The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-05-24
TEXAS PRESS ASSOCIATIONS.

No noise has been made about the
inauguration and the successful oper-
alton of strictly business association
of daily newspapers in Texas, for the
purpose of gathering and distributing
news. Its first organization was eff
fected at Austin over three years ago,
and verbal contract was then made
with the Western associated press
for a quantity of news, the Texas
association agreeing to supply the
western press with Texas news.
Owing to arrangements between the
New York associated press and the
Western Union telegraph company.
by which it was said the New York
press was entitled to all the wires in
Texas for news purposes, the Western
Union declined to transmit news to
the papers in Texas composing the
Texas association, and SO the matter
stood until the latter part of
last year. In October the memoranda
of contract were again made be-
tween the Texas and the Western as
ISOLATION, and the contract went into
effect on the first of January. This
contract is for five years, and the
papers aresigned, sealed and delivered
between the two associations. The
strongest papers in the northwestern
states belong to the Western
associated press, while those COM
prising the Texas association
are the Post, of Houston, the
Dallas Herald, the Fort Worth Ga
zette, the Waco Examiner, San Anto-
Mo Express and Austin STATESMAN.
By the stipulations of the contract
the Texas association controls Texas
territory, and terms of admission to
the news thus secured by other, or
new papers, have to be arranged with
the TeXasIassociation, and in the local
territory with the individual papers
occupying the different fields. The
Texas association in now getting into
perfect working trim. A special
agent for the interchange of news has
just been appointed, and he is. because
of Geographic arrangements, tempo
rarily located at Galveston. He is
there not from preference of the Texas
association, but because the inter
change of news sent over the Western
Union wires is made at Galveston.
Why this should be so we do not I'M
derstand. Houston or Dallas ought
to be the point for such
interchange, and it is hoped
the time is not distant when such
change will be effected. The STATES
MAN is pleased to see the Post dis
cussing this question. The writer of
the Post article is mistaken, however,
in connecting the Texas associated
press organization with the edito-
rial association which has just
been iu session at Dallas. The two
associations are distinct in their Or
CARNATIONS, the one devoted to the
collection and dissemination of news,
possessing corporate powers and val
liable franchises hereunder, the other
being more of a social organization
than anything else, and to which
members Of all the Texas papers may
belong. But the Post says:
Galveston is situated on an island,
and can be reached only by telegraph
wires strung on one set of poles,
where, if one pole breaks, commune
cation is totally interrupted. She has
nine wires running through the
Houston office, and the coast fogs
make it very difficult to work
these, independent of the storms
which now and then prevail
and other Interruptions which
occur from time to time. She is iso-
lated from the world. and can get
only what is sent from other points.
On the other hand, Houston is CEN
trally located. Instead of two rail
roads she has ten; instead OF nine
wires working in one direction, she
has twenty wires radiating in all di-
rections of the compass. There are
no atmospherical Interruptions such
as are found so difficult to work
through nearer the coast, and if the
Geographic routes fail in two or three
directions there are still other routes
over which news can be transmitted,
while, as before stated, Galveston has
only'one route, and, that failing, all
fails. We are not disposed to be
unreasonable in the matter, but. look
ing at it from a business standpoint,
we think the facts show that our in
terror papers could be served with
press reports from Houston with
greater certainty and with less delay
than from Galveston. So far as the
Post is concerned it makes little
difference, as we get our dis
patches direct from st. Louis. and
often have them in type before they
can be repeated over interrupted
wires to Galveston. The subject is
one in which interior papers are in
terested, and we hope on their ac-
count that the associated press agent
will be removed to Houston.