The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-10-19

reaching the enemy if 1t reached him at fitness. Nowadays. the news could be sent from the battlefield to London in d couple of hours and be in the hands of the enemy the same day
 "Tfe change began to be felt in the Russo- Japanese war. But even then those of us who went with the first army saw something of the fighting. In the present war the system of cen sorship seems to have been improved to marvellous degree. To my own Knowledge, not single correspondent has yet seen even the tag end of an actual fight. All the news we have had Is obtained sec9nd hand from wounded or troops cut orr from tho main forces.
 '4 fully realize the unique opportunity
 I am to have. I believe, when the au-
 thorities are prepared. we will be per mitted to sec something of the real fight
 ing, and will be permitted to send our own version without interference by the censor. Of course I think correspond ent with an army should be sympathetic, because it Is too much to expect that the authorities would work amicably with man who is not. If I do see some
 thing of the actual fighting I shall of course be the only American newspaper man to see anything of the greatest war of all times. It will be wonderful ex-
 perience."
 By a happy coincidence. Palmer's re- gently published novel. "The Last Shot.
 deals with war on the very ground where
 the allies are now fighting, and is at trscting no little attention here. Each of his other war experiences has resulted
 in a book about it. and no doubt this one will, too; but the days when war correspondents newspaper material, hast
 il, rewritten, had good sale in book
 form, have passed. and Palmers rare
 chance probably will not be put to any
 such ephemeral use.
 The difficulties placed by the British
 censor fin the way of American corre-
 spondents in London probably will be
 considerably frightened as the result or the little luncheon given by st, Loe Strachey, editor Of The Spectator. to the principal American correspondents here' to meet the prime minister. That gave them all chance to pour their woes into MT. Asquith's sympathetic ear. m a fellow sufferer" he said, with twinkle in his eye, for my own Guildhail speech seems to have been suppressed In parts iu the American cables as being dan- gerous.' " One correspondent told how lis dispatches had been sent back "A hours later on the ground that ne had put printers marks in them which the censor couldn't understand. Another told how his office had been raided by inspec- tors from Scotland Yard on the ground that some of his matter sent out by mall to American papers had not beer fin accordance with the censors views and all the articles in his office, in read 1 iness to send ont, had been held up fol 4s hours; and others told other sad. sim l liar tales. One correspondent said frank | ly that he would have been fired fl another week because of the inadequac, of his news service If 1t hadn't happened by good luck that the proprietor of hi paper turned up in London and saw fo himself what the difficulties were.
 "Weli,' said MT Asquith, 'I can't rnak any promises. I'm here just as a vast ba ak et--or no, maybe not waste bas ket, but let us say just basket-int'
 which complaints can be dropped.'' Bu conditions have improved somewhat iron | that moment It Is only fair to ado l that even when censorship conditions at the beginning of the war were mos severe, there was never the slightest at l tempt to distort the news. or to color 1t l The only source of complaint was tha 1 the view of what would be useful to th' enemy was unnecessarily strict and tha