The Portland daily press., 1881-07-13
How the News Was Handled.
The Most Notable Distribution of Inform
alton Ever Known in this Country.
IN. Y. SUM-

IN. L. SUM-
Close upon the sound of Guiteau's pistol a
week ago, and while one fact was definitely
known in the excitement that followed. the
operator close by the scene of the shooting tel
egraphed that one fact: The President had
been shot had in the Baltimore & Potomac de-
pot. The clicking of his instrument was the
beginning OF the most noteworthy distribution
OF news that has ever occurred in this country,
or probably in any other country. Two min
utoS after his instrument was still, receiver
In the Western Union office in this city car
ried the message to the desk of the Superin-
tendent of the room. He did not believe it.
An inquiring message was sent to the main
office in Washington, and brief confirmation
was received. Then the original message was
hurriedly written with stylus on forty sheets
OF manifold paper, and these sheets distrib-
uted to forty operators in the room. A few
seconds later the news was in hundreds of tele-
graph offices, and few minutes later it was
known in every hamlet in the land in which
there was a telegraph instrument. If the
news had been false, it was now too late to
stop il. 1t went buzzing through the streets;
ltpushed forward on stage lines and hurried
over country roads,
1t is no part of the duty of Western Union
employees to distribute news That is some
thing which they leave to the newspapers. Yet
realizing the extraordinary and rightful pub
ilc interest in the attack on the President and
in his subsequent condition, they sent out bull
letins, free of cost, to all the Company's offices
and even answered private kilograms from dis
tant points without charge. Everywhere, in
the cities and in mountain villages, wherever
there was telegraph office the people read
oft rlx hill 80 Al.
dents condition. 1t is reckoned a moderate
estimate that 100000 bulletins were thus dis
played. This is on basis of about seventy at
each office. Forty-six extra operators were set
at work IN the main Office of the Western Un-
ion Company in this city. The increase of de-
spatches to the press of the country and also a
vast amount of incidental business, was indi-
rectly the result of the attack on the President
VI this class was the brokers' business For
tunately the days when the most of this in
crease OF business had to be done were days
when there was little ordinary business-Sun-
day and Fourth of July 1t is estimated that
there was an increase of about is 900 messages
day. 1t was by far the busiest Sunday ever
known in the office, and by far the busiest
Fourth OF July. AS in the newspaper offices,
there was little thought of long hours or over
work. 1t was recognized as great occasion
and everybody did the best he could, as though
he were working in the public interest. On
tuesday morning, when it was considered that
LILO great Straln upon the operators energies
was nearly over, an order was issued thanking
them and providing adequate remuneration for
their extra work.
. On Saturday night words sufficient to fill
about one hundred and thirty-seven columns
OF this journal were telegraphed from here;
almost all of it was got off in time for the early
edition OF the newspapers to which the specials
were telegraphed. 1t must be borne in mind,
too, that there was absolutely no preparation
for the handling of this enormous amount of
matter, either in the newspaper offices or by
the Telegraph Company. It is the most signal
example of the ability of the newspaper to
masterithe most sudden and difficult emergen-
cies. The correspondents at Washington are
supposed always to be ready for emergencies,
and the work done on Saturday shows that the
supposition is well founded. No one who SIM
ply reads the reports from day to day can have
any idea OF the immense amount of toll, care,
vigilance and energy that were expended in
preparing them. 1t has required constant at
tendance at the White House; reporter
ready to meet a physician ON the jump, some
times waiting hours to be sure not tomiss him,
and then finding him TO get very few words
from him. Not for an instant for three DAYS,
or seventy-two hours, was there the slightest
relaxation, and many of the correspondents
only snatched the briefest maps in all that
time.