Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-05-13
Very little Of the money 90 pal

Very little Of the money 90 pale
reaches the men. They pay them
selves by footing and forced gift
The general uses the money paid BY
the government for the purchase o:
equipment or for his own enrich
ment, just as he pleases. While j
is reasonably certain that Chani
got the worst of the recent fighting
and had to retreat to northern Chi
ma, yet the public in this country
must remember that Pekin, being
now under the dominance Of tn.
victorious General WI, all the news
coming from that city is censored
and colored in his favor, just as il
was previously colored in favor o.
the northern general Chang. Copy
ing from the report of the commit
tee of the World Press association
that sent a committee to China te
see if there was not some way Of
getting more authentic news from
China, we quote:
"An example of the possibilities
of incomplete reports is given in q
recent incident that followed a
news dispatch from the Washing
ton conference. The first announce
ment of the action of the confer.
ence In making an attempt to settle
the Shantung question contained
only the words direct action Thi.
means only one thing to Chinese
readers, and that wa that the coun.
try had been betrayed by its dele.
gates and that the conference had
permitted Japan to obtain a direct
parley rather than concerted dis.
cussion on the most touchy of all
China's difficulties. Cablegrams
were sent in a flood to the Chinese
delegation at Washington, mas.
meetings were held d%enouncins
them, the United States in particu.
lar was severely criticised, and the
faith of the Chinese people was
generally shaken. A day later a
second report arrived telling of the
services of representa-.
tives Of the United States and
Great Britain. In the meantime the
Chinese delegation threatened to
resign. Chinese correspondents
verified the direct negotiations dis.
patch without adequate explanation.
It was necessary for DR.. w. w.
Yen, minister of foreign affairs, to
issue an official report before the
atmosphere was cleared. This was
unintentional on the
part of the correspondent writing
the report, but the damage was new
done. Similar instances
be given as in the case of the
Lansing-1shii agreement, which was
by a Japanese news agen-
cy before the American minister in
Pekin was notified Of its conclu-
sion.
Foreign correspondents are
more or less hampered in their work
even in the national capital at Pc
kin through propaganda, or appar-
emit propaganda, from the embassies
Of the various nations. Statements
given out by one embassy are fire.
quently contradicted by another,
md even by the embassy issuing
the first news. One correspondent,
laughing over his troubles, told how
he had been given an official state
nent in the morning, only to have
the same embassy deny having is
sued the statement later in the day
another power had called on
the first to protest against the ear
lier statement.
"Some of the domestic news
agencies are affected by political
in the country, and hence
distort foreign news so as to weak
en- the position of their political
This is particularly
prevalent in domestic news proper.
md is no more than can be expect
ID in a nation having two central
governments and several semi
Independent or independent states
,r provincial government, with at
east two great war lords contend
ng for supremacy"