The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1851-11-29

| Office the usual charge is 80 cents per hour for
each person, Or 81 per hour FOR each once.
| of their own messages. or penny post system.
| For this purpose they employ, on an average,
| about 1--WE boys each, for twelve offices, making
| an aggregate of about sixty boys The
cents for each despatch delivered, If below Canal
street, or within about mile from the Offices. IL
beyond that distance, or after night, the charge Is
III cents for each despatch If in distant parts Of
Brooklyn or Williamsburg, the charge is 25
cents. Each boy carries q small book or
register. The envelope containing the message is
directed and the name Of the Office at which it was
received The time it was received Is inserted, with
the place from whence it came and the date at the
| head of the despatch.
is requested to write his name and residence in the
boys book, and the precise time at which he de-
| lvers it. These books must always be produced at
| the Office when called for.
| Besides the help previously referred to, many Of
the ofnees employ what may be termed battery
man, whose duty ii is, every night, to remove the
zinc cups from the acid cells or cups and, after
cleansing in clean water, to set them by until they
are required for use next day
| THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE PRESS AND THE
| rELEGRAPHS TIE UNITED STATES.
Soon after the first lines Of telegraph were pat in
operation, il became apparent that they would ne
cessarily become mportant media for the transmits
sion of news for the press.
| AT the commencement, the papers proceeded to
| employ them WITH some caution ana nesltatl0n
| their dispatches usually brief, and as much
| condensed possible. The expense was heavy,
and only few papers in each city at first employed
the lines to any material extent. Among the ear
lest and largest patrons OF the telegraph was the
| NEW YORK HERALD.
When the telegraph was set to work between
New York and Philadelphia, and afterwards had
progressed as far South as Richmond and Peters
burg, in Virginia, the Mexican war was in full
blast and hence its utility the press in forwarding
| of army news was such az, IN measure, to force
| them into its employment.
The free use made oftelegraph by the New oRK
HERALD seon caused several other papers to adopt
q similar course. 1t finally joined in its tele-
graph arrangements by two or three other New
running daily horse express between Mobile and
| Montgomery, in Alabama, (s6ous two hundred
miles) to expedite the news to the Southern termi
nus of the Southern telegraph line, in advance Of
| the mail. This, however, when the line was ex-
tended sufficiently far South, was abandoned
When the line vas extended east to Portland, in
Maine, the press then, which comprised all the
chief m rniDg papers of New York, run an express
from Halifax, on the arrival of each steamer to An
napolis, from whence a steamer conveyed it to Port
land, from whence it was conveyed BY telegraph to
Boston and New York, The leading Boston papers
also participated in this arrangement The cost of
| getting the news in this manner averaged near
81 600 per steamer. When the wires reached st.
Johns the expenses were reduced, and finally, when
they reached Halifax, the expenses were reduced to
the simple cost of transmission, which were finally
! reduced to about $500 per steamer. Mr.. ID. ii.
Craig, the present general agent Of the Associated
Press, was the special agent in these enterprises
At the outset there was a want OF system in the
collection transmission and distribution oftelegraph
! news for the press. II became apparent that the
employees in telegraph Offices could not be expected
TO collect at important points, and forward it.
| Their occupation confined them 70 the immediate
duties of their Offices. Hence, the business Of tele
graphing brought into requistion telegraph repor-
tiers. Among the earliest who engaged in that bu-
siness was Alex ander Zones, of New York. He COM
menced with the commencement Of teiegraphs, and
when the whole system was new and imperfect, and
in manner without organization. He early
invented a kind of short hand system, or cypher,
intended greatly to abbreviate commercial news
transmitted by telegraph, notice Of which sp-
peared in the HERALD, in lo47. This was
SO arranged, that the receipts Of produce and the
sales and price Of all leading articles Of breadstus,
provisions, SC, could be sent from Buffalo and AL
bany daily, in twenty words, for both cities, which,
when written cut, would make one hundred or
more words This plan Of Authorization, or some
modifcat on Of il is contin ued on the same route
besides others, TO the present day. Copies OF the
cypher, either in manuscript or in print, were
rlacCd in the hands Of correspondents who could
either compose or translate messages for the press
! Another party also oontryed q cypher, but on
entirely different plan. Mr.. Jones printed two or
three notifications Of his own cypher, and at cons
derabe expense, the last book forming about
seventy octave pages Of printed matter. Within
year or two after the commencement Of the BUSH
ness, an association Of three four reporters was
localities to forward and receive for the press.
Their services either paid for at stated weekly
| salaries, or in news, such as steamer and other
news, forwarded IN exchange The press were
charged so much per week EACH while the reporters
paid tolls and al other expenses. This association
| ofreporters only lasted about twelve months when
ID was dissolved and, as far as New York was con-
cerned, Mr. Jones became the agent Of the New
York Associated Press, for all news arrangements
| OF a commercial and miscellaneous character
throughou the nited States. A com mittee Of the
association attended to the foreign news re ceved
utaa Ilalsf ks.k L.
sary, owing to difficulties which had arisen between
| them and Mr.. F. o. J. Smith, the President Of the
Morse Eastern telegraph lines, which 1t is
sary 10 dwell upon In this article. The sa me com.
nittee also attended to the long congressional re-
ports.
The association thus formed consisted Of six
morning papers, viz. -
| HERALD, ErpresS,
| sun, Trtbrns.
Jot1f0f Of Conuaerce, COtvi1 & EHyuvg,
He received and distributed all their news
thus paying all tolls and other expense, neces,
saiy TO conduct the business. The agen. employed
reporters in all the principal cities in the United
states and Canada, and, on resolving 1t In New
York, would make about eight or nine copies of it,
on manifold paptr-six for the New York press,
and the remaining copies for reforwarding to the
press in other cities ard towns. To this had daily
to be added the New York local and commercial
| news, ship news, Sc His remuneration for ser
vices were made to depend chiefly upon what he
| could obtain from papers In other cites, such a.
Boston, Sc, for the Of all kinds reforvarded,
including the local intelligence. The agent had a
cce separate from the press, but centrally located,
where be employed generally an assistant, besides
| one or two other parties either a. clerks or aids
| with an errand boy or two. cypher wG devised
| for Congressional reports. but the press greatly
augn enting the length Of their reports, and the
telesrapbs prorortionably reducing their tolls,
! such cyphers became Unnecessary, aud were laid
| aside.
In reporting Congressional proceedings, the usual
| plan was to employ two reporters in Washington-
| one for the House Ct Representatives, and at
| ether fer the senate. The reports Of the House
would be sent b. line, and those Of the Senate
| by the other.
| The plan upon which the members Of the asso-
| GATED press act, In running extra news, IL,
that any or them may order any Particular kind
Of news, such az proceedings Of conventions, \; {,
ard the Others are TO exercise their option whether