Mr. B. F.
Dillon, superintendent of the Western Union Telegraph Company, was in
Tampa, and I had a long conference with him. He assured me of his
confidence and cordial support, and placed the entire resources of his
company at my disposal. Operators all over the state were instructed
that anything I ordered was to be obeyed and then the work began.
The idea of a telegraphic censorship was a new and irksome one to the
great American people and just what it meant was hard to determine. Much
has been written about "Press Censorship." That term was a misnomer.
There never _was_ an attempt to _censor_ the _great American press_. The
newspapers were just as free to print as they were before the war
started. _All the censorship that existed was over the telegraph lines
militarily occupied._ A government officer was placed in charge and his
word was absolute; he could only be overruled by General Greely, the
Secretary of War or the President. It was his duty to watch telegrams,
regulate the kind that were allowed to pass, and to see that no news was
sent whereby the interests of the government or the safety of the army
might suffer.
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