The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-01-02

the Chicago fferaid, and Waiter Phillips,
the general manager. These three men
thought they saw an opportunity 10 seize
the entire news business of the country
and make il the source of immense reve-
nues, and they played a waiting game.
Under pledge of abandoning the West
ern territory and confning their opera
tions TO the East, they induced the West
ern Associated Press to break OF all re-
lations with the New York Associated
Press and enter into an arrangement Tor
an exchange OF news with the United
Press at New York, thus forcing all East
ern papers into the United Press clientele.
Having accomplished this they turned
upon the Western Associated Press. Thus
far they have utterly failed. Messrs.
Haldeman and Richard Smith allied
themselves with the United Press. Halde-
man carried his paper, the Louisville
Courier Journal, over TO the organization
with great flourish and Richard Smith
promised to do likewise with the Cincin-
natl Commercial Gazette, but up to this
time he has been unable TO do so, chiefly
because his stockholding in that paper Is
very small.
Now the struggle between the two as
sociations for supremacy goes on. The
QlUtrtuSt ptthtSh thcih ID oPPoA
ent at glance.
The Associated Press is a stock corpora
tion TO be sure, but by the terms OF its
organic law no member can hold more
than eight shares, and all members must
hold like amount. 1t is really a cooper
ative society, the cost OF the news gath
ering, the transmission and distribution
Is assessed upon Its members, and it is the
aim to do the business at cost. The man
agement is i'm the hands OF a board OF
directors and O general manager, elected
annually.
The United Press, on the other hand, is
controlled today by three men, and to-
morrow the majority OF its stock may
pass into the hands OF a single individual.
The newspapers buying it's reports have
no voice in the management. IL is openly
and avowedly a money making scheme,
and il given monopoly will levy tolls at
the will of three men-Laffan, Walsh and
Phillips. How dangerous, not alone to
the newspapers, but to the public it
would be to turn the power OF the Asso-
ciatcd Press over to any three men must
be apparent.
Under the cooperative plan OF The
Associated Press, the general manager
and his news report are subject TO the
closes. scrutiny OF some sixty members.
Under the close corporation plan OF the
United Press, the management is respon-
sible to no one.
Bat the United Press is not the only
corporation which Messrs. Laifan, Walsh
d Phillips control, as the following state
ment will show:
All the foreign news is gathered In Lon
don by two or three rival concerns. The
Associated Press alliance is with Reuter-,
whose name has been n household word
throughout the country for half
century. The United Press alliance Is
with rival called the Central News
Agency OF London. But The United
Press does not recievo its cable
grams direct from the Central
News. Bewcen these two agencies
stands another corporations called the In
ternational Telegram Company, which is
owned absolutely by Messrs. Laifan,
Walsh & Phillips. This international
Telegram Company buys the cablegrams
at a profit to the United Press. The
whole scheme is outlined in
The Following ixtraorlInnry Letter
sent by the general manager OF the United
Press TO Mr.. de Reuter- last February.
Laffan, Walsh x Phillips were at that
time seeking TO make contract with
Reuter- as will bo seen, but Reuter- refused
10 deal with them, and made an exclusive
contract with the Associated Press early
in March. Following is the letter.
(copyD
The United Psrss
NEW YoRK, Feb. 81, 1898.
| Herbert de Reuter-, Esq, "a Old Jewry, London,
T.. G. England;
Dear Sir-There have been many bitches in
arranging matters on this side OF the Atlantic