Chapter 17

THE PRESS............................................... 310

The constant newspaper attacks upon the War Office -- Often arise from misunderstandings or sheer ignorance -- The mistake made with regard to war correspondents at the start -- The pre-war intentions of the General Staff -- How they were set on one side -- Inconvenience of this from the War Office point of view -- A breach of faith -- The mischievous optimism of newspapers in the early days -- Tendency of the military authorities to conceal bad news -- Experts at fault in the Press -- Tendency to take the Press too seriously in this country -- Some of its blunders during the war -- A proposal to put German officer prisoners on board transports as a protection -- A silly mistake over the promotion of general-officers -- Why were Tanks not adopted before the war! -- A paean about Sukhomlinoff -- A gross misstatement -- Temporary officers and high positions in the field -- A suggestion that the Press should censor itself in time of war; its absurdity -- The Press Bureau -- Some of its mistakes -- Information allowed to appear which should have been censored -- Difficulties of the censors -- The case of the shell shortage -- Difficulty of laying down rules for the guidance of censors -- The Press and air-raids -- A newspaper proprietor placed at the head of the Air Service -- The result -- The question of announcing the names of units that have distinguished themselves -- Conclusion.