The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1904-04-20

Thoroughly. Freely btscussinR All
Possible Objections, and After
Brief Delay Mr.. stone Was Inforni-
ed That All OF His Suggestions Had
Been Approved and the Censorship
Abolished Forever.
Melville Il. Stone general manager
of the Associated Press, in an inter
view In the Chicago Post thus speaks
of his work in St Petersburg in secur-
ing the removal of the Russian censor
ship from American press dispatches:
"An early audience with Count Lams.
dorff, the Russian minister of foreign
affairs, was arranged, and, while he
was most cordial, he said the whole
matter belonged in the department of
NJ. Plehve, the minister of the interior.
4 am acquainted with your wishes,
said Count LamsdorT, and you may
trust me TO do anything in my power
10 further the matter. Only yesterday
| forwarded the report of our agent
upon his interview with you to Minis
ter Plehve, with my earnest recon-
mendation that we meet your views
OF course, this was encouraging, but
when had talked with NJ. Plehve l
was less confident. He was courteous,
but he is n man having upon his shoul-
ders the entire responsibility for the
internal order of the empire, and be-
fore taking any radical steps he must
look carefully into the business. So
about all he could say was that he
would take the matter under advise
ment and see what could be done.
IL asked four things:
"First-A press rate
Second. for our tele-
grams.
"Third.-An open door, so far as the
government offices were concerned, so
that our correspondents would be well
coined and given the news.
"Fourth.-The abolition of the cen
sorship so far as it applied to us.
IN. Plehve suggested that l see NJ.
Dournovo, the minister of telegraphs,
and he arranged the interview. AS a
result the first two of my suggestions
were granted Immediately NJ. Dour-
novo said he was powerless to stop a
government telegram for us, as is done
in France, but he gave an order that
our dispatches should follow govern
ment kilograms and precede all others.
And he assured me that under all or
h dinary conditions this meant that we
koSuld be sure of receiving a news dis
tch from Port Arthur or Vladlvostok
VN 6<the Transsiberian lines within an
ar j am happy to say that his judg-
ment has been fully borne out in ex-
perience.
''Then, without solicitation on my
part or that of Mr.. Mccormick, our am
bassador, was commanded to a
private audience of the emperor at the
Winter palace. This lasted about an
hour. The emperor went into the sub
ject with great earnestness, asking
many questions and discussing freely
all possible objections. My wishes as
to rates and precedence having already
beap met by Minister Plehve, there
only remained for consideration some
arrangement for enabling us to get the
news and the abolition of the censor
ship. I was very promptly assured
that directions would be given to all
of the ministries, the war and navy
departments, the foreign Office, etc,
to welcome our men and to give them
all of the information possible.
And as to the censorship-which,
after all, was the vital thing-under
the then existing order a correspond
ent, after the most soul trying labor to
secure a piece of news, was forced to
drive two miles to the censor's house
to have the stamp of authorization
affixed and thence another two miles
to the telegraph Office. 1t frequently
happened that the censor was not at
his house, as he had other government
duties to perform, and quite likely he
was in bed and asleep and could not
be reached between midnight and 8
O'Clock in the morning, the very hours
that, owing to the seven hours differ
ence In time, were most important for
the morning papers Of the United
States. Then, too, although Mr.. Lam
scott, the responsible censor, was a
most intelligent and most obliging per-
must always be mindful of the criti-
cisms that would follow any error of
judgment he might be guilty of. 1t
was, therefore, only natural that he
should refuse to pass anything which
any one above him in authority might,
by any possibility, construe as doubt
full. Without any disposition on his
part to be ungenerous, his duty be-
kame, out of the very necessities Of the
case, one Of suppression rather than
censorship.
II submitted these facts to the en-
peror and urged that, notwithstand-
ing all of this effort, the censorship
was not alone ineffective, but really
hurtful to Russia. 1t was ineffective
for the reason that no power could
prevent a correspondent from writing
whatever he chose and sending 1t
across the border to a German tele-
graph Office, whence it would go In
full. The most, therefore, that the