The Portland daily press., 1882-01-25
PRICE 8 CENTS.
It Can't Be Done.
The News of the New York Associated
Press Cannot Be Manipulated.
cincinnati Commercial ]


A good many newspapers that ought to
know better are saying, since Mr.. Cyrus Field
purchased the New York Express, an Associat-
ed Press newspaper, that it was the purpose OF
a few New York capitalists interested in great
enterprises to obtain control OF the New York
Associated Press, and manipulate the news OF
the world in their own fashion for speculative
purposes.
1t may be worth while to state the facts, not
only for the information of the public at large,
but to allay any apprehensions that have arisen
through the troublesomeness OF understanding
the true scope Of business and sharply defined
limitations Of the Associated Press of New
York. The association is copartnership, not
a corporation. There are seven partners-the
New York Herald, Sun, Times, Tribune,
World, Journal of Commerce, and Express.
Each partner has an equal voice. There is an
executive committee OF two.
The object of the association was at first to
restrict the field of special correspondents. and
the rule still stands, though scarcely admins
tered, that, with the exception of Albany and
Washington, member of the association re-
ceiving a special telegram shall send a dupli-
cate of it to the other partners, and any one OF
them has right to use it by paying an equal
proportion of the telegraphic tolls.
At present the business of the association is
to collect and sell news. The object is to gath
er intelligence from all parts of the world, and
not only use it themselves, but sell it to others.
In this country they sell news to some of the
New York papers out of the association, to the
New England Associated Press, the New York
State Press, the Philadelphia, Washington and
Southern Press, the Western Associated Press,
the Pacific Press, the Colorado and Texas
Press. 1t is great business. The article Of
value gathered and circulated is news
Now it would be impossible for this associa-
tion to maintain itself il it tampered with the
article in which it dealt. The value of MEM
bership is now very great. One hundred
thousand dollars offered for a partnership
right would not be considered; but give the
country to know that the association was deal
ing with the people dishonesty, and this i'm
mense value would vanish. 1t is mainly in
market news that the tampering would be pos
sble, and that is a matter of figures and frac-
tions that must be reported with absolute ac-
curacy; and the association has no control over
the talk of the "tickers." The association
does not control the Western Union Telegraph
Company, but is one of its customers only, and
the wires are free to all.
Not only would it be utterly destructive OF
the value of the property of the association to
manipulate news il they could do it, they
could not do it If they desired to do so, and to
brave speedy destruction for the sake Of tenn
porary advantage. The association might per-
haps commit one considerable fraud, but that
would be suicidal, and people are not likely to
cut their own throats to deceive others. But if
IL be true that Mr. Gould owns the World, and
that he and MFR Field would combine to infu-
ence the Associated Press, they would have
but two voices out of seven. Gould does not
own or control the Tribune. Then the Herald,
a quadrilateral. The whole story that specula-
tive capitalists are seeking to control the ssso-
citation is imaginative and worthy of no furth-
er attention