dollar is grudged that will
bring quick, accurate, comprehensive
accounts of events in the Russo Japan
csc war to the outside world The net re-
suit of it all is failure. There is not a
newspaper anywhere in the world that
has been able from the beginning to
secure any war news until many days
or weeks after the event, and until all
had become so stale that neither power
objected to its transmission.
Examine the crop of a single day.
We find in the latest dispatches these
statements, all drawn from reputable
sources, all transferred to and printed
by journals that have a reputation the
world over for enterprise and for ac-
curacy: 1.-The fall of Port Arthur is
Imminent" THE Chinese are leaving
Port Arthur" Reports of the latest
arrivals are that battle has been rag
ing for four days within ten miles of
Port Arthur" "A Russian brigade is
marching in the direction of Port Ar
thur" "All the Russian soldiers have
left Port Arthur" "All the forts of
Port Arthur have been demolished"
''The Vladivostok squadron has effect
ed a junction with the Port Arthur
fleet" "A naval battle has taken place
and the Japanese lost four large ships"
only three large ships and some small
ones remain in the Port Arthur har-
bor." THE Japanese have made sew
eral sustained and stubborn attacks on
Port Arthur by land and sea-
There is just one news report which
explains all these statements that alb
solutely contradict and qualify one
another. This is the following: "The
sudden interruption of a cable between
Korea and Japan is regarded as sig
nifcant of the imminence of important
operations at Port Arthur, Japan hav-
ing taken the precaution, as usual, to
cut the only means Of communication
with the outside world, and thus en-
able their naval and military forces to
work with absolute secrecy"
That tells the story of Japanese
methods and Japanese success. There
never was war in recent times
like this in respect to the secre-
cy of strategems and movement.
The Japanese are able to keep their
own counsel, and they do it. Down to
the cOmmonest laborer their mouths
are closed on the subject of war news.
They have a press censorship that
censors. Consequently, all the money
and all the enterprise and all the re-
sources and all the representatives of
all the newspapers of New York and
London and all the other capitals of
the world have not been able for one
instant to break the news blockade.
1t has been known for DAYS that
something was happening at Port Ar
thur Nothing else has been known.
Although this is seaport and there
fore more accessible to the corre-
spondent than any points within mill
tary lines, no news came out. Hence
these infinitely various surmises. all of
which are mere guesswork However
irritating it may be from journalistic
point of view, we must congratulate
Japan on her effectual suppression of
that publicity which is as destructive
in war as it is helpful and necessary
in peace.