The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1884-01-30
PRESS PIRATES.

'When Shakespeare said, 'There De
land-rats and water-rats, water.tbieves
and land .ih!eves--I mean pirates" he
could hardly have thought there would
arise pirates capable OF stealing newspa.
per and bodily transferring Its contents.
But Inc enterprise Of modern pirates mas
| already reached that point.
The Post Dispatch, for example, spends
hundreds OF dollars each day in collecting
The news. As soon as the paper Is issued,
gang OF pirates 10 ST. Louis select the
news we have paid for, set 1t up, stereotype
| II, and sell 1t. II is not theirs; they have
not paid for It.. 1t has cost US . great deal
Of money; IL is our property; our title to it
iss Just and honest one; but we are rob.
bed BY pirates.
Now, II is said that . committee Is at
Washington endeavoring to secure the pass.
age Of a law by which the newspapers will
be permitted 10 own their own property for
forty eight houls. At this the pirates have
taken the alarm. They call 1t IAN at.
tempt 10 legalize u gigantic monopoly
and 40 attempt ito make 1t lawful for the
| minor newspapers and country press to re-
produce current news during the period
when 1t has much value" and they call Oh
the country papers to stop it.
| We shall expect soon to hear the pick.
pockets call 1t monopoly" when = gen.
tlemsn insists on bis right TO 80 exclusive
possession OF bis handkerchief.
| n the news "hss much value" as the
pirates say 1t has, why do they not pay for
its Is there any other trade in which re-.
something which belongs to somebody
else, and which has much value, and
then howl when be is called on to pay for
it!
The country papers are welcome to the
news from the exchanges. But thero ID
neither justice nor honesty 10 tolerating
these land. pirates who live of the Industry
OF others.
1t is true there are associations other than
the Associated Press (Which is controlled in
St. Louis, bv half dozen newspapers to
the exclusion Of all newcomers, whose
legitimate business it is to gather news for
daily papers to whom the monopol.ts deny
their reports. 1t Is also true that by the
assistance OF these associations daily papers
in the smaller cities are enabled to appear
simultaneously with their more prstentIou
neishbors, with all Of the Geographic new
that is worth the printing; but
is not true that these dispatches are stolel
from anybody who has legitimate Claim
upon them. Having once been publish ed
they belong TO the public, to the individual
who is willing to buy the paper containing
them. or improved ma chinery and bushes
enterprise enables the suburban press t,
give the same news to their readers at the
same moment that the metropolitan news
papers can furnish 1t, who Is to say then
nay. As matter of fact, however, Will,
the columns Of the Post-Dispatch wer
once culled for the purpose so bitterly
complained Of, they are but little used now
| nu o'ohiu6 SVutoMPoi"y VI VIA
sheet furnishing better news of freshel
date, which together with the original dis
patches taken and paid for by the Ameri
can Press Association against which tn
above thrust is made) enables the outsid
dailies to furnish a much better and NOR
reliable report than that served up by tina
Ishmselite Of Journalism, the Post. Dis
patch.