The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-02-27


tanned ''surreptltiously OF course, the "exciu.
sive news" hastily set up and the other paper
would make It's appearance, few hours late.
been played several times by both baTtieS bsn
the G9's'1er set trap, and the Journal fell into
~, Ihe ship Ajax had arrived, and the Courier
had its news exclusively. James Watson Wehh
then It's editor, had small edition printed con.
bogus news oonoocted in his office. FTbis small
edition he carefully distributed in such a way as
into the hands Of the Journal editors. Tbeeon-
sequence Sc was that the Journal appeared with
ass SgIts hewS Inc cS{er gathered up It's
posed the trickery of its rival. -.
The next step in enterprise was the estab
lishment Of the 'pony express - which was
designed to collect news from the interior. It
soon, however, became the means of commu-
nicating foreign news to Philadelphia and
Washington. A return of news from the
Capital necessitated the sending of an agent
there, the first of whom was James Gordon
Bennett to whom properly belongs the title of
Father of Washington Correspondents. The
introduction of the telegraph did away with
the pony express, but the telegraph in
those days was not the network of wires it is
now. single wire was all that could be
secured, and in order to deal fairly with all
the papers,, the "fifteen minute, rule was
adopted, which allowed the use of the line to
one journal for that time and then gave it for
similar length to another, until each was
served. This reduced all to level, and pre-
vented any such display of enterprise as that
of correspondent of the New York Herald,
who once, at the opening of the National
Bridge, we believe, got possession of the wires,
and in order to keep them, directed the ope-
rator to commence and telegraph the Book of
Job until he had his dispatches written out.
And Bennett commended him, regardless
of the expense. To obviate then, the New
York Associated Press was started. The prin-
ciple on which it was first adopted does not
materially differ from that now used, it having
been only elaborated with time. The manner
in which despatch to the Associated Press is
distributed is not known to many of our
readers. ..t
To illustrate the mode of collection, we will
suppose that the New Orleans agent wishes to
send a news telegram. He dates it ''New
Orleans and adds the day of the month,
without naming the month, leaving it to be
inferred, and addresses the telegram to
edmonton and Press" SimOnton being the
name of the New York AGENT the word ''Press"
signifying the papers Of the country taking
the news of the Association. He then gives
the substance of his news in as few words as
possible, emitting all the propositions and
articles whose absence will not render the
telegram unintelligible or dubious of meaning.
The full date and omitted or ''catch" words
are of course, supplied by the copyist, who
receives it. The address, Simonton and
Press, insures the dropping" of the
despatch as it passes over the wires at every
point at which there are press agents receiving
the dispatches of the Association for the press
of that city. Thus a telegraphic despatch from
New Orleans-sent by both seaboard and
Western lines-wll be taken off the wires of
the former at Mobile, Montgomery, Milledge-
vile, Atlanta, Savannah, Charleston, Raleigh,
Wilmington, Richmond, Washington, Balti
more, and Philadelphia and from the wires of
the latter line at Vicksburg, Memphis, Louis
vile, St. Louis, Chicago, Pittsburg Harris
burg, and dozens of other intermediate points
too numerous and too Insignificant to mention.
The expense incurred in the reception of
these dispatches is but inadequately estimated
by the public. The table we give below ex-
plains the rate of tolls charged per world
TABLE OF TELEGRAPHIC TOLLS.
From Valentia Bay to New York city, per
word in gold (about $50