Daily globe., 1882-10-03
The Associa+ed Press and Western Unio
Telegraph Company.
IN, Y. Nation

Ns NdtOus
The Herald, the Times, and the Journal
of Commerce had leading articles on Sat-
urday of somewhat alarming character
on the subject of the relations of the Asso-
ciated Press with the Western Union Tele-
graph company and its present controller,
Mr.. Jay Gould. The substance of the
matter, as stated, is that Gould and the tel
egraph company have manifested desire
and purpose to have voice in the collec-
ton as well as transmission of the
news for the press, and to
supplement their functions as common car
riers with those of news agents. This at
titude on the part of Gould and the tele-
graph company, the Herald informs us,
has been supported or acquiesced in by
three members of the New York Associa-
tion-viz., the Tribune, the World, and the
Erpress-and up to recent period, op-
posed by four members the Herald,
Times, Sun, and Journal of Commerce.
The Journal Of Commerce says also that
offers for the purchase of that paper were
lately made, which it believes to have been
made with view to obtaining another
vote in furtherance of this scheme. Some
time after this offer had been made and
declined it is stated that the Sun exhib-
tied signs of waving and of going over
to the Gould side, but has stopped short of
actually doing so. The Times publishes
sundry extracts from the Sun On the sub.
ject of Gould and his political projects
which lead the former to indulge the hope
that Mr.. Dana is not under Gould's infiu-
ence to any alarming extent. The Journal
Of Commerce, on the other hand, appears to
take very serious view of the Suns atti-
tude, and the Herald thinks that the time
has nearly come for the Government to
consider the expediency of taking the tele-
graph business of the country into its own
hands. The attitude of the Western Asso-
ciated Press is also commented on as not
so decidedly opposed to the Gould plan as
it might be and ought to be.
Supposing the information given by those
papers to be correct, the only comment
the case admits of is that any partnership
between the newspaper press and the
Western Union Telegraph Company
whether controlled by Jay Gould or any
other many, in the business of collecting
and preparing the news by which the peo-
pie are guided in their daily affairs, is not
to be thought of. Such project will be
resisted by every journal with the least
grain of independence one whose
opinions are of any value or consequence.
We have not the least idea that the Sun
will yield upon the issue an inch more
than the Herald or the Times, or the Jour-
nal Of Commerce. Nor have we any appre
hension that the Western Associated Press
will consent to such q partnership. There
is, we believe, another issue involved in the
controversy the Associated Press
shall allow itself to be forced into an ex-
elusive contract with the Western Union
Telegraph company, binding all its mem
bers and clients to give all their business,
general and special, to the Western Union
Telegraph company, under threat that if
such contract is not made the latter will
take the news business into its own hands,.
We can understand how the Sun may de-
sire to avoid a quarrel of this kind without
intending ever to admit the telegraph COM
pany into partnership in the news bust
ness. The Exclusive contract system,
however,is manifestly species of tyranny,
and ought to be resisted upon grounds Of
public, as we'll as private policy.