The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-12-27
SECRETS OF STATE.
How Government Matters Are
Kept From the Public.
APRESIDENT'S MESSAGE STOLEN
Things That Are Concealed Even From
Songress-The Publication OF
the Consular Reports.

isheo weight OF anxiety was lifted from
the minds OF the public printer and his
ioIelnan- The annual addresses of the
chiei executive to congress are always
Nightmares TO the government printing
ONCE, anu until they are formally received
py the national Legislature there is no
sound sleep for the officials in charge
Iheir task Is like the guarding of a
treasure, Tor the possession of which few
hourS In advance eager newspapers are
Feauy 10 pay fortune. Once and only
once was message stolen, and the incl
Gent has passed into history.
Sixteen picked compositors set up the
last message. They were chosen, as
usual, Tor their trustworthiness. So secret
was their task that, if one of them had
even said when the job was done, Il have
been working on the presidents
message today" discovery of the
fact would have caused his dis
charge. -Four hours were required
Tor putting the document into type and
during that time the selected men, grouped
by themselves, were held under the watch
fuI eye OF the foreman. The copy, received
In type script from the White House, was
cut up into takes" so small that no indi-
vldual could make head or tail of his own.
No one was allowed 10 see any proof of
other takes than those which he himself
handled, and all the imperfect proofs taken
were gathered into bag as carefully as if
they had been SO much gold, and burned
in the furnace. Not scrap was permitted
to escape.
The galleys full of type, as fast as they
were made up, were placed on shelves in
an iron room built like safe Whenever
one was taken out, receipt was given for
1t, which was torn up when it was put
back. Not less than two men were per-
mitted to move galley. Two proofs were
taken finally OF the completed message
one for the office and the other on fine pa
per for the president. The final proof was
read by Arthur II. Brown, Dictionary
Brown" he is called, because Of his mar
velous accuracy about words.
Sometimes compositors in the govern
ment printing Office have kicked at
Browns corrections of their work Re-
peatedly they have called his attention to
the dictionary, and have shown him that
Webster Endorsed their own Judgment.
$50 it does" Brown would say, calmly.
Then he would correct the dictionary
with pen and ink. His corrections were
always right, too. Once he sent about
twenty of them to the publishers of the
dictionary, who accepted all of them, and
made HIM present of an elegantly bound
copy. He suggested several cancellations
in Mr.. Harrison's recent message, and
they were adopted by the author. Any
president is fortunate in having such a
critic of his work before it reaches the
public.
When Mr.. Arthur was president, Public
Printer Rounds was so anxious about the
secrecy of the message that he took one of
the cases himself, under orders from his
own foreman. On the occasion referred
to the manuscript of the address to con-
gress came into the Office in scraps. 1t
kept arriving piecemeal from Saturday
afternoon to Monday morning The chief
magistrate presumably wanted to see how
it looked when prettily printed, as he pro-
ceeded with his composition. With kindly
consideration for the printers, he provided
them while they were engaged upon the
task with what they described as elegant
grub" sending his own steward from the
executive mansion TO serve it.
The message which Was stolen was the
last one written by President Hayes 1t
was not obtained from the government
printing office. For the sake of extra pre-
caution ii was set up IN the branch office
of the treasury department. Rumors that
it would be obtainable in advance got
about Newspaper Row somehow, and
combinations were formed TO purchase it
in case it should be offered for sale. The
price IN such an event would necessarily
be large, and il was worth while TO divide
it. One of these combinations was formed
by the New York Times. Cincinatti COM
BierciatGGzette and the Chicago Times.
On the afternoon of the Saturday before
the Monday on which the message was TO
be placed in the hands of congress, the
correspondent of the New York Times was
sitting in his office on the row, reading
the evening paper. He had pretty well
made up his mind by that time that there
was nothing in the report which had been
circulated.
4 young man, but slightly known as a
newspaper correspondent, walked in and
asked in iocular way what was the latest
intelligence about the message.
Nothing that | know of, was the re-
"Do you care to buy it?" asked the
youth.
Il shouldn't mind. " said the Times man,
imagining that the visitor was joking.
To his surprise the young man drew out
from his pocket package, which proved
on inspection TO be the much-desired doc
ument.
How much do you want for this" was
asked.
How much will you give?" said the
youth.
"IU give Won $1,000 for it," said the
Times correspondent.
The young man said that he thought he
could get more than that, and after brief
Maggie 81 500 was agreed upon as the price.
II WAS understood that the money should
be paid only on condition that the mes
sage reached no other hands.
No time was lost in communicating with
the correspondents of the Cincinnati Conf
mercidi- Gazette and Chicago Times and the
representatives Of the three papers hired a
room IN the EbbItt house. procuring tele-
graph instruments and operators 10 send
the dispatches thence. This was done
with the utmost secrecy, not a word being
hreathed 10 anybody for fear lest some
untoward accident should spoil the biggest
scoop that was ever made from Washing
ton City.
So far as this end of the business was
concerned things went admirably. During
all that evening the telegraph instruments
were busllv ticking in the room az the
Ebbtt house, ana the message was sent
flying simultaneously to three cities
None Of the other correspondents here had
any notion of what was going on, but III
New York word got OUT IN some way that
the message was coming over the
wires. No one could tell what
paper was getting II, but the rumor
set the CORES ponGentS there on the alert.
The men who represented Chicago papers
in the metropolis wired - the home offices
a warning. TO prevent the happening q
lust what did occur the New orS Itaies
was held back from the presses for forty
1--WE minutes after the usual time. As
IL a.