The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-06-07

no carefully worked out censorship sys-
 tenn and the adequate control by the army governing the character and the qualifca- tions of the men sent to report It's move
 ments Besides the regularly accred- fted newspaper and press service repre- sentatives, there were. in every head quarters the free lance adventures and
 news tipsters. responsible to nobody. all ways a nuisance, and sometimes a men | ace to the men in the field. One command ing general was slapped on the face by a correspondent" who did not approve of his method of conducting a campaign Another journalist used the seat of war as the most effective sensational scene for his ''rescue' of a heroine from a papier- mache Spanish dungeon as an exclusive bit of heroism for his paper.
 There is no likelihood of things happen ing like this in Mexico. should the censor ship rules now in force be put to the test
 of war in that country These rules were worked out long before any war was contemplated. and have the approval of the army and the press. They were for mulated by army men and newspaper
 men. cooperating in a spirit of give and take, each group recognizing the rights and the difficulties of the other. The army knows and admits that the public has right to know what the troops are doing. The newspapers know and admit that there may be times when the affairs of the army cannot be made public with out danger to itself and aid to the ene- my That sums up all there is to any
 need of a censhorship at all. But every reputable newspaper in the country rec ognizes the fact that that is ample and Is willing to act accordingly
 Whatever the papers and their repre- sentatives in the field may lose in the way of liberty to do as they plea SC is moro than offset by the better standing the cor respondents will have with the army by the greater facilities there will be for transmitting reliable news over the wires and by the saving of the public from the distortion of facts for the sake of sensa- tons.
 Every correspondent must be an efff- cient, reputable working member of his profession, vouched for by his paper, and that voucehr must be backed by bond for $2000 which will be forfeited if the correspondent violates the rules of the censor or misbehaves in any other way. After that preliminary the correspondent must take the military oath of loyalty. and then he will get his pass, which en- titles him to all privileges of an officer or the army, including transportation. tent age, rations, medical care and the use of a horse.
 He must wear clothes of the regulation olive-drab and the army officers uni- form ana wear Wnlte arm DanQ With a
 red letter c to indicate his status at a
 glance to every man in the army. Fur
 thermore he must carry pass signed by the secretary of war and the general commanding the army in the field and
 also bearing his own signature and pho-
 tograph.
 Although the censorship is primarily in-
 tended to stop untrue or dangerous and
 unapproved matter from going to the
 press, it will be in force if need be.
 against every private letter, every photo-
 graphic plate or film. sent from within
 the lines of the army.
 The correspondent may carry a small
 hanad camera. but no professional photox-
 raphers or men with motfon-picture ma Official photographers belonging to the
 copies of their work will be sold No code
 gesting double meaning, will be allowed in any letter or dispatch. whether for the
 press or an individual. Should such
 words be found by the army officer acting
 as censor he will suppress the commu- nication altogether, no matter how harm
 less and innocent 1t may be, or let the
 would-be sender rewrite It. So if any
 homesick young lovers or middIe-ared dads find themselves following the United States flag into the Mexican country. let them be prepared to forego the usual indulgence of such in the use of code words of the heart and family firesjde and to send home their declaration of] affection and longing to get back in terms of the plainest English.
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