Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Christine P. Travers and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net [Illustration: Badge specially made for the Editors of THE FRIEND.] [Illustration: The editors at Work. Photographed by H. Mackern, of "Scribner's Magazine."] WAR'S BRIGHTER SIDE The Story of =THE FRIEND= Newspaper Edited by the Correspondents With Lord Roberts's Forces, March-April, 1900 + + + + By JULIAN RALPH (_One of the Editors of_ "THE FRIEND") Author of "Towards Pretoria," "At Pretoria," "Alone in China," etc., etc. With 15 Illustrations London C. Arthur Pearson, Ltd. Henrietta Street 1901 [_The coloured reproductions on the cover of this book are fac-similes of a badge specially made for the Editors of_ THE FRIEND.] With his Kind Permission this History of his Unique and Historic Experiment in Publishing a Newspaper for an Army in the Field is Dedicated to FIELD MARSHAL, EARL ROBERTS, V.C., K.G., K.P., ETC. COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. LETTER FROM EARL ROBERTS TO LORD STANLEY REGARDING "THE FRIEND." BLOEMFONTEIN, _April 13th, 1900_. DEAR LORD STANLEY,--I understand that on Monday next, the 16th inst., THE FRIEND will come under the new management, and it will, I hope, continue to thrive now that it has been established on a sound basis. The Army owe a deep debt of gratitude to the gentlemen who so kindly came forward, and who have given their services gratuitously in the management of the paper. That their labours are appreciated is evident from the eagerness with which the paper is purchased by officers and soldiers alike. On behalf, therefore, of the troops, I would ask you to convey my best thanks to all who have contributed towards making the paper such a success, especially to the following gentlemen, Messrs. Landon, Ralph, Gwynne, and Buxton. Believe me to be Yours very truly, ROBERTS. PREFACE Lord Roberts is the first General of whom I have heard who ever recognised and acknowledged the Value and Power of the Press by establishing a Newspaper as a source of Entertainment and Information for an Army in the Field, and as a Medium for conveying such Arguments and Appeals as he wished to make to the Enemy. This he did, as one might say, the instant he conquered the first of the Boer Capitals, almost simultaneously with his appointment of a Military Governor and a Provost Marshal, and the establishment of a Police Force.