The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1885-03-14
STEALING A MESSAGE.
Sharp Practice and a Great Jour-
nalistic Feat.
How Three Able and Enterprising Jour
nalists Secured an Advance Copy,
and How Fourth Stole 1t
From Them.

One of the important events of the
year to Newspaper Row. in Washing
ton is the annual appearance of the
Presidents Message. This is never fur
nished to the press to appear in print
until after its presentation to Congress.
Many times in years past the cor
respondents have exercised the utmost
ingenuity in their efforts to get it, by
hook or crook, so as to print it day or
two in advance. Two or three times
they have succeeded, much to the an
noyance and chagrin of the different
Presidents who have fallen victims to
journalistic voracity. OF late years it
has been so scrupulously and systemat-
ically guarded that it very rarely gets
out ahead of time. An advance copy
will at any time command large price,
and this has more than once induced
treachery in the Government Printing
Office. In no other way is 1t possible
for it to reach the public prematurely.
Before Grants time the sharp news
paper men had succeeded now and then
in getting message before the day of
its delivery. They tried their skill on
Grant, who was not ''up' on such mat
tiers, and successfully, too. They out
generated the General. His first mes
sage became the prey of the Row, and
people knew all about it before Con-
gress met. But they did not fool him
u second time. He said nothing about
it, but the next year he guarded his
message so carefully that none of the
correspondents were able to get the
slightest trace of it. The night before
the day of its delivery the President sent
a messenger along the Row and invited
a number of the leading correspondents
to call at the White House the follow
ing morning. Of course they were all
there at the appointed time. President
Grant entered the room with big roll
of manuscript in his hand and twinkle
in his eye. 1t was perfectly safe to
''give out" the message then, as there
was not time to make any possible use
of it till after its delivery.
"Well, boys" said the President,
''you outflanked me last year, but l
don't believe you will do it again.
Here's the message. You can all sit
down and copy it if You want to-"
Nobody wanted it then, as it was al
ready in the hands of the Associated
Press, and would be promptly furnished
to their respective papers. But they all
laughed and declared it an excellent
joke. All of Grants subsequent mes
sages were guarded with equal care,
and to the end of his Administration he
was as good as his word; not one of
them had the edge taken off by prema-
ture publication. But they played it on
Hayes.
How the unsuspecting and guileless
Hayes was taken in by syndicate of
enterprising journalists was told to me
the other evening by one of the guilty
trio. These were the representatives Of
the New York Times, Chicago Times
and Cincinnati Enquirer. 1t was in
1877. The boys had been nosing around
with more than usual zeal, trying to get
on the scent of the message For sew
eral days everybody along the Row was
on the qui vive. There seemed to be
an indefinable idea that somebody would
get it ahead of time, and each of the
correspondents hoped to stick a feather
In his professional cap by proving him.
self the smartest of the lot. The mes
sage would be delivered on Monday, and
up to Saturday no one, as far as known,
had made any Roadway. Half dozen
different combinations, each consisting
of the representatives of three or four
widely-separated journals, had been
hard at work all the week, jealousy
guarding each syndicate from the other,
what tidings, if any, had been obtained
Journalistic rivalry was at white heat.
Those who did get stolen copy of the
document were success
full by the merest accident. 1t appeared
that the New York Tribune man was
the only who really struck lead that
promised to pan out rich. He had care
fully nursed the scheme, and was on the
very point of securing a magnificent
''scoop-as such feat is termed in
journalistic phrase the other fell
lows stumbled upon the scent and
bagged the game. Early Saturday
evening the New York Times CORES
pendent was sitting at his desk in de-
iected mood, mentally tewailing the
failure of all his efforts to steal the mes
age. A stranger entered, and in a
voice that betrayed excitement inquired
that was the New York TribuNe Of
Ice
That's al right" said the Times
nan. Have you got itP''
It had flashed ncross his mind when