DISLIKE OF THE PRESS

Evening Star, Issue 20372, 2 January 1930, Page 4

DISLIKE OF THE PRESS

KITCHENER AND NEWS General Sir Tan Hamilton, presiding not long ago at a lecture given in England before a meeting of the Institute of Journalists by Mr Ernest Smith, the war correspondent said that in the last six months ol the South African War Lord Kitchener sent for him to bo his Chief of Staff “ When I came,” said Sir Inn, “I. was not treated as Chief of Staff at all. Instead 1 was put in charge of the two things that Lord Kitchener loathed—one of which was the Press. VTt was like parting with a drop of ! his own heart’s blood to give the public any information lie had. I hope I will not he taken for slandering Lord Kitchener—it was merely idiosyncrasy —but the fact remains that lie loathed parting with any nows to the public—he thought it- was not right. “ My first despatch from the Dardanelles,” continued Sir lan, “ was met by Lord Kitchen-* with a request that I would agree to tho names of the units being left out, and that, instead of saying that tho Lancashire Fusiliers or the Royal Fusiliers had done this, that, and the other, I should Say, ‘ a certain unit.’ 1 No,’ I said, ‘let my despatches go unaltered, and let the people know what their sons have done.’

“I would let London know what the Royal Fusiliers did, and _ Manchester what tli> Lancasnira Fusiliers did, ' It is perfectly true there is a military objection but that objection is as nothing compared with the enthusiasm raised in a whole county by hearing what the men of that county are doing. Therefore, I say * Trust your war correspondent, and give him as free a hand ns possible.' ” It was 'thought by some people. Sir Tan added, that modem warfare had destroyed the -war correspondent’s chances. The Great War was static. If there ever were another war, it

might he one of terrific movement, with the clash of armies in the clouds. Big newspapers would then send their special correspondents forward in aeroplanes, so that it could not, in .these days, be truly said that the adventures of the war correspondent were at an end. Mr Smith, relating his experiences in the South African War, said that on “ Mournful Monday,” October 30, 1899, before breakfast; he saw a Victoria Gross won; before lunch saw an army of 12,000 British troops returning to Ladysmith after failing to shift the Boers; and before dinner time was captured by the Boors, and held more or jess a prisoner fbr two hours. The Boers who captured him behaved, ho said, in a very sportsmanlike way. Ho was taken up the hill to see the battlefield, and the commanding officer gave the accompanying guard instructiones to toll him everything lie wanted to know, and, above all, to take care that he was not, insulted.. Boers who' passed by noticed he had a camera, and asked him to fake their photographs, and this ho did. When lie got hack to Ladysmith the military authorities threatened _ to send him back to London for going outside the British lines and; holding communication witli the enemy.