The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-12-08
THE TIMES so BoYCOTTER.

THETIMEs 80 BOYCOTTER.
The Star of this city had an editorial
an evening or two back, from which We
make the following extract:
You have heard the news. OF course
No? Why, it's the talk Of the town-tne
stupendous boycott on foot! But 1t ism
the work OF any of those anarchlstic labor
unions this time. it's not one OF their
internal conspiracies TO array Grass
against class; they are not in this thing.
This is a newspaper affair-strictly. 1t IS
a fight on the part Of the papers VINO
use the dispatches of the United ana
Southern Press against the ASSOCIATED
Press. Why. The Times, of this city. ana
another morning paper-we think there is
another morning paper pubHShed mere
have gone so far. we are told, as TO posi-
lively prohibit any of their reporters or
attaches to send. or give TO others 10
send a line Of news to journals that
patronize the Associated Press. You are
surprised to hear of The Times engaged
In the boycott business after its bitter
denunciation of such methods? Well
well, men do not always practice what
they preach. II is as human TO be incon-
sstent as to err In other ways.
And the Petersburg Index-Appeal has
an article upon tlle SdHlc SuOJVNN III "iiNH
II says
For instance. our Richmond morning
contemporaries have now organized a
boycott against their reporters who may
happen to send an occasional news item
to northern newspapers that are not sup
piled by the same press association which
gathers news for the Richmond journals.
That may be strictly business" but
when our contemporaries get ready 10
attack the Sugar Trust or Pullman, or
the cora and wheat combine, they ought
not to forget that they are nursing the
spirit and encouraging the principle OF
monopoly in their own establishments.
The Times tries earnestly and con-
scientiously to be always just and TO
practice what II breaches in all things;
II condemns and opposes the boycott"
and II cannot, therefore, allow state
ments Of this sort about its conduct TO
pass without full explanation of the
case. which it now makes.
The controversy which is at the bottom
OF the orders to which the Star and In
dex-Appeal object and call a boycott has
grown out Of the severance of business
relationship between the Southern Asso-
ciated Press, Of which The Times is a
member. and the Western Associated
Press which for a long time has been the
rival in the North and West of the United
Press
Newspapers, it should be understood
are engaged in the business of collect
ing and selling items of interest known
as "news." That newspaper which can
most successfully collect and prepare the
news is most certain to be itself sue
cess. To this end newspapers associate
themselves TO aid one another in collect
ing news, and hence the formation of
so-called press associations. Until the re-
cent disturbance, the newspapers in the
South, from Richmond to New Orleans,
and from Memphis to the end of Florida,
including the papers of Knoxville and
Chattanooga, were combined for their
mutual aid and assistance in collecting
the news, In what was known as the
Southern Associated Press This South
ern Associated Press had contracts both
with the United Press, of New York, and
the Western Associated Press, whose
headquarters are at Chicago TO get from
them all their news, and in return gave
them all of ours. Recently however, the
Southern Associated Press discovered
that the Western Associated Press had
been guilty of the most fragrant breach
OF faith TO 1t. and. further, were deter
mined to come into the Southern terri
tory and disrupt the organization OF the
Southern Associated Press by taking from
IL all the papers that could be induced
10 leave the southern association and Join
the western. Thereupon the Southern AS
ISOLATED Press, feeling that in the
preservation OF their association lay their
own greatest strength and protection, de-
termined that they would cut off all
further connection with the Western
Press and form a close and exclusive
ALTAR &c with the United Press. At re-
cent meeting at Atlanta, where twenty
four southern papers were represented,
twenty-three out of twenty-four voted
for this course, the dissenting member
holding itself. however. bound by the ac-
ton of the other twenty-three. All the
papers that originally belonged to the
Southern Associated Press have kept up
their connection with II. except two in
New Orleans. and, we think. only three
others two OF which are evening papers.
This being the state OF the case. the
Southern Associated Press forbid its
members. and. OF course. their employees,
10 furnish news to their rival. II being
plain thau as news was matter OF the
utmost importance, and as each member
Of the Western Associated Press was
obliged 10 help the other, news collected
by the employees OF the Southern Asso-
ciated Press, or any OF Its members,
which should be sent TO the Western
Associated Press. or any OF its mem
hssA would be destroying the very OBJ