Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-11-30
Reasons for Censorship.

pressequartier."
Reasons for Censorship.
| It is claimed that the newspaper In
| stinct is so well developed in some
| correspondents that even the POSSIBLE
| ity of making the tasks of the military
and civil governments of their country
! more difficult would not prevent the
| native correspondents from overstep-
| ping the bounds of prudence. Hence
| the censorship and the military press
department.
| But even a cursory survey of the
| Austro-Hungary military press depart
| ment shows that those intrusted with
it's management are not unreasona BILE.
| At meeting of a small number of cor
respondents at headquarters this morn
| ing it was plainly evident that the Of
| ffcers were concerned with no more
| than the prudent, conservative and IN
| telligent handling of the news. There
We're some who wished to rush into
print" on a military matter not yet
| fully developed or, possibly, even de-
cided. The correspondents had learned
the officer in charge of the press de-
partment admitted that it all was
very true. but insisted that half a
story was story and that the facts
known might create an impression al
together different from what was &C
tually the case. So the matter was
dropped with the understanding that
as soon all necessary details were
known every one would have permits
sion to write as much as he wished.
Needless to say, by that time the in
formation will be of no Importance to
the man on the other side.
Spirit of the Army.
The spirit of the Austro-Hungarian
forces is excellent. Officers and men
who come to this point speak of the
situation as highly satisfactory. By
now even the veriest private seems>to
have learned that losing ground is not
always calamity. and that. as has
been already demonstrated, the strate-
gica1 retreat is of necessity an attend
ing phase of the position" fighting of
which there has been so much in both
the eastern and western battlefields.
Meanwhile better weather has set in
in Galicia. For the last two weeks the
1eaden sky has shown large riffs
through which peeps with increasing
frequency sun that seems oddly i'm
potent, but which at least is the prom
Use that there will be no more rain that
day. Now the rivers are low, the fields
comparatively dry and the roads are
once more passable, made SO largely by
the army engineers. who have not been
found lacking in efficiency. During the
first stages of the war, the army wheel
transportation cut deep into the sur
face of the roads and the many hoofs
converted them into quiclmires. Now,
and with no rain to keep the foundation
soft, it is possible again to move about
with ease, and, what is more important,
good speed.
The better weather has also been a
boon for the troops and their animals.
1t is said here to be easier to guard
against the discomforts of cold than
against those brought on by wet
weather. Moreover, the fall rains in
Galicia and Poland are attended by a
very low temperature. SO low, in fact,
that the higher elevations of the Car
pathian mountains are covered with
snow, though none of them exceeds
1000 feet in altitude and most of them
are much lower.
War Loses Quality of Novelty.
A trip from Vienna to the Galician
front is not as exciting, or even inter-
esting, as one might think. The war
has lasted long enough here to have
lost the quality of novelty. Every
where one sees signs of confidence In
the larger and smaller cities building
operations are going on; husky peas
ants, men and women alike, pillow the
field or harvest the sugar beet, potato
or other late crops, and the active rail-
road traffic is only in part of a military
charact
Almost the only reminder of war is an
occasional Red Cross train. going to or
returning from the front. There is.
however, rather lively military pas
senger traffic on the regular trains. and
one notices that all bridges, tunnels
and stations are guarded by soldiers.
This is the case throughout the parts
of Austria and Hungary which are
traversed on the way to the Ga1icia
front In upper Hungary one sees large
droves of cattle, however-large, fat
beef stock-intended to feed the men
in the trenches.
Roundup Proceeds Leisurely.
Quite leisurely these "round-ups" go
through the Waag and Arva valleys,
toward the Galician border, following
highways that wind in and out the
hills and mountains. Now and then,
too. one meets small groups of stolid
and massively built Hungarian peas
ants in charge of a man in uniform
recruits of an army which may be said
to be still in the process of mobiliza-
ton.