Page:American Historical Review, Vol. 23.djvu/315

Rh sort of "gentlemen's agreement" between the government and the press. had a conference with the representatives of the leading journals, and an understanding was reached whereby the papers were to refrain from publishing any information that would give aid or comfort to the enemy, while the government was to afford facilities for the transmission of suitable information. This well-meant experiment, which Russell cynically called a "curiosity", proved a failure, for it placed too great a strain upon the consciences of correspondents and gave too great an advantage to certain less scrupulous papers which did not subscribe to the agreement.

After considerable experimentation, an administrative policy of news control was ultimately evolved. The censoring function was transferred from the State to the War Department, and it was ordered that, beginning with February 2, 1862, the President, by virtue of congressional authorization, would establish a military supervision of all telegraphic lines in the United States. All telegraphic communications touching military matters not authorized by the Secretary of War, or the commanding general of the district, were forbidden; no further facilities for receiving information by telegraph or transporting their papers by railroad were to be extended to journals violating the order; and for the general supervision of telegraphic business a special officer was appointed with the title of Assistant Secretary of War and General Manager of Military Telegraphs. In the sifting of news the American Telegraph Company co-operated with the government, requiring oaths of secrecy and allegiance from employees and allowing no access to the messages or the operating rooms except to those duly authorized by the government telegraph manager. No unofficial messages conveying military information were transmitted by wire, and news-writers were forced to bring in their war stories in person, to employ a messenger, or to use the mails. As a further precaution communications were sent in code, the cipher operator constituting at all times an important medium between officers.

Though these various precautions indicate that the government regarded secrecy as an important consideration, yet they were but half-way measures, and at no time could it be said that the news channels were effectively closed. In the early days of the censor-