The record-union., 1892-03-26
A FAMOUS BEAT. !"
How Cool-Headed Managing Editor
Won His Point.

Won His Point.
! The mystery of mysteries III the news
paper world for years has been how the
| te10td scored It's great beat in 1887 by
printing the Presidents message in full
on the morning OF the day it was sent TO
the Senate. True, other papers had brief
extracts rom the message in their second
editions, but censoriouS public credited
them with stealing the matter from their
contemporary.
Some managing editors are born with a
nose Tor news" others achieve "beatS,"
but | doubt if many men in that position
can boast OF having great news feature
literally thrust upon them. The secret
mas been limited at but never told by the
chIe1 participants. Perhaps there is a
moral III 1T Tor every managing editor,
as well as for every reader oil a newspa-
per.
1t was of the end Of a very dull night.
Great events generally occur on dun
nights. The Associated Press had re-
! celved information that the Herd{d had
surreptltiOuSiy obtained complete copy
OF President Cleveland's message and in
| tended to print it in full in the morning.
AS the Associated Press was the custodian
OF the message, which was TO have been
sent on the following day to every after
noon customer. this announcement nat
urally filled its local manager IN New
DIRK with CONSERVATION. Where that
/
the Associated Press, is still mystery.
AS the "A. P.' was the accredited Gus
todlan OF the message, 1T would never do
10 permit its premature publication, if it
could be prevented. Bad faith would
surely be charged. 1t must be sup
pressed at once. The night manager of
| that news agency took his hat and rushed
across the street. n pneumatic tube con-
meets all the offices belonging to the assoc
cation, but the gentleman preferred to 90
IN person. He descended by the elevator
in the Western Union building, and was
soon climbing the iron stairs in the
Hef0td office, a moment later out of
breath, he had demanded an audience
with the editor in charge. This is about
what occurred.
Il understand that the Herald has OBJ
tanned the Presidents message in some
underhand way, and intends publishing
1t tomorrow before it has been delivered
TO Congress-
'Indeedn'
Now, you must not do this. The
HcTdtd is a member Of the Associated
Press, and the honor Of the association
Is pledged not to circulate this message
until tomorrow afternoon"
We'll, really" said the diplomatic ed
ltor. who was intensely mystified and in
| cllned TO wait developments, what YOU
may or may not do is of very little con-
sequence 10 the Herald, and L can assure
you will not influence it in the least"
But | have 1t from the very best au-
| thorlty that you already have the mess
age IN TINS office ana are setting it up.'
suppose we have the message. What
them" And the editor excused himself
and went out, oStenSibly to consult with
some one, but in reality to catch his
breath and consider the situation, for. as
may be imagined, somebody had been
imposing on the Associated Press agent.
The HerGtd did not have and did not ex-
poet to have the message ahead of its cir
cUlatlou by the association. After q few
turns in the HeruId'S big Hbrary-room,
the editor decided on line OF policy. He
returned to the press agent and informed
him that the Herald would not think OF
changing any of its plans, even though
the association were beaten
" cry WE'LL said the visitor rising to
go; If that be the case, the only thing we
can do is to send out The message to-
night, even at the expense of breaking
faith with the President. Our customers
must be properly served"
This was as the executive editor had
hoped. lie sent for the foreman of the
compoSing-rOOm, and Instructed him to
be in readiness to set an extra page at n
late hour, as 1T was expected that the
Presidents message would come in.
sure enough, about l O'Clock that night
in it camel
The editor hurried it to the composing
room, and subheaded it, sheet by sheet.
as 1t went out. Result, the Herd3d had
a page of the Presidents message set,
read, corrected and III the form before :
O'Clock, while the other papers, not being
prepared to handle it, coming unan-
nounced as it did at so late an hour. could
only use few disconnected paragraphs
from the important document. The
Herald, thanks to the editor in charge
that night, scored fine beat" but that
Associated Press agent probably has con-
graduated himself for years at having
partially defeated the Vaccinations of an
enterprlsing newspaper.
The moral for managing editors in this
incident is not to believe all you hear. or
confess to all you do not know.-From
THE Managing Editor" by Julius
Chambers, in Lippincott's.