The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-10-21
Copyrighted, 1894, by S. s. Mcclure. Linn
ited.1

washington, Ocl. Io.-Uncle sam IS
the greatest newS-gatherer we know.
All of the agencies Of the newspapers
of this country put together are hard
ly as great as the corps of men he re-
tains to send him information of cur
rent events. Some of this information
he publishes in the shape Of public
documents which few people ever read.
Some of it he preserves in the files of
his departments at Washington for the
use of his executive officers.
The big government news machine
has correspondents who are reporters;
it has editors in the different depart
ments, and Grover Cleveland is their
editor-in-chief; and it has sub-editors
who read copy and use the blue pencil
on it. The news service covers very
wide range-much wider than that of
the average newspaper. For though
the government does not follow the
record Of deaths and marriages or the
chronicle of local crime, it has often a
far more accurate and rapid service on
some great foreign war, like the Chi
nese-Japanese conflict or the recent
Brazilian trouble, than any of the great
newspapers can obtain, no matter how
great their expenditure of money. In
matters of this kind the government
service should be far ahead Of the news
paper service, for treaty obligations
require the transmission of govern
ment messages by cable when COM
mercial messages can be declined.
But it is pretty hard for the govern
ment, even with all the apparent ad-
vantages on its side, to get ahead of
the enterprising American newspaper
CONSULAR COMMERCIAL RE-
PORTS
The transmission of news by cable
during some such emergency as now
exists in Asia is not the only news duty
of the American conSulS and CONNER
cial agents or the ministers or ambas-
sailors Of the United States at foreign
capitals. The bureau of statistics of
the state department issues at month
ly intervals small volumes of reports
sent in by our diplomatic representa-
tfves; some of them volunteered and
some sent in response to inquiries of
the department. This news feature of
the consular service has become of
great commercial Importance to the
United States. Much trade was being
lost by American exporters, particular
ly in South and Central America,
through the negligence of shippers in
packing goods. Goods which were to
be carried long distances ON mules or
horses were packed in boxes when they
should have been put in sacks. The
matter was brought to the attention of
the chief of the bureau of statistics
and straightway he sent a circular to
the American consuls all over the
world asking how goods should be
packed for shipment to the countries
in which they were stationed Today
you can obtain from the state depart
ment a complete manual on this SUBJ
ject, and there is no good reason why
a dollars worth of trade shouldgb lost
to American exporters because of bad
packing. At another time someone
called the attention of the bureau to
the fact that the export business In
American flour was falling off Out
went another circular and back came
an elaborate set of reports from
north, east, west and south, telling
just what kind Of flour was eaten by
the people of every part of the world,
whether they eat American flour, and
if not, why not. The American miller
could not seud a drummer around the
world with any expectation of obtain
ing one-half of this valuable informa-
ton. And so it goes. Is there trouble
with the introduction of American
kerosene into China? Our consul at
one of the chief Chinese ports writes