The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-04-29
PICTURES BY WIRE.

The CALL of yesterday published an
account Of Thursdays naval pageant in
New York which was so graphic that San
Franciscans saw the scene as distinctly as
those who live in New York. Indeed.
considering the smoke and the haze and
the driZze, the progress of the President
reviewing the double line of warshipS from
the deck of his yacht was probably made
clearer by the printed description than it
had been to those who watched il with the
eye; 10 the observers on excursion boats or
on the wharves the boom of the cannon
must have seemed an unintelligible and in
cessanL war, while in The CALL account
each separate salute was described so
faithfully that the reader heard the sounds
and distinguished one from the other. The
practlced skill of the reporter annihilated
distance and carried San Francisco on the
wings of fancy to the banks of the Hudson.
To appreciate how marvellous such a feat
really is we must go back nearly century.
The death of Washington was an event
only second in Importance TO the surrender
at Yorktown; but ten days elapsed before
it was known in New York. Jefferson's
Inaugural was a mOment0us document as
indicating new political departure; the
Washington newspaper which reprinted it
did so in installments, SO that month
elapsed before it was laid entire before tie
people On the 18th of June, 1915, the des-
TIMES OF modern Europe were settled by the
battle Of Waterloo; 1t was fought not far
from the British shores, but it was the 22i
before London knew for a certainty that
Napoleon had been overwhelmed At a far
later period, In 1859, John Browns raid at
Harper's Ferry cast the shadow of the com
ing war on the national horizon; when the
New York Herdld-alone among the dailies
- reported the trial verbatim by telegraph
it was considereda marvellous feat of enter
prise.
If the art Of disseminating intelligence
has made such progress in this century, 10
what perfection will it be brought in the
twentieth? It is not to be supposed that
nsws-gatherlng and news telling have
reached finalitY. Nothing stands still,
.least of all newspapers. In what direction
must we look for the coming development
of the business of printing passing events?
A key to the answer may possibly be found
in tine news and local columns of The
CALL. When the daily newspaper first
began to encrOach upon the province of the
illustrated weeklies, conservative journal
lists frowned at the innovation. 1t was said
tnaL IL was Impossible TO Drlnt pictures on
the fast presses used by daily papers. 1t
was urged that artists could not draw, nor
engraYeTs engrave illustrations OF events If
one day in time 10 appear in papers of the
following day. These views were confirmed
by the sad fate which overlook the Daily
Graphic OF New York. They carried such
conviction to the mind of James Gordon
Bennett that he declared he would rather
sink the Herald in the bay than put pictures
in it. We have lived to see all these
obstacles overcome by the progress Of art
and the ingenuity of printers; and now the
Herald publishes very creditabe illustra-
tions indeed, not from the bottom of the
bay, but from the Office in Ann street.
So far as verbal description is concerned
1t viii be difficult to excel such narratives
as The CALLS account Of the naval review.
But its value might have been enhanced IL
1t had been accompanied by pictures taken
from photographs from the actual scene and
transmitted by wire. In this particular
case photographs of the ships reviewed
were easily attainable. and clever artists
at distance were able to group them.
But when we receive Hdrper's Heektg
and the Illustrated american we shall
see that these pictures. meritorious as
they are fall far short of actual representa-
tions taken on the spot and at the time.
Here is where the newspaper of the future
will see The opening for progress. How to
photograph scene ami transmit the photo
graph line for line to any distance by a tele-
gra pbic wire is The problem for the artist.