Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1917-10-26
HOW THE WASHINGTON coRRE-
SPONDENTS DO THEIR WORK
IN DAYS OF WAR.
MUST "CoVER" MANY PLACES
Call on Secretary Tumulty at White
House Daily, Including Sunday
Baker, Daniels and Lansing See the
Press Every Morning.
BY GEORGE CLINTON.


per men talk a lot of shop among
themselves just as it is more than sus-
pected men of other callings talk OF
their professional or mercantile dOings
when they get together, but with the
mass of public information material In
Washington which must be gathered 1t
can be said for the newspaper men tnat
they rarely write "shop."
Here is SHOP" story, however, and
the thought which prompts it's writing
is that perhaps some American. read
ers may want to know just what the
routine of news gathering is In this
city when war is on, and when the &C.
tivities of government have increased
many hundredfold.
Every department of government
now is a source Of daily news gather
ing and moreover virtually every SUBJ
division of the department is turning
out matter not daily perhaps, but GER
tainly weekly which has in it some
thing of interest for the readers of the
country. This necessitates the GOV
ering" by newspaper men of literally
hundreds of sources of information at
least twice every day in the year, bar
ring Sunday, when even with smashing
things doing there is little let-up,
because man must rest if he intends
to work
The press associations have CORE
spondents stationed at every post of
news vantage in this city, the army,
the navy and the state departments
and at all the other departments down
through the list. Moreover, until con-
gress adjourned, both houses and all
the committee rooms of each were fol-
lowed in their proceedings by repre-
SentativeS of the various press asSOci-
atoms, and of course by the special
correspondents of the different papers
of the country who write their own sto-
rieS of those things which are moving.
Cover the White House Daily.
Every day of the year, Sunday in
Guided, representatives of the press as
sociations and considerable number
of special correspondents call on Secre-
tary Tumulty at the White House. 1t
is always possible to get reflex opinions
Of administration matters at the White
House. OF course certain things can
not be given out even by reflex action
in information form until the time has
become ripe for disclosures, but news
paper correspondents save themselves
from going wrong on many subjects by
reading the signs Of the times every
day in the offices of the White House.
No one who is not directly connected
with the work can appreciate the rush
of things and the order in seeming dis
order in the departments of the war
and the navy in these days of strife.
The two departments have lover
flowed" until bases of operations are
in a dozen different places, but of
course the chief base is in the war de-
partment building where the secretary
of war Newton D. Baker, has his desk
within little more than arms length of
the office of the chief of staff of the
United States army.
In the navy department the condition
is as it is in the war department Sec
rotary JOSephus Daniels rules and di-
reefs close to his advisory board of Of
ficers of the navy. Mr.. Daniels sees
the newspaper men every morning at
1920 o'clock, while Mr.. Baker also
tries to see the correspondents once a
day. Owing to the fact that the pres
sure of army business actually is great
ier than that Of the navy, Mr.. Baker
does not always meet the writer's, but
If he does not he has his authorized
spokesman at the appointed place.
Public Information Office.
The committee of public informa-
ton, of which George Creel is the di-
rect managing head, is at 10 Jackson
place, a short thoroughfare which
skirts the west side of Lafayette
square. 1t is within point blank pistol
shot of the state, war and navy depart
ments. There the correspondents go
daily to get the authorized official ma
terial which the government has sane
toned for publication. A vast deal of
this matter is what might be called
seminews as some of 1t is material in
tended solely to clear up matters con-
corning which the American people
seem to have certain transformation.
The public information office is a
busy place. It is open all the time, the
men working in reliefs, and so a cor
respondent wishing to catch a late edi-
ton Of his morning paper can tele-
phone 10 Jackson place at two o'clock
in the morning and be sure Of re-
Spouse from the news sentinel on duty
in the wee small hours.
Robert Lansing, secretary of state,
leaves his desk in his private office
every morning at IL o'clock sharp to go
to the public reception room of the
state department. There he meets the
authorized special correspondents of
the daily press and of the press asso-
ciations. When he has some news of
importance which he wishes to give
out he goes straight to the subject and
crisply tells his tale.
Generals Know One Another.
Many of the major generals of