Morning journal and courier., 1884-03-08
DELIVERED BY CARRIERS IN THE C1TY, 12 GENTS WEEK, 42 CENTS MONTH, $500 A YEAR. THE SAME TEENS By MAIL News by Telegraph
 FROM ALL QUARTERS. MORE LIGHT LET IN On the Prosecutions of
 Star Reuters. SPENCER TELLS HIS STORY. Events That Went Before
 the Trial. THE WESTERN UNION RATES. Their Effect On the News
 Service.
THE WESTERN UNION RATES.
Their Effect On the News
 Service.
THE NATIONAL CAPITAL.

THE NATIONAL CAPITAL. The Star Route TriaIs-Ex Senator
 Spencer Before The CommIttee-An
 Interesting History of Events That
 Led to the Prosecutions.
 WASHINGTON, March 7.-Ex Senator George E. Spencer, of Nevada, was this morning. s witness before the Springer committee. He claims to have been the first to have investi- gated Star route matters, to have found crookedness in Nevada but not snch as could be made subject for conviction iu a court of law, to have avoided service as witness outside of Nevada as he would get no allow ance for mileage, etc., and to have gone to Washington to assure Bliss that he knew nothing which could help the government, but could arrange no interview because Bliss wanted to wait until he got him in court. On the witness stand this morning he said: q never saw Dorsey and Brady together, and consequently never saw Dorsey pay Brady any money or give him an envelope with money or anything elss in it. The statement of MT. James that I saw Dorsey pay Brady money or hand him an envelope is 8 mistake. I never saw these gentlemen together anywhere" The visit Dorsey paid the witness on June 12, 1881, at his room at the Everett house, New York, WAS spoken of in detail. Witness said the testimony of Mir. Dorsey on the visit was correct. Witness was questioned closely by the committee in regard to the report that Dorsey had paid Brady money and that witness had seen him do it. Witness again stated that he never saw them together. He had often heard Dorsey speak very bitterly of Brady before the trial and had heard him say while the latter was second assistant postmaster gen eraI that Brady should be removed from of flee. Dorsey dislike1 Brady and upto the time of the trial they never had anything to do with each other personally that witness kne v of In regard to the trials of the accused contractors witness said the government se- lectsd the most complicated of the routes and he thought that the government officers pa raded their cases before the country too much. He mentioned the different Star route contractors combinations, and said the most culpable were never tried nor prose- cuted, nor had there been any effort made to do so. The efforts that were made to arbitrats the alleged Star route discrepancies were narrated at length Second Assistant Postmaster General Elmer had told the witness that the different com binations had proposed to pay all amounts that 8 board of arbitration could show that they had wrongfully withheld from the gov ernment on account of undue expedition. The scheme did not materialze- Since the trials the witness considered that the Star route contractors were his enemies and he had no conversation with them on the sub- iect. He had heard and believed that the
 rannirod In f0 thnca who controlled it B 1-3 per cent. of the ex- petition money. He could not say who told him. He believed that Rerdell had said so; at least that report was in the air.
 The Proposal To Copyright News.
 WASHINGTON, March 7.-The joint commit tee on the library today decided to hear the views of leading journalists and newspaper proprietors on the proposal to copyright news.
 Not MonopOIy-sO Says Manager
 Smith of the Associated Press.
 WASHINGTON, March 7.-General Manager Smith of the Associated Press testified to day before the Senate Committee on Postofiees and Post Roads that it's business is not 8 monopoly. At p. m. a recess was taken
 
 committee to examine the contract between the Western Union company and the Asso- ciated Press which Mr. Smith had brought with him and gave the committee for their private inspection.
 At 4 o'clock Chairman Hill was the only member of the committee present and he alone conducted the examination of MT. Smith up to the close. Referring to the contract between the Western Union and the Associated Press MT. Smith said it would ex- pirs in 1892 with the privilege that either party may terminate at the end of any year by giving six months notice. When asked by Senator Hill whether the rule of the ss- sociation allowed it's clients to purchase and publish the news of rival associations Mir. Smith replied that they did not. Some papers had expressed desire to do so. The rules had never been enforced except by calling the attention of the paper proprietor to it, but If any paper persisted in violating this rule he thought it ought to be put ont of the association. When asked what objection he had to their clients using the news of rival associations he said it was because it brought about opportunities for the surreptitloas obtaining of Associated Press news by per- sons not entitled to it, thus impairing the value os this news. Senator Hill failed to see the force of this objection or how the mere purchase of rivals news could afford that rival an opportunity to steal news. Withe1t making this perfectly clear to the chairman Mr. Smith advanced another reason, holding that an Associated Press paper by purchasing the news of 8 rival association strengthened that association and by strength ening it perhaps enabled it to build up x .iVals or anti-Associated Press journals in other cities. Senator Hill asked whether if some other press association were started could it succeed without using the Western Union lines. In reply ing MT. Smith disagreed with the opinion expressed by General Manager Phillips of the United Press that the United Press could not s9c- eetd with opposition telegraph lines Mir. Smith thought the rival association had sue ceeded before 1t patronized the opposition lines. It had very good service now by the Baltimore and Ohio and other telegraph companies and even in the event of the consolidation of telegraph lines would still have the same facilities, cqn- tracts, etc. He then menti9ned what he called aiscriminaf .tnst the Assoclated Press by the WeS' = nion, asserting that g Nashville journal leased 8 wire from that company between Louisville and Nashville for $5, ,OeO per annum, while the Associated Press paid ST, 1000 per annum for a wire be- tween those places.