The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-11-21
CENSORS KIND
TO Widest
WAR RUMORS
European Press Is Filled
With Extrayagant
Stories.
no CAPITAL EXEMPT
FROM FALSE NEWS

glance in retrospect at the foreign
newspapers shows how Imagination has
free play in the daily Elist of war news.
Possibly the censorins of dispatches is re-
sponsible for the rumors that have largely
taken the place of verified Information.
It may be that the censors have smiled
sardonicaly at the efforts of writers un-
able 20 get at the truth TO All in with the
. most thrilling material at hand.
After a survey of the rumors published
since the outbreak of the war the reader
will ask how Il came that they were no;
corrected by the Government officials who
are supposed TO have had supervision OF
all cable news Rumors extracted from
German. French. Italian and English
newspapers received In New York do not
show any exception to the rule. which has
been marked in the case Of American
, newspapers so severely hampcred by the
ccnsors. They illustrate the fact that
despite the much shorter distances
between the European capitals and the
comparatively easier communications Eu-
ropean newspapers have bcNn "in the
dark" to a much greater extent than the
American press.
The Bcrlinor TdScbidu of August 81
had what Is called beat" news item
which none OF its competitors had The
item follows
Our Vienna correspondent says no
hears that Mrs. Wilson. wife Of the
President " the United States. died on
August :. Official confirmation OF this
nh ~A
circles In Berlin, could not he obtained
last night on account Of the late hour"
On the same day German papers pub
lished a report that Gems. Won Emmich.
Won Demling and Won der Marwitz had
been wounded or captured
Heard of Great Revolt.
A great rebellion in Russian Cauca s,a
was reported throughout Germany during
the hrst part Of August. Core spond dents
IN Turkey Of German papers reported that
this "frightful revolution against the
Czar was assuming tremendous proper
tons. that the rebels had blown up !.
bridge over the River Araxes. thus cut
ting off all connection between Russia and
Persia. Russian troops were said to be
fleeing over the border into Turkey and
III. price Of food had quadrupled.
The fact that the Imperial Chancellor.
~
panied the Kaiser to the front was SUP
pressed by the Government until "A Ber-
lin paper published the news. adding n
word ~ protest against its suppression
The Government then came in for some
criticism at the hands OF the press. and
finally an official statement was given
out telling of the Chancellor's trim
Considerable sensation was caused by a
report in the Borliner Tdgebidt OF August
~ that a French carrier pigeon caught
In Andornach carried data concerning the
movements of German troops in Wurttern-
berg and Baden. The paper added that
French carrier plgeor stations" we're
scattered throughout Germany and asked
that any Information concerning them
he forwarded to general Headquarters
The report was later found to he with
out foundation.
1.-Two Russian Cruisers Blown IN nv
Russian Mines" was headline in Ger
man papers on August 81 It was re-
ported that the Petropavlovsk and the
Rjurlck had been sunk by Russian ex
plosives OFF Rcval
That Cen VENDOR military commander
~ Petrograd had been hanged for es-
ponage was another oft repeated rumor
printed in German papers during the first
month of the war.
"Panic In berlin"
me
Temps OF Paris printed a story on Au-
gust 20 saying that all public places in
Berlin had been closed that the CITY.
populace, fearing a Russian invasion, was
In panic: that all electric lights except-
ing those in Friedrichstrasse had hoen
ordered extinguished that the German
capital at night was in complete dark
ness. and that the city was completely
cut off from communication with the res,
of Europe.
The Kaiser is nov a journalist and
supervises the publication OF all news
shaping 1t so as to please him." the story
concluded.
On the same day the Paris edition NJ
the New York Herald announced that the
German Government had prevented the
American Ambassador to Germany Mr.
Gerard, from being in telegrsphic corn
municatio1 with his Government The
news was accompanied by an editorial
assaillng the Kaiser for this alleged order
which had never been issued
Newspapers in Stockholm Sweden
printed a weird story of a collision on
August 81 between two Russian torpedc
boat destroyers and four destroyers OF tine
same fotilla. off Helsngfors. The com.
mandant or Sweaborg. the story had H.
committed suicide upon learning OF the
disaster, which later proved a myth
More than 10000 men and Nifty guns
captured between Metz and the Vosges'
was the way the German newspapers re.
ported a victory over the French in tina,
region. IT developed later that 1000
Frenchmen and twenty guns were actually
captured.
One OF the myths that originated IN
the scandinavian press was tho repor,
published in the Sydsrcnskd Daqbiad and
purporting TO come from Petrograd TO IN,
effect that the Car. by special ukase had
declared Duke Carl Michael Won Neck.
lenburg-StrelIz naturalzed Russian
subject
The Daily Express was informed re.
peatedly during the first part OF August
ny It's correspondent at Ostend that IN.
German movements OF troops had beer
partly through Dutch Limburg and tina,
Holland was playing a double game
under the mantt of neutrality
Vienna newspapers appeared TO talk.
special delight shortly after war brok.
out in reporting a great revolution" IN
Prague and the execution OF all CZECH
delegates
An amusing myth was one spread b,
the Agence Havas, according to news
papers OF Frankfurt on he Main, OF Au,
gust "a, The report was that the Rus
elan Consul-Gcncral at Frankfurt hac
been marched through the streets OF IN,
city, led in front Of the Germania statua
ordered To take on his nat and max,
his bow 10 Germana and then had bce,