Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-05-30

suffered a slight at his hands which
their dignity never forgave when
Kitchener officially recommended a
soldier for a medal "for saving the life
Of a camp follower"-the camp fol-
lower being of the most impor-
tant of the corps of professional war
writer's.
the stage Of the press bureau. They
were Sir L. l.. Smith, the present
lord chancellor whose new title is
Lord Birkenhcad; Sir Stanley Buck
master, who also served a brief term
on the woolsack of the lords: Sir John
Simon who opposes Sir Edward Car
son in nearly all the most important
cases in the English courts Sir Geo.
Cave, and, lastly, Sir Edward Short,
a liberal Scotchman who was trans
ferred to the home Office after brief
service as chief secretary for Ireland.
Early in its history the administra-
ton of the bureau was conferred upon
two directors, each with precisely
equal and SIMILAR powers and duties.
Each was a[duR out" which is the
term for the army of retired officers
and civilians who put on the harness
again then war came. and which does
not imply disparagement because
many Of them did valuable service.
Sir Frank Swettenham's active career
had been OF the civil staff Of the
Straits Settlements. and he had re-
tired-from the post OF governor gen.
eral with d reputation as an authority
on the Malay language. and a list of
several books on Malay life to his
credit. Sir Edward Cook had a long
record in journalism ending with the
editorship of The Daily News, and
afterward devoted several years to the
editorship of Ruskin's works and au-
thorship OF the biography of Ruskin
and critical writings on English liter
ature.
Real control Of censorship, as
American correspondents found it,
rested with neither the home secre-
tary nor the co-directors of the bu-
reau. Questions of military and naval
news were passed upon by military
and naval censors. the heads of those
departments being Major General
Cookerill and Admiral Sir Douglas
Brownrigg. while matters of foreign
and diplomatic affairs often went to
the foreign Office. The press bureau
was only a side issue among the many
activities of the home secretary. anS
the directors of the bureau could not
overrule professional advice when
military matters were put before
them. So long as Lord Kitchener
was on the scene his policy was one
VI SAtIeLuc ScCTcCy, anu LOT. SOm0
time afterward the military chung to
the conviction that a war censorship
was essentially a military cas-
and n to be controlled by the mill
tary.
Probably the general reputation of
the British censorship suffered from
the first few months of the wal when
all overburdened and anxious cabinet
found no time for the affairs Of the
naUCna nar0 yyhnp tho r,,I;ro 1r,xo no
had not begun to grasp hat cooper
alton with the press was as necessary
n important as any other line Of
wartime diplomatic activity; when
h organization Of the bureau was
in a shifting and experimental stage,
and the ~watchword of the working
censors was when in doubt, sup
certainties and shocking surprises
which whitened the heads Of newspa-
per workers. Some were tragic; 9TH
ers were>comedy.
There were occasions when all the
American correspondents presented
practically the same messages and
some were forwarded and others re-
jected because Of different interpreta-
tons Of their rules by different CEN
sors. An Associated Press message
giving the admiralty announcement of
the first important British naval VIC
tory was stffled because the censor
to whom it came had hanging over
his desk the rule hat the names and
locations Of ships must not be pub.
lished, and this bulletin was reekine
with names and locations Of ships.
On h comedy side one classic in.
cident still shines. A correspondent,
with the British army had quoted
from kipling's "Recessional':
The shooting and the tumult dies
the captains and the kings depart
The censor did not recognize this
on a telegram form as a quotation
and being q literal minded man he
erased the kings" because. as was
there YER no kings present at the
front. hence the statement that am
had departed a untruthful.
There were SURPRISES Of anothe,
sort. Sir F. q. Smith held stronf
views Of his own. and sometimes tool
the strong line. All England wa.
startled and depresseR one Sunda,
morning Of the war by a graphic mes.
sa8e in q special edition Of The. Time.
describing the retreat from Mons q.
q r0ut OF broken and hara@ed Brit.
ish battaiions. The picture ma,
Ihave been 0verdrawn: at any rat,
critcism In parliament and the paper,
was fierce. But r. E. Smith sacceptef
1.-THE responsibility OF IicensiHg thi,
lover Kitchener's head because he hels
that the country should have its eye,
Iopessd TO the darkest side Of III.
styuggla u vas IN Tor. He also assum,
leg iespcnstbi1ity for permitting III,
pairs 70 remedy the shortsSe 8,
II mfxA41S-0eAARA 1920 AnA~<1uAA ~E-- a.