South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-06-11
correspondents
ARE WELL TREATED
BY PRES'T WILSON
Head Executor Is Patient,
and SuaVe Replies Are at
Times Battling to ShreWd
Washington Writers.

LONDON, June 11.-Frederic Will
liam Vile compares British and
American METHODS Of getting informa-
zion out or the government In the fol-
lowing description OF Question Time
at the White House which IS pub
lished here in the Daily Mail.
when that persistent old party
known as the British public requires
information about the parish pump or
minor topics like the seven wars it is
now carrying on in various parts OF
the hemisphere an N. i. gets up in
parliament and asks a question.
When the American people desired
10 know what the United States is go
ing to do about the Lusitania mas
sacre. so or 90 human machine guns,
with a muZZle velocity Of five QueS-
tions "A minute, opened fire on the
president and after fusiliade last
ing 20 minutes or an hour Pres't Will
son told the country what he thought
it good for il 20 know.
was recently EYE witness Of
/. such an engagement at the white
hOuse-the weekly audience whic h
the chief magistrate accords to the
brilliant corps OF Washington news
paper correspondents.
Though it serve the precise pur-
pose of question time at Westminster,
the presidential probe at the white
house is devoid OF all the red tape
formalities OF Englands effete sys-
TEN OF extorting the facts from gov
eminent No notice. written or other
wise. is given OF questions at Wash
ington. When the correspondents
have taken up their position in a
semi-circle spreading round the
presidents reception room. question
asking begins. The president is sur
rounded by his vigilant secretarial
stan. At his left stands Joe" Tu-
multy, his chief secretary, the might
lest Irishman in the world next to
John Redmond. on either side sits
a shorthand expert, one 10 note the
exact tenor OF the questions. the other
10 register verbatim the presidents re-
plies.
There IS never any mistake, as far
as the white house records are con-
cerned. about what happens at these
weekly cross examinations. For if
an Over-zealOus correspondent ever
leaves with a distorted version of the
proceedings. the president wants 10 be
prepared To overhaul him with a de-
menti which will not only nip mae
curaCy IN the bud but viii probably
prove Of grave professional cOnse-
quence for the offender. I.apses of
this kind seldom. if ever, occur.
The Washington correspondents are
the 'nOnOr men or American jour
nalism. The keynote of their self
framed code is that any man who
breaks faith-quoting the president
directly or misquOting him indirectly
are the cardinal sins-brpakS his pro-
fessiOnal neck at the same time.
Franklin X. Lane, the American
home secretary" whom many Amer
leans look upon as the biggest man"
IN the present administration told me
that il he had a state secret which he
wanted TO keep secret he would send
for the Washington correspondents
and let them into it.
Washington. hardly less than Lon
don. talks and thinks in terms OF war
these days, so ] was not surprised
that on the morning I was invited TO
witness the pi csidential-iO journalistic
heart 20 heart talk" my American