The mountain Democrat., 1864-05-14
"The AssOciated Press.r

The monopoly OF the telegraphic news
by the " Associated Press" has been the
subject of much comment by outsidcrA
7"e San Francisco Bulletin, one of the
" Associated, in an article under the cap
ton of "Blackmailing Impudence," thus
disposes of the matter:
"The constant misrepresentation, by
certain unscrupulous papers, of the rela-
tions Of the Associated Press to the over.
land telegraph has lead some we'll mean
ing men to suppose that there was really
favOritism on the part of the Telegraph
Company, and that the Associated Press
obtained for it's exclusive use the news
Through the good will of the Company
fThis, though so often repeated, is alto
gether untrue. The Telegraph Company
has adopted rules whereby any associa-
ton of men or papers can have general
news furnished at ten cents a word, pro.
vidcd such association take 1000 words
day, and providing, Of course, the news
to that amount be furnished to the ope.
rators at Chicago. This is fair business
proposition, putting all competitors on
precisely the same footing. Whoever &C.
cepts it is entitled to the same service un-
der the protection of law which fixes Sc
we're penalties for any misdirecton OF
news into the hands Of any person not
entitled to receive it. The Telegraph
Company or its agents have no right to
deliver a line Of the news sent to the Bull
letin, Alta and Union to any outside per-
son or paper. That news is strictly the
property of the Bulletin, Alta and Union.
Neither the Telegraph Company, nor
| Congress, nor any other earthly power
can tuucA our property. 1t is solely for
the three papers named to say what they
will DO with the news which their agent
I transmits to them by the telegraph as a
common carrier to Chicago. They choose
to Use their own news for their own pur.
poses. They have devoted years to per.
tvcting arrangements for collecting news
through their agents and concentrating it
at Chicago. They pay their agents and
tie telegraph companies east OF Chicago
I icr bringing it to that point, and then
. th,y pay the Overland Telegraph Compa.
( ny ten Cents Il word for completing the
transmission TO Sacramento and San Fran.
cisco.
"We rcpcat-that the news is our
property. The Telegraph company can
no more lawfully deprive us OF it than it
can scll to competitors the private de.
spatches received by any banker or mcr
chantut this city. Il any California jour
Ia, desires this news TO publish it, it
, mist come TO Us (the Alta, Union and
. Biiietip) for it. Cader certain crcum.
stances, we mi -ht sell the news to live
and independent new wspapcr. able to pay
Tor it, and 10 make good use Of it. But
we shall not sell our news to any i.legiti
! laatrly conducted newspaper. If a crowd
! If mere black matters should take it into
thcir heads to cXtort contri utionS from
weak -kaecd operators in this city to g..
tthii>h loyal news Srapcr If thcv Should
rl.l on Samuel j. llcu>iey aud threaten t.
! p! nIuucc him as >pcc> Siouist' il he did
not come down 500 to establish 'nv.
81 paper; if they should demand 81, 300
fum the Navigation Company under an
i'upi,l threat Of bringing down the 10Y
nj press upon that monopoly, in case of
refusal if they shuQll say to tn. agcht
of Wells. Fargo d Co, Just shell out
$500 to our .!oyal newspaper, or Conncss
"i'l Use his power ut Washington t.
hrrak up y"lr ovc",aul mail contract
Il they should allrHach every Fedora of
.c(r and demand from $io0-to $500 Zach
f't their 'l"yaf newspaper, or else sub
nit ~ once t. have their heads taken oil
r,.au tpt the ,hou,irrS-it, We saw = crowd
Of tlqck ,mal.rl should by such meats
, cX'ort a few Thousand i"',ar> n, their sole
m"',n> Of >tarVuga newspaper, We shpnlt
not become raiutrpS crimcuiS = the
>ha'Ayirt> PROSTITUTION ot our h7H0rah,r
profession, by giving the 'loy..' black
mailer oar news. We think any man o.!
sense can understand that this is a very
l.a,n pos lion We occupy. We have a
c,rtain connodity-neWS. which we
have procured by our own means, and we
wish 10 use it for our own purposes, and
do not wish to sell it; nor do We want
oar friends bored and black k,mai!rd by
ncrc"naries calling on them for money to
buy our news "ith.
The telegraph is q common carrier. -
Any one, or three. or halt-dozen Caltor-
MA newspapers can get news overland
from Chicago by paying the telegraph the
same rate for 1000 words per day that
the Union, Alta and Bulletin are now pay
iug. Why do not these black .rnaierS,
who howl so inccSSantly because We de-
cline to furnish them our news, 90 to
work as we did and get news on their own
account? They might as well ask US to
furnish them brains as newsstand they
really need the first article in their papers
more than the last. An able political
newspaper can live very well without all
the news contained in frst,claSs journals;
but it is just as practicable to get custom.
ers for a bath-house that has no supply OF
water as to get subscribers to political
paper that is edited without brains-and
old brains at that. Bows have no bu-
Sincss in such vocation"