The Monticellonian., 1917-03-01

denee has been placed in the members of the correspondents corps to use their own discretion as to what shall be printed and what shall not be print ed. There are newspaper men In Washington who know great deal about the present condition of the army and of the navy and something of the plans which have been formulated to put both to effective service in case war shall come. These correspondents have, so far as is known, refrained from saying anything which might be of service to possible enemy.
 Talks with army and navy officers who, however, will have no hand in the laying down of censorship rules, for that duty is imposed on a special board, prove that in the main the men of the two services are convinced that the British methods of censorship have been not only too drastic but also un- intelligent.
 In England when the war was about eight months old it was possible to send through the mails to America anything which one chose to write, and the chance was only one to ten that the letter would be opened and read for approval or disapproval. The re suit was that mass of stuff was sent to America which eventually found it's way back to Germany.
 Then the system of censorship in England changed and all letters were opened. The unintelligence of the off cers in charge of the work was shown by the fact that they frequently cut out stories of things concerning which the British government had already made public announcement, and on the other hand, they allowed things to go through which were pronouncedly im- proper for publication in a time of war.
 What the Correspondents Want.
 What the newspaper men here will probably ask of the war department Is that set of rules plainly expressed be issued as guide to writing, and more than this, that the censors shall be men who have had experience in .OuI ldllSlli. dlc llluny SuCll llJCD in the army whose service can be se- cured.
 More than anything else the core spondents will ask that their dis patches and their letters be passed up- on as quickly as possible. The ordi- nary government official has no more conception of the value of quick dis patch of a news article than he has of the comparative qualities of beets as sugar producers, and there are few army officers who have had experi- enee as farmers.
 In France the censorship works well. The French do things quickly and moreover the army censors save work by explaining individually to the cor respondents the nature of the things which must not be touched upon in their writings.
 To Buy Famous Battlefield.
 Representative Charles c. Carlin of Virginia, acting as spokesman for veterans of both armies of the war between the states. has introduced q bill into congress for the purchase of the battlefield of Bull Run, where the first pitched fight of the war of the sixties took place.
 On the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Bull Run the boys in blue and gray shook hands in friendship. It seems hardly possible that the bill which Mr. Carlin has prepared can pass at this session, but genoSdily where the veteran soldiers of a nation have been whole-heartedly sentimental congress pays heed to their wishes.
 The bill, as drafted, provides for the carrying out of the recommendations made by the special board of army officers appointed in 1913 that the sec retary of war be authorized to pur- chase for the United States the battle fields of the first and the second Bull Run, at cost not to exceed $50o00. The measure would authorize the sec retary of war to protect the two orig inal monuments erected by the United States troops in 1S65 and to assume the care of the other monuments and markers on the historic battletields, which were erected without expense to the government. It would also give the official power to improve the lands To be purchased. to provide convenient approaches from the public roads for visitors and to mark the lines of bat tie and the location of troops during the military operations from 1861 to 1865.
 Kept Up by Henry and His Heirs.
 Those who are working for the pass age of the bill by congress point out that Henry hill is location of the first monument erected on any battlefield of the Civil war The site was se- iected by the veterans themselves from all possible sites. They point out also that Mir Henry up to 1898, and his heirs since his death, have performed the duties which fairly and legitimately devolved upon the gov ernment. With regard to the memorial stones on the battlefelds the attor- ney for the Henry heirs said:
 "Fhere is no law, state or national, which would have prevented the own CTS of the farm from removing the memorial stones. The government which had placed them in position had been to all appearances utterly indif- ferent to their care and preservation Whatever credit is due for handing down this monument to the present or future generations is due to the owners of the property When the fence with which the United States army inelnsed il fell intn docav they