Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1905-10-14
CORRESPONDENTS IN THE CIV WAR
The Censor Was Unknown and the War
Reporter Almost Universally Trusted.

The Censor Was Unknown and the War
Reporter Almost Universally Trusted.
81 do not recall hearing the word
censor used in the Army OF the Po-
tomac" said Major S. G. Brock, who
served on the STATS of General Howell,
General Foster and General Terry In
the Civil War. "There were always
lot of correspondents around head
quarters, but they were given absolute
liberty of action, with one exception.
There was an English writer with us
who sent his matter in to the London
Times. This gentleman seemed to be
dissatisfied with the way the war was
conducted OH the Union side, and sent
out some very exaggerated and unfair
reports. When his paper came over
here these articles were copied by the
American press, and fell into the hands
of the American commanders. Mr..
Engllshman was then courteously in
vited to move out, and he did so.
"The American correspondents, how
ever, were almost universally trusted.
| have seen them come into the Gen
erals office and voluntarily tender
their manuscript Tor Inspection.
Thought I'd let you see how l
handled that "little affair" Of yester-
day, General they would say. I'D
take it as a favor If you'd correct any
misstatement of facts
"When secret movement was III
progress there was 10 need to caution
the boys OF the press. They were
patriotic and appreciated the value Of
discretion as highly as the soldiers.
There were no yellow journals h those
days, and while the correspondents
were as ready and anxious to print
the news as reporters are now, they
were not given to eXaggeration and
high-sounding phrases The bald truth
was vivid enough. The correspondents
contracted the soldier habit Of direct,
terse language. That was just what
| the people of America wanted. The
public mind was so wrought up that
so-called fine writing or an attempt
to make bad worse for the sake of
sensationalism would not have been
| tolerated.
"The soldiers liked the correspond
ents. From their work in the papers
they first learned of the results of the
moves they had been engaged in. The
soldier who bore the brunt of the firing
line was often ignorant of what his
courage had accomplished until he read
about it in the papers. You see, the
front was often ten miles long, and
there was no means of knowing what
was going on all along it except as
gathered from the press reports. OF
course, the correspondents rode up and
down the line, interviewed the com,
manders, viewed the field from all po'
sitions, and obtained information I'M
possible to the soldier. l have seen
a particularly patriotic newspaper man
become so enthused over a battle that
he would seize a musket and take :
hand in the scrimmage. That sort
man, you could well imagine
wouldn't need a press censor.
st was the respect engendered by
these intelligent nress uoriIoFS- of the
COS that led me into newspaper work
at the close Of the war. l don't know
what sort of things would happen now
adays If the United States should Big
drawn into a great war, but I feat
these new varieties of self-rlghteouf
journals that have since grown up il
the large cities of the East w0ul(
hardly send to the front the same
stamp of correspondents that shared
trouble with the Army of the Pc
tomac."- Macon (Mo) Correspondence
Kansas City Star.