The Oklahoma City times. [volume] (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 1908-1984, 1919-01-17
WRITERS FORCED
| TO DIG FOR ALL
DOPE ON PEACE
Conferees Provide no FaciIl-
ties 10 Aid Them,
BY Raymond g. Carroll.
fLondon Times Cable Copyright, 1919.
the Public Ledger Company


(London Times Cshi. Copyright, 1919, by
the Public Ledger Company
PARIS. Jan Writing ahou,
Something YOU don, see, YOU don't
hear and therefore can only relate
from second hand sources is the pligh,
of the average American correspond
snt covering the peace conference
This applies with equal force TO the
British, French, Italian, Iapane,, or
any other nations repre- sen,aiiyeS Of
its fourth estate. Frs, OF, there is
not space in the cloak room Of the
minister Of foreign affairs 10 l.lld all
che writers ! counted them up today
and for every peace commissioner
there are twelve scribcS 10 relate the
conferences acts and outgiyings.
In the calculation | omitted cor.
respondents from neutral countries
like Holland. Switzerland and Scan
dInavia ard such great newspapers as
La Prena and NacIon oi BucnoS
Aires. Argentina
Just Pick the crumbl.
Obviously me gathering oi the pro.
eeedngS resolve, itself into crumb
pickingS from some personal friends
on some commission or from persons
on intimate terms with some commits
siontr.
These "leak," constitute .ie detailed
sccoun, Of what happened comiug
from the pen ol this or that writer,
the fayori,c oi the reader.
Take our own system Is an exam
pie President Wilson, looking smart
and vefy much alive after his after.
noon session with the supreme war
council. which now includes Japan as
sr filth great power. arrived at the
Crillon hotel He Immediately asked
for Ray S,anlri Glkcr. the magazine
writer. who IS til executive selected
As intermediary for the American
Journalists. Mr Baker joined the
president IN an up 'llr; suite where
Colonel House IS recovering from a
sight illness and within a cImpdrI-
lively brief time. dpWn came a type
written statement. which after an
nouncing the meeting had reached an
agreement as 10 the terms upon which
the armlStice was IN b, extended
This included naval clauses, financial
clauses. conditions Of supply and pro-
vision Tor the ., tuition OF material
and machinery stolen irrn France and
Belgium hy Gcuau. nothing more.
Plain Case ct Dig"
Whcreupon 1t i,yo'ycd upon the en-.
ergctic correspondents TO hunt up their
personal sources OF information in
their efforts to penetrate the veil be
hind tho word "clluse,' Instead oi
taking up this clue, your correspond
,ent went TO the ccu,,rS from which
the British. French and Italian writ
erS were getting their quota OF news
and found that iIcutically the same
lack OF details was prevail rg and the
same search iCr them was IN progress,
(which resolves itself into just this:
What any CORE ponlcnt NO matter
from what country. gets OF inside IN
formation about the proceedings de-
pcnds upon whom lie knows and how
well he knows him
II is going 90 ,c't ont ono thing at
any rate. When the answer is read IN
the newspaper, Of each following day
i, will ,hov which fourth estate is
nearest to its pgblic men. As re-
freshng oil set which may run into
importance as conference news in
terchange between the writers OF dil-
ieren, countries is the establishment
by the French government OF an inter
allied press club tina, shortly open, in
the ornate PaaiS Duieycl on the
Champs Elysccs. Here the battle OF
the peace conference can he re-iought
,by those who are their historians.