Year: 1864

COntraband News.


A marked feature of the first year OF
the war was the universal passion among
our people for obtaining and improper.
ly disclosing information of military
plans and movements, without regard
TO It's disastrous effects. In question
able spirit Of enterprise, and stimulated
by cupidity, portion of the press has
done its part towards getting official in
telligence in Illicit ways, and revealing
important facts entrusted under pledge
of secresy. But the fault was not en-
tirely that of the press. 1t lay rather at
the door of the public, which persisted
in rewarding by pecunisry patronage
such journals as were most successful
in this unscrupulous work; offering a
premium, in effect, on the premature
disclosure Of projects set on foot at the
theatre of war. 1t is easy to remember
the naive frankness and nonchalence
with which the details of the marching
orders Of troops, their numbers, disposi-
ton and availability were telegraphed
North, and greedily spread abroad
through the reading world. The illus
trated weeklies contributed to the evil
by publishing plans and diagrams Of our
camps, and Of the various roads lead
ing therefron, Of the defensive artil-
lery in our feld-works and forts Per
haps not a single corps or department
commander failed to experience annoy
ance or injury from army correspOn
dents. The Incarceration Of several
members Of the fraternity first suggest
ed to the hitherto untamed and un-
tameable spirit of the reporter, that
military regulations are not always to
be transgressed with impunity.


The progress of the war has wrought
a surprising change in this, as IN all
other respects As commanding Off
GERS have learned to keep better their
secrets, so have those who by position
become the recipients of confidential
information, been more temperate in
its public use. 1t is striking, however,
to see how, as the central interest in
the war once more swings back to the
old trampled battle-ground in Virginia,
with the impending campaign, some OF
the evils developed in the intiatory
stage of the war again reappear in mod
flied form; and among them, the public
anxiety for what is forcibly called con
traband military news" In the con
duct of the war in the West the cam
paigns around Chattanooga and Chick
amauga were not thoroughly hawked
about from mouth 20 mouth before
commencement or before execution.
Sher1nan's raid, though anticipated IN
military circles, took the greater part
of the country by surprise But when
the Lieutenant General turns eastward,
the old prurient desire to publish the
strategy of the year in advance be
comes manifest The reorganization
of the Army is known as quickly in
Portland as Washington Gen. Meade
is alleged to have complained that the
rebel journals printed the new assign
ments and dispositions in the cOnsolt
dation of the Potomac Army before the
bulletin from the War Department
reached his headquarters. And, at all
events, the main features of the scheme
under consideration in the Capital ap,
peared at Richmond before the plan
had been perfected or the official orders
grounded thereon had been issued


To a certain extent, indeed, it is i'm
possible to avoid the rapid transmits
sion of intelligence to the enemy.
From the outset they had superior
facilities for procuring it, from causes
we need not stay to enumerate. Their
system of espionage also has been
carefully perfected, until its operations
have more than once been a matter OF
chagrin 10 our readers. Everybody
recalls the story of the rebel sentries
who were won't to shout the substance
Of our marching orders across to our
men pieketing the hither bank Of the
Rappahannock and Rapidan.


To aim at absolutely preventing the
enemy from receiving intimations Of
our plans, or knowledge Of the strength
and location of our forces, would be
manilestly preposterous, as against all
military experience. And, indeed, we
think the rebel facilities in this regard
have always been greatly exaggerated.
Certainly Of late there has been moth
ing so wonderful or mysterious in these
facilities as many people are disposed
to surmise A regular perusal Of the
hlesA Of Southern newspapers shows
considerable ignorance OF our military
status on their part, and an obvioa.
reliance on Northern journalists as a
medium Of news And we venture 10
say that our own means of learning the
dispositions of the enemy, in more
than one Department, are superior 70
anything they possess. The leaks At
Baltimore and Washington, 50 justly
complained Of in the early war, have
been tolerably well stopped The pre-
sent theory Of concentration and CO.
operation in military man9uvres has
its good effect also in securing the
benefits Of secresy.


II is well also to keep in mind that
q great part Of the matter sent North
from the front as within the positive
knowledge Of the writer, who claims
70 enjoy the private confidence Of the
highest authorities, is mere guess work.
H. indeed, it were anything else, II
would call for and receive the severest
reprehension as a violation Of honor
Shrewd conjectures at the Pessiole
moves on the military choss-board are
sufficiently harmless, perhaps, SO long
81 they do not lead TO base disclosures
important 70 the enemy or embarrassing