The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-02-21
Greuiug Telegraph
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 81, 1871.
THE NE VS. OF THE ARRIVAL or
THE TENNESSEE

IHH Nm WO OF THE ARHI "a Il OF
THE TENMESSEE.
No modern daily journal can be rendered ac-
ceptable to intelligent readers if it fails to
furnish an abundant supply of fresh, accurate,
and comprehensive news. In vain will edi-
tors comment, poets sing, wits pun, or
critics criticize, if the public is not promptly
supplied with the latest foreign and domestic
intelligence. In view of this we'll known fact,
wehave at great expense, for months past, pub
lished, exclusively among the evening or af-
ternoon journals, the news gathered from all
parts of the world by the Associated Press.
The superiority of the intelligence fur
nished by this agency is not only made maui
fest by the fact that all the old, well-estab-
lished, leading daily journals of the country
support it, and obtain from it their tele-
graphic news, but by numerous practical
demonstrations. To long list of such de-
monstrations, which have been given here
tofore, another was added yesterday. The
absorbing topic was the safe arrival of the
steamer Tennessee in a Dominican port. A
variety of circumstances had combined to
invest the fate of that vessel with pro-
found and universal interest. National
politics, the safety of some of the most i'm
portant men in the nation, as we'll as that of
some of our own citizens and of a gallant
crew, hinged on her arrival; and such pain
full anxiety had been created that the Press of
this morning, in commenting upon the recep-
tion of the news yesterday, says that ''the
streets, for the first time in many years, pre-
sented as happy a spectacle as they did when
the welcome news of Lees surrender was
telegraphed over the wires, now nearly seven
years ago." At an early hour yesterday morn
ing despatch was received announcing, in
general terms, the safe arrival of the Tennes-
see, and this, SO far as we know, was
all the news of any consequence appertaining
to its arrival that was furnished direct to any
afternoon journal in Philadelphia, except
The EVENING TELEGRAPH, Although this
brief announcement was very cheering, the
public naturally thirsted for confrmatory
details, for, in their absence, the first de-
spatch was regarded as too vague a rumor to
serve the needed purpose of making assur-
ance doubly sure. Yet the Phila-
delphia reading public would have
looked in vain for any such
details if The EVENING TELEGRAPH had not
obtained them from the Associated Press At
an early hour we received and published in
our second edition a very comprehensive de-
spatch, giving full details of the arrival
reception, and movements of the United
States Commissioners at Santo Domingo City,
and this despatch supplied not only the graft
flying intelligence to the citizens of Philadel-
phia in general but also to our amiable
afternoon contemporary, the Eoentng BuI-
Eetin in particular; for, in its third edition it
copied, ger6atina, the despatch we had re-
ceived, printing in display lines, as
sub-heads, the phrases selected for such
distinction in this office, so that the ear-marks
of the conveyed despatch are plain to every
newspaper reader. The Bulletin did not
claim that this important despatch was re-
.ceived from the American Press Association,
whese praises it has SO often sung, nor from
O special correspondent, but it was not gene
rous enough to ascribe the despatch
to its true sonrce, or to acknowledge
its own indebtedness to the Associated Press
it has so often denounced. This plain state
ment of facts scarcely needs any comment to
bring into strong light the superiority of the
Associated Press news, the inferiority of the
facilities possessed by the American Press
Association, and the straits to which our
afternoon contemporary is subjected in its
attempts to keep up with the times. We do
not object to the Bulletin copying our de-
spatehes, especially when they relate to
topics of such great Importance, for
it is better that its readers
should be posted through our aid than that
they should remain ignorant of great national
events. Nor do we even ask that the Bulletin
should credit the dispatches it transfers from
our early editions to its late editions but
surely it is not too much to request that it
should cease to denounee and underrate the
news agency from which it gains its informa-
ton, second handed, at epoohs when the de-
ficiencies of the American Press Association
become painfully manifest