The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-09-01
JOURkAuSN|NNARHAES
When Balls are Flying Thickest
Columns are Brightest.
A SCARCITY OF PAPER

american IlVii war ESPECIALLY htCn
In Journalistic Enterprise--Dur-
ing Franco-P Prusslan War Besiea.
ed Towns Kept Their Presses
Merrlly Going.
Thcer are few things more eloquent
of the dauntless spirit of the Russians
Of Port Arthur than the fact that
through all the horrors and sufferings
of the siege they not only contrived to
publish their newspaper, but to make
its columns brighter than in days Of
peace.
This is in splendid keeping with the
traditions of war and sieges; for al
though circled by death, somehow or
other the buoyancy and vitality of the
press suffer no diminution Why, even
when Lucknow, defended by a hand
full of troops, was almost at its last
gasp and expecting all the indescrib.
able horrors of capture every hour, it
kept its newspaper going, although
II was no larger than sheet of note.
paper, and every line had to be writ
ten laboriously by hand, principally by
the brave wife of the chaplain.
Again, when Kandahar was besleg.
ed by the fierce Afghans the garrison.
amid all its anxieties and dangers,
found time to produce a newspaper
only small single sheet, it is true,
but well and brightly edited-which
did well in keeping up the spirits of
our gallant soldiers 1t was beauti-
fully Autographed sheet, full of in.
formation from the list of services in
camp and fort to the --latest intel.
ligence" of doings in Europe.
During the Franco-Prussian war
every besieged town kept its presses
merrily going though the shells were
shrieltiDg around the editorial Offices
and occasionally bursting uncomfort-
ably near the editorial chair.
Paris, Metz, Sedan and other be
| lcagucred towns had their special siege
| journals, and when the supply of pa.
! per ran short paper Of all descrip-
| tlons was enlisted in their service
| Packing paper. paper used for wrap
| ping groceries in, wall paper-papers
! of all colors and kinds were utilized
F, and one journal actually made its ap.
J pcGranco printed on wash leather.
! And while the presses of the be.
sieged Parisians were thus kept busy,
tho Germans outside their walls were
no less enthusiastic. In the German
army were many clever young artists,
Who volunteered their services, with
The result that the papers were full OF
beautiful and often most diverting
! pictures.
| Tho American Civil War was espo
| claily rich in journalistic enterprise
! in fsot. the newspaper seems to have
ilo"rished most where the bullets and
cc?ron balls were thickest. In Amer
ic1, ~ in France. the oldest materials
were used in producing the papers
| Daring the siege Of Richmond sheets
\ Gad tablecloths were cut up and fed
the printing presses; one enterpris
| ing journal which appeared in the use
ful form OF handl;crchiefs contained
spirited address to the Women OF
| the South" in which this bloodthirsty
passage occurs: "lf each handkerchief
| were boundlcss as the globes OK
parse, il would not serve to stancb
the Federal mudblood yet TO be shed
In fact, most of these journals of the
American Civil War breathed a sim
| liar spirit of vlndictiveness.
During the siege OF Charleston the
BLOCKADE Number Of the Charleston
| Caurlcr." which consisted of sheets ol
! canvas fastened at one corner by rec
ribbon, had on its front page the 6f
uro of sheeted skeleton holding 6
scythe and pointing with 1cshless
hand TO the words, WAR to the
| Death"
| Happily all war journals are not o
the grewsome. sanguinary type; In
fact, their usual tone Is one of the
cheeriest optimism and bright humor
| A splendid sample of this Cheerful
kind of battlefield journal is that pub
lished by Wellngton's soldiers during
the Peninsular campaign, which il
full of jokes and gayety, and even to
day makes more entertaining reading
than many professedly comic papers
During the worst horrors of Tho
Crlmea, when our men were dying by
thousands in the trenches and so
called hospitals, and when the icy
clutch of terrible Winter was a
| every mans throat, one of the very
brightest of all these war journals
made its appearance as regularly al
If II issued from Fleet street, Lon
don. And an equally bright iourna
was that produced by the small banC
of British soldiers shut in within thi
walls of Jelalabad sixty-three years
ago. one of the gayest and most pre-
quent contributors being the grea
soldier who, some years later, as Sll
Henry Havelock, was destined to LOSE
his life in the Indian mutiny,-Nov
Yori News.
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