The Sentinel=record. (Hot Springs, Ark.) 1900-current, 1914-08-30
STRICT CENSORSHIP HIDES WAR
FACTS AND WOUNDED ARE
CONCEALED
All Fare Better IN Country-Town
Crier Calls the Peasants and the
Mayor Reads Dispatches from the
Front.

either French or foreign. with the ar
mics, and the oniy available Informal
ton is that issued in carefully edited
bulletins by the war office. These
bulletins ordinarily say little by actu-
al operations They are concerned
mostly with accounts OF alleged Ger
man atrocities and laborious reas-
surances regarding the allies plans
and the ardor OF the allied soldiers.
The French public apparently is
getting tired of straining it's eyes
through clouds Of mystery toward
those who are on Che firing lines
where every family has one or more
members. Every one sympathizes
with the desire OF the military author
titles 10 conceal strategical secrets, but
there Is a growing feeling that the al
therities are extending secrecy 20
many phases of the war where secre
cy is unnecessary. II is characters
tic Of the French temperament that I'll
desires to know the truth at all costs
If the public restlessuess continues
to Increase at the present rate, the az
thorities viii probably soon seek
means of making innocent conces-
sons The ministry OF war has al.
ready announced lists of killed from
each district and these viii be posted
regularly IL the town hall of the dis
tritc 1t. has established system
whereby relatives may make a formal
inquiry at the town hall regarding any
soldier aud receive a definite answer
within few days. An official news
paper is printed regularly for distri-
LUTON In the armies. Another com
mendahIe measure provides that ell
official news must be telegraphed
daily to every village in France II IS
a fascinating sight in these isolated
rural communities to see gray head
ed town crier with drum or horn call
ing the peasants from SURROUNDING
fields to the town hail. where the may
or appearing on the front steps, reads
the latest dispatches
The authorities having in these var
ious ways shown their desire to light
en- the natiop's burden of suspense, it
IS difficult to understand why there Is
such apparent stealthiness with regard
to the distribution of the wounded to
the various hospitals. There are
plenty of wounded in the provincial
towns, but nobody seems to know
whether there are many in Paris. Pos
sibly the government fears that the
wounded in conversation with friends
might reveal important strategical
movements.
All these matters. and indeed, ev
cry branch OF the government are in
the hands of military men whose po-
litcaI experience is supposedly small
and whose sole aim is to beat the enc
my. However, as time goes on they
may find it possible to relax their
vigilance in some respects without
importing the main issue; they may
even decide that they would serve
their own best interests by allowing
some neutral newspaper men in tine
fieid whose unprejudiced observation
later would be valuable in corroborat-
| sing the French official reports.
In justice to the French, it must be.
said that they are more open minded
in this respect than the English. /
understand that England has request
s4 France to prohibit all war CORE
spondents from going to the trout,
From the foregoing considerations it
viii readily be seen how extremely
difficult it is TO keep the American
public accurately informed regarding
tie war.
AS nearly as can be Judged through
the mists of obscurity with which the.
conflict is surrounded the war is only
be- ginning To enter on its decisive
STAGE. II is announced that the failure
of the French advance into German
Lorraine was due to the stampede OF
one division OF the 18TH corps, when
enabled THE Germans TO break the
French ines and force a general re-
treat
Strategists however, have long con
sidered that French advance into
German Lorraine would be a danger
Gus and useless move unless aceoql-
panied by ah attack on Thionville,
above Metz, With view ultimately
10 isolate that fortress
The French having made no effort
to attack Thionvhic, their Lorraine
campaign looked ike case of putting
their head into the lions jaws, for the
Germans from their great bases at
Metz and Strassburg were able 10
quickly concentrate overwhelming
forces in this regics
Travellers from eastern and south.
eastern France report seeing many
trains loaded with wounded and prs-
oners. Miss Mabel Webster OF Chica
so. who has just arrived 81 Paris af-
ter three days trip from the Italian
lakes, says that all the passengers on.
her train were forced to descend from
il an Dole and were shut IN the sta