Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1884-02-28
TIE LACK OF TELEGRAPH
Competition for Early Ncws..- Begin
Mag OF tho Associated Pross--.Col-
Letting the ship News.


Mag Of tho Associated Pross-..Col-
lecting the ship News.
Moses s. Beach in New York SUM-
When the Mexican war broke out there
was, Of course, great composition for the
earliest news The telegraph had got as far
south as Richmond, Vs., and we employed
man named Bonsell to 90 TO Richmond and
receive The Sun dispatches at that point from
the mail and from there send the news by
wire. was sent away south as far as New
Orleans to see II by any possibility tho time
could be shortened from that point,
when the news Hrst came by steamer. The
only point found was between Mobile
and Montgomery. Between these points
there was detention Of thirty-six hours.
thought it could b done by courier on horse
back in twelve hours, and found man
named Riidell, and proposed to him to
undertake this, promising him large sum,
think it was 500. every time no got through
In time, and nothing IL he failed to connect
with the regular mail from Montgomery to
Richmond, and he ran that express for long
time He killed a good many horses, and
there was one man killed by being thrown
from his horss, bat his dispatches got
them
Well, when returned from this mission l
WINS pleased as dog with two tails at my
success, and at having made an arrangement
which would always insure beat of twenty
four hours for The Sun, and when went into
the office found there the editors Of all the
other papers Ny heart went down clear into
my boots but my father said, "You may tell
these gentlemen any arrangement you have
made; have told them that such of them as
like to go in and share the expense can do So"
This was the beginning Of the Associated
PreSs. 1t all grew out of this. The Courier
and Enquirer, The Journal of Commerce and
Express were the three large papers, and The
Sun, Herald and Tribune the three small
ones-six in all.
Mr. Hallock OF The journal of Commerce.,
and my father were the first to employ steam
In the collection OF ship news In partner
ship they purchased the steamer Naushon,
which had been built to run between New
Bedford and Nantucket and was All excellent
seaboat, and they called her the Newsboy and
ran her outside Of the Hook collecting ship
news until they sold her to tho Shipnews as
ISOLATION OF the Associated Press. Bennett
always had monopoly of ship news, and this
came about in this way: Daring tremen-
dous storm the ship Mexico went ashore near
here, and the pilots at the time were inside OF
the Hook carousing. The loss Of life was very
great, and all OF the papers except The Her
aid pitched into the pilots pretty severely.
Bennett defended them, said that their
business was an extra hazardous one aud that
they ought not to be expected to risk their
lives in such weather; that the ship ought to
have kept of shore, etc. Well, this made the
pilots kindly disposed to Tho Herald and any
news which they obtained they would so
direct to The Herald with it, and frequently
by landing at the east end OF Long Island and
taking horses they got The Herald dispatches
to the city days ahead Of tho arrival OF the
ship 1t was to offset this Ms much as posi-
Die that the Naushon was purchased and
equipped to cruise outside and intercept in
coming sailing ships. There were no
steamers then to Now York. Cunard estab-
lished line to Boston from Liverpool He
was pig headed, obstinate mah, and ho
could not for long tims be made to SEQ that
New York was the proper terminus.