The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-08-15
The ASSOCIATED PRESS.
How Ii Works and Who
Works 1t.
The Journals That Are Benefited
by the Partnership.
The General Agent and
His Power.
From the Spirit Of the Times, August a.

The Queen Of England. in closing the present sit
ting OF Parliament, enumerates the reforms which
1t has consummated. and especially commends the
action Of Parliament in providing for cheap tele
graph and free trade In news. "Her Majesty trusts'
1--WE quote from her speech) ''the measures for the
purchase and management OF the telegraphs by the
State may be found to facilitate the great CONNER
cial and social object or rapid easy and certain
munIcatlon, and prove no unworthy sequel to the
system Of cheap postage which has passed with such
advantage into many countries of the civil
lied world" The advance on the part OF
Great Britain is a proud step in the interest OF a
free press. What England has done America is has
tening TO do. American public opinion Is rapidly
crystalliZing in favor OF "rapid, easy and certain
communication" over telegraph wires. We have
followed England In cheap postage: now we must
follow her in the blessing no less precious OF cheap
and unrestricted telegraphing.
In the interest Of the same great reform the dis
cusslon opened by the Spirit few weeks since IN
reference to the great monopoly which now para
Dzes the great dailies OF New York has pro-
duced good results In every part OF the
country we find the considerations which we
have ventured to present to the Associated
Press attracting observation. From this discussion
good must come. The anomalies and biunders in
the Associated Press economy are SO great that the
able comprising it have only to open their eyes
and see. The trouble with these men IS that they
know little OF their own partnership. They have
other concerns. Business, politics, investments in
railroads and real estate are OF more interest than
the gathering OF their news. In the few years past
they have made good deal OF money. There is
scarcely newspaper IN New York to-day-we mean
of the great dailies-that is not spending income
and its principal. The days of enterprise have be-
come days Of luxury The real business OF Journalism
has quietly drifted into the hands OF reporter
who Is called general agent" and this general
agent, by some mysterious alliance or obedience
contract, has reduced his office into bureau of the
Western Union Telegraph Company. The news
columns OF the great dailies are very frequently
the expressions Of the hopes, the hatreds. the
billions of this news reporter and Of the business
cessities of MIR. orion. The owners pay large divi-
dends They turn everything into money. They
charge war prices in times of peace. The great
monopoly has sOOthed them into condition Of pro-
1table acquIesceuce. Samson rests In the lap OF
Delah, and sweet are the hours Of his dalliance.
His strength ~ leaving him
How long will this lastf So long as one news
paper was content to spend large sums OF money to
procure news for its partners, the Associated Press
maintained a kind OF ascendancy. We should have
thought that the policy OF this partnership would be
the encouragement Of the newspapers enterprise.
compete with this journalist or yield TO his do
minlOn.
THE POSITION OF THE HERALD IN THE ASSOCIATED
PRESS.
II the NEW YORK HERALD was permitted to gather
news from all the world, and print 1t even divide
It with its partners, then time the other Journals
would become the dependents OF the HERALD, and
the HERALD would usurp the functions Of the General
Agent. This might nave suited the partnership, but
II did not suit the agent, and SO we had what was
called the reinforcement OF the rules" The partner
ship would not advance, nor would il permit the
HERALD TO advance? What did the Express or the
Journal or Commerce, or the sun want with special
dispatches
THE EVENING EXPRESS
The Express lives by grubbing. II fills the same
position IN the New York press Of noted character
IN Paris whose death was last years gossip It is
free careless, gypsy way finding ribbon here aud
an old hat there, ana remnants OF SILK ana lace
sIireds and rags ana patches. Any effort 10 spend
money was competition, and 1t regarded the HERALD
with as much ehagrn as the King OF the Ch!6onte,s
give money for what cost him nothing.
THE EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT THE JOURNAL OF COMMERCE
DERIVES FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.
The Journal or Commerce has no ambition in
news gathering. Its Owners'report the markets and
the arrival Of ships. and there STOP fhe interest OF
market reports and ship news and economic all
other classes OF news. This Is done by the great
could afford to do himself and as none OF ie m
venture to compete with him in printing this news
he has great cause for gratitude and comfort.
THU sun DAMAGES ITS PARTNERS BY PEDDIiNG THE
NEWS At HALF PRICE.
The san merely wants the news despatch. The
brlefer 1t is the better. The space is limited. 1t
cannot AFFORD to take page or Two OF dcspatc hes
So long as the great daies collect news enough TO
make Mr.: Dana's paper interesting he is content
He has no room for enterprise" and any rule
which prevents competition puts the great daies at
his mercy. SO long as they collect the news and
permit him TO sell 1t at one-haf the price, he Will
not complain.
HOW THE TINES STANDS IN THE ASSOCIATION.
The Times has so much control over the machinery
OF the partnership that 1t can well AFFORD submit to
the number needs Of the weaker members We fancy
that Mr. BIgelow would unite with the Sun in having
even more condensed despeth. He seems TO be am.
bilious to rival the Erening POsf--to make up for
news by what We presume he calls dignity and
to Shakespeare ana Byron the cossics and even the
Bible The news is the newsstand each day tells Its
story The newspaper only fuis ts function when 1t
prints It, sometimes 1t Is story OF shame, aud crlme
and terror, and brings tears and bushes. still 1t
must be told, and any "expurgatedr edition is
Bible edited upon Mr.. Blgeow's theory would
make sad havoc with the fentateuch and he gos-
pes, FOR there are many things there written that
would not be suitable for the columns OF the Times.
SUMMARY. .
SO the necessities OF this grotesque partnership
are briefly these:-The Journal wants no news. the
Express last weeks news. the sun hail the news
and the Times what might be called aesthetic news.
papers, but which no5ody especially cares TO read
GENERAL VIEW OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
OF this partnership tse HssMld Tribune and World
come within the range OF newspapers who want all
the news. DO they get its DO these journals give
their readers what they have n right 80 demand
DO they, for instance, print news despatch twice
as good as thatof the Suas They give the same
Sa r two cen Tha MS
II ne has time and money TO indulge his tastes he
may crafty them at twice the cost. The demo.
crat buys the World TO see what the
gifted men who make II one of the most
brilliant and scholarly newspapers In the country
have TO say on politics and social progress The
publican buys the Tribune to study the TEACHINGS Of
It's great editor, TO what Mr.. Smaey writes from
London, to learn It's opinion OF the last history or
the ripening harvests OF the world. The World and
the tribune both answer important but not neces-
sary functions. Omit the news despatch and the
reader Will see rs much IN the seIni-weekly aud
weekly editions or these newspapers the daily.
The reader OF the HERALD Will una the news des-
patch and As much other news 'the rules''
Will permit IL 10 gather He sees great newspaper
curbed. bridIed and strapped by its rivals.
HOW THE LARGE DAlLIEs ARE FOSTERING A CANKKR
WORM.
or course the future OF the Sun Is growth This
growth we see. The managers OF the great daiies
may close their eyes and talk about dun business
and summer weather. and no excitement, aud "wat
until the Presidential year:' but they ig,ioini Of