Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-11-27
Those Election Returns Again

COnDeCllon Will election returns from \ NeW
York, ana expressed the opinion that
| Whitelaw Reid, of the Tribune, had exer.
| cised an undue share of influence in the
| work This morning the Journal contains
an editorial on the subject. written aftel
David NJ Stone, the editor had inquired
! into the the facts. 1t is as follows The
| Joint Executive Committee of the Western
and New York Associated Press met yester
| terdav to investigate complaints which
| have been made from both parties concern.
| ing reports of the late political campaign
| up to and including the returns of the elec
| ton After a careful sitting of the evi
| dence, several facts of public intecest were
| established beyond controversy, and we
| refer to them briefly in justice to ourselves
| and others. The arrangements for report
| ing the proceedings of conventions, tbs
acceptance of nominations and savings and
doings of the several candidates were
shown to have been as perfect as could
| well be devised and wholly without par
| tisan bias. Any seeming partiahty to one
or the other side in the dispatches received
| was corrected at once by William Henry
Smith general agent, and all that human
ingenuity could devise was done to give
reliable intelligence, uncolorcd by partisan
prejudice" The editorial comedies that
Mr.. Reid has no personal connection what
ever relative to gathering returns. In re-
gard to the collection of New York State
returns, the journal says that, so far as the
action of the General Manager of the Asso-
| ciated Press or the control Of the machin-
| cry is concerned, there is no cause for com
plant, and concludes as follows: Exactly
| how the returns from this State took on
the partisan character they assumed, one
need not say, but We are satisfied that nc
1 4. & -.
| Associated Press had any share in CON
| tributing to that result
REPORT OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.
NEw YORK, November 26th.-A meeting
! of the Joint Executive Committee of the
| New York Associated Press and the West
! ern Associated Press, called in New York
to investigate the published charges OF
partisanship in their dispatches during the
campaign, and their collection of election
returns, was attended as follows Charles
A. Dana, of the New York Sun, Chair
man. Whitelaw Reid, of the Tribune
Secretary; James Gordon Bennett
of the Herald, Represented by Dr.
tG. ". Hamerl; Richard Smith, OF
I the Cincinnati COmmerciQI GG-ette w. n
| Halderman, of the Louisville Courier
Journal After a thorough investigation OF
| the work, including circulars of instruc-
| ton, correspondence with candidates, COM
plants from both Democratic and Repub-
lican sources, dispatches sent out, returns
received by telegraph, and the originals
| filed by the senders i'll the several telegraph
| offices, Messrs. w. n. Halderman of the
/ Louisville Courier journal, and Richard
| Smith, of the Cincinnati Commercial! Ga
zette We're appointed subcommittee to
/ summarize the conclusions reached by the
| tnI 40
report, which was unanimously adopted
| and the Chairman and Secretary of the
| joint Executive Committee were instructed
| to sign the same, and transmit it to the
members and clients of the two aSsocia-
| tiOnS.
| To the Members and Clients Of the Associated
| Press The joint Executive Committee did not
deem il advisable, during a sharply contested
campaign, to take public notice of the misrepre-
| SentaiiOns and unwarranted criticisms published
| against the Associated Press. Observation shows
| that during such seasons of excitement men are
| moved by passion rather than by reason. Now
| that the party contest IS closed, the committee
deem it their duty to make public the following
statement:
\ meeting OF the committee was called for the
18th inst, to which David W. Stone. Esq, Presi-
| dent of the New YORK Associated Press. and the
| Hon. Joseph Pulitzer, of its Executive Commit
| tee, were invited. The latter was unfortunately
out of the city, but Mr.. Stone attended and gave
experience. 4 careful review Of the work done,
| and of the official records, warrant the state
| ment that the high character and partisan
| fairness that have given the Associ-
| tidence in the past have been firmly
maintained, and that no improper influences,
political or otherwise, have been permitted to
enter into its management. The work, strictly
confined within the limits prescribed by rules
which experience has proved TO be safe and
| just to all parties has been larger than in any
| previous campaign. This was due to q greater
number Of party divisions and to the demand OF
| the press for a fuller service. The State Con
ventOns, nearly a hundred in number and the
National Conventions of all the political organ
izatiOns We're reported with d thoroughneSS and
rapidity surprising anything ever before at
tempted. The subsequent official action of the
party committees, the letters, addresses, and
movements OF the candidates, were carefully
provided for under instructions similar in Ian
guage and spirit. 1t has never been considered
as within the legitimate functions of this n0n-
partisan Association to report ordinary cam
paign meetings, or to transmit the scandals that
spring up during such heated periods. All such
have been vigorously excluded from the ASSo-
ciated Press reports. The charge that the cleo
ton returns in the State OF New York were with
held, are disprovcd by the fact that out of total
of 10,0y9 wards and towns in the State the
Associated Press received on election night re-
turns from $50, whereas i'll 1876 returns were
received from only 25f, and in 1850 from only
293. The extent, rapidity and substantial
accuracy of this service were never equalled
before in this State the total votes of which in
1881 reached the enormous number Of l,l67, ,005,
so nearly divided between the two great parties
as 10 leave to the victor only about / 100 of Il
plurality. The investigation shows that while
there were some serious errors in the telegraph
ing of our reports especially from remote points,
ferent lines of telegraph, and while these errors
i'll the main, diminished the apparent strength of
Cleveland, there was but one error of Importance
i'll the Office of the Associated Press. This was
in Il bulletin issued on November 9th. two days
after the election, known as " Bulletin No, H.
In making this up one of the mathematicians
employed, i'll the absence OF full returns from
districts, instead OF continuing to estimate
the percentage of Democratic gains, as had been
done before, undertook to estimate the actual
pluralities and by this process figured out q
plurality of i33 for Mr. Blaine. The sub-agent
in charge OF the Office sent this out without suf
ficient scrutiny, but it corrected as soon as
its indccuracy was positively ascertained. In
regard to this error the committee find no evil
deuce of any intentional WrOng-doing on the
part Of the Sub-sgent. From first to last there
was no effort to control or affect the returns by
any member of the committee in any interest
nor any interference OF any sort, and the gen
eral instructions under which the work was
done were strictly fair, non-pgrtisan, and more
thorough and minute than ever before.
CHARLES A. DANA, Chairman.
WHITELAw REID Secretary.
General office of the Associated Press, New York
November 26, 1881.
An Election Bet Being Paid by Woman
BosroN, November 26th-Y esterday fore
noon little striped tent was erected within
the Tremont-street wall of the Common,
near the ParN-street gate, and upon an
adjacent tree was hung q sign bearing the
inscription. " Paying an Election Bet"
Shortly before O'Clock number of paper
bags containing peanuts were exposed upon
a rude counter placed at the opening of the
tent, within which stood gray-haired and
comfortable looking lady with a good
natured visage, who calmly awaited Gus
toners. The lady is Mrs John Milliken,
and for the current day she held a license
to yend peanuts on the common from A.
II. to 8 P. NJ. She was of the opinion prior
TO the election that Cleveland would have
10000 plurality in New York and backed
that opinion with wager of $50, to be
earned by the course she has pursued
Land Conspiracy Exposed.
BILLINGS (Mont.), November 26th.-A. J.
Granville, q trader and stockman. who ar
rived here yesterday direct from the Grow
Agency, says that II. J. Armstrong, the
Agent, Colonel Blake of the army and
many Others are parties to conspiracy to
get control of Indian lands for wealthy
syndicate. An interpreter admits having
received 81 900 for his services in frlrthering
the scheme by talking it up among the
Indians Granville says the syndicate is
prepared TO take 100000 acres of the land
for ten years, laying an annual rental of
cent an acre. The lands they are after lie
in the Yellowstone valley and are verv
fertile They are accessibIn to railroads