Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-12-18
TRUTH ABOUT NDON-COLORED NEWS
What Happens in Peace and War in the Clearing House of ransa
lantic Information-Some Reasons Why Nations
Misunderstood One Another.
By BURTON KLINE

CURIOUS how the conflict on the other
~ side heats the imagination at great dis
tance from its fires. Since their reduction of
Liege, Namur and Antwerp, the Germans
have been charged with a genius in diaboli-
cal foresight that would be perversely flat
tering If it were not so impossible and ridicu-
lous A story was circulated that a powder
factory outside of Namur, outwardly owned
by Frenchmen, was actually the property of
the Krupps, obtained through an interme-
diary and long operated under blind. This
factory, so ran the story, supplied the pow
der. deliberately and diabolically made de-
fective, which blew up the several French
battleships sunk in port several years ago,
with terrible loss of life. The same factory,
the same story detailed, was built purposely
to hide concrete gun bases at an exactly cal
culated range from the Namur fortihcations.
When the time came for them to fall, the
Germans had little more to do than push a
button and see Namur disappear!
Stories of the same breed crept into print
after the fall of Antwerp. The usual gun
bases had been discovered under the usual
dlsguises, carefully built and placed at the
usual time before.
General Sherman's other historic war COM
ment applies TO these tales-"Important il
true There may be some basis of fact in
deplorable amount of time, energy, money
and ingenuity TO the arts and eXigencies of
war. But to accept such tales literally is
TO credit that people with powers unde-
served as they are undesirable.
Corner In News
Even so, the case against the Germans
might be believable il the yarns about their
uncanny Maohiavelsm were not now
matched by charges against the British
which impute TO them the same super
human talents. The accusation has sprung
up that for over century England has
feloniously cornered the worlds output OF
news, and has adulterated and colored II, to
the profit Of England and to the damage OF
all the rest OF the world, Every great event,
the indictment runs, has been exhibited 70
the world precisely England has seen ft
that it shall be exhibited. In consequence
America has been misrepresented abroad for
over century. For century we have been
miseomprehending Europe, and Europe has
been miscomprehending us, because the news
Of us, and for us, has been strained through
the British clearing house OF information. II
IS all the fault Of London that America has
been known only for it's lynehings, for the
gunmen Of New York, for the monkey din
ners at Newport; that France has been
wholly a Dreyfus case; that Russia has been
a land given up to Jew-baiting-and all be-
cause sinister diplomacy in London has
wiled and made 1t so.
The indictment even runs to PARTICULAR
ties, News OF the Russo-Jap war was so
eolored in London for the American market
that we stampeded a people 70 the side OF
Englands ally. Japan, and only reached the
sanity OF a revulsioR Of feeling when we later
learned the deception This in spite of the
fact that Richard Harding Davis was on the
Job! BY England's decree France was de.
cadent" for decades. until the Entente Cor
dale came into being. Then France promptly
became "renaseent," again at the touch Of
the London pressmau.
is 1t true?
It is trce that London is the commercial
and financial clearing house for the world.
It Is the worlds bank. the worlds port the
and centre OF the planet Bnt It
is 50 because the British IN a thousand years
OF thrift and virtue as people, have made II
SO II Is not AZ the hehest Of the British
viii. # Is beeause Of the attraction Of British
Importance that the world looks 10 London
as Il does. i Is not BY decree Of the Brltish.
but at our oWn pleasure, that London has
also become the bulletin board Of the world,
provided that Is 30. And it IS nothing more
than natural that 30 posting the news en
their central bulletin, the British 5hould sx
hibit q British bias. Yet e we ourselves 81
e tie French or The eelmans were Is
similar slfu2tion. 81 8 thqusand years ol
thrift and progress hed given = tie Same
poUsk we shoaid exert f ia lbe same fashion
s. - same elas
H ia aaoa
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