HOW WE GET OUR WAR NEWS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2287, 30 December 1897, Page 50

HOW WE GET OUR WAR NEWS.

By One Who Has Beejt to the Fbont.

The millions of newspaper readers who in time of war eagerly devour the more or less realistic accounts which appear in their morning papers have perhaps never given much thought a3 to how such intelligence is collated and meted out to the public ; and it probably never occurs to them that while they read the paper in comfort the writer may be in dire danger under shot and shell, seeking a moment's rest after 30 hours of ceaseless excitement or hunting for a meaL to satisfy the gnawing pains of hunger. j

But Euch experiences are common to the war correspondent, who carries his life in his bands and braves dangers daily such as few men are ever called upon to face.

Newspaper readers who complain of lateness of news in time of war can have no idea of tha difficulties under which it is sent Home. The correspondent, after receiving lus impressions of a battle with the aid of the telescope, must frequently ride 80 or a hundred miles before he can put his letter on the wire, and must write as he ride 3. Sometimes, if he is fortunate enough to get hold of a sensational piece of exclusive news, he will charter a special train or steamer at immense cost, and pay heavy special rates for transmission.

But even when this is done he bas no guarantee that his letter will reach home for some days. The telegraph i 3 a slow instrument in war time, and the wires are nearly always either blocked or engaged, When a

press censorship isadopfced telegrams are often delayed in the ppst office two or three days, though their transmission is a matter of the utmost importance, and everybody at Home is waiting anxiously for the intelligence contained in them. When at lasb the telegram is despatched, supposing it is an important one, it rarely bears muoh resemblance to the original copy. The censor doss not hesitate to mutilate the report at his pleasure, and in this way facts are often entirely reversed.

In the recent war between Greece and Turkey, for instance, a correspondent wrote : "The Prince this morning rode through the streets uncheered," but on reaching England the message read : " The Prince this morning rode through the streets loudly cheered." Similarly, in the news of a defeat, names were altered so as to make it appear that the defeated side had been victorious.

A war correspondent's expanses arc, of course, very heavy. The bicycle will probably be largely used in f utnre wars, ibut hitherto the correspondent -has, depended on horses and carriage?, which can seldom be hired under L 5 for a single journey. Then an interpreter is usually engaged by correspondents of first-class papers, which brings the bill up considerably. It is a fact that i the incidental expenses of one correspondent, in the recent JB astern war reached L 250 before fighting * had aofcually caramenced.' Altogether there were some 20 correspondents engaged in wiring their impressions to all p*rts of the world, and telegraphic, living, • and travelling expenses mast have run into tens of thousands of pounds; - . '■ -

The American correspondents spent an almost unlimited amount, chartering special steamers with the utmost freedom. The Times' correspondents were paid at the rate of LIOOO a year, and'in addition received L 3 a day for expenses. On one occasion Kautet'd correspondent sent home a telegraphic message some 3000 words long, which, as the telegraphic rare was 7d a word, must have cos 1 ; about L9O. The rale for urgent telegrams — which simply meant that the messsgd was to ba despatched without long delay— waa Is 91 per word.

Qaite a quarter of a million words muct have been telegraphed from Athens and Constantinople during the war, and the probability, is that the total number would be nearer half a million. Reckoning it at only a quarter of a million, however, the cost of the despatches, directly and indirectly, could hardly have been l«sa. than L 20,000.

It was not always necessary to travel 80 miles to send off a telegram, local stations being aomstimes within 10 or 20 miles ; but messages could never be ltft at looal stations with confidence. The correspondent of a London paper on one occasion sent off an urgent telegram from a local post office, whence it had to be forwarded to Athens on its way to- London.

The news was important and exclusive, and the correspondent prided biimelE on haviog done a good piece of work. Four days later, however, he was breakfasting with the Superintendent of Telegraphs in an Athens hotel; when his copy .was brought to the superintendent for-' transmission !

„ The war correspondent must be prepared to rough it. No downy bed awaits him at the end of a weaiy day. Ho must tura into sotos deserted House within earshot of the " front/ and sleep as lightly as he can, with a loaded gun at hand. By the time the war is over he has almost forgotten to undres3 at night-time. His shoes arc scarcely ever off his feet, and he sleeps in his clothes for weeks together. H3 must be content with one course for dinner, or with no dinner at all, perchance, unless lie can shoot something and prepare it himself.

Iv Theesaly we lived on lambs which the soldiers killed, or which we could bay for 3s. It waa not usually difficult to get under cover at night. The peasants invariably fl«l before the advance of the troop 3, leasing their little homes almost intact. What, became of the poor fugitives Heaven only knows, but their empty houses were havens of rest to a tired stranger in that strange and troubled land.

I have never met anybody after returning from the seat of war who has not been curious to know what war is like. With the recent war fresh in my mind, it seems to me that as a spectacle the best comparison is* the stage on a big night at the opera, viewed through the reverse end of an opera glass., War is like that.- It is sublime — as a spectacle, — from a distance. It is when you get rieared the fighting, that you realise the sickening horror of it all. Oae m*n, a Greek officer,fell dead within 35fc of me. I brought away the pisce of shell which killed him. fellow officers picked him up and kissed him, aud he*, was carried away. . • '

It is a terrible thing to see a man killed in war. I saw the light fade out of the soldier's face, and he looked like a wax figure rather than a man who had- been leading men a moment before.

I had many narrow escapes myself. OfiC3 when pissing through a ravine I suddenly heard firing, and on emerging from the narrow pass I discovered that I was the object aimed at. It is a horrible sensation. Sbots flew in all directions, whizzing past my earn. The most awful fact of it all is that you cannot see where the shots come from. Tne enemy may be miles away, but the fire plays around you, threatening every moment to cut the thread on which your life hangs.

The thing which most surprised me, in the E*stern War v/as the callousne-s of many of the soldiers. They joked and laughed and smoksd oigarettes as though war were child's play, and it was only when a comrade fell wounded or dead that you saw that they had hearts to feel and eyes that glistened. .The Turks carried charms in their breast pockets — long scrolls of paper cofftaining extracts from the Koran. I have one on my table as I write, vividly recalling the white face "and fearful expression of the dead soldier from whose pocket I took it. -