The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-21
direct communication with an able CORE.
spondent IN any big city in Europe"

WORKING
foreign service of The United Press the Sun
aces piece Of news in this highly inter-
tsting manner:
Early one morning, not long ago, a party
OF Mohammedans desecrated, in some
lashloh, place of worship in Calcutta A
hight followed, and the Brahmin defenders
OF The temple killed six of the Mohamme-
oans- Now witness what q small glohula
the world has become.
This piece of news reached the Office of
ali the newspapers in Calcutta long before
noon. At 10 O'Clock a young man ran into
Inc telegraph station Of the Government
lines.
United Press, London, he hastily
wrote. 'Mohammedans desecrated Brah.
MN temple here Z morning. Fight fol-
lowed. Six Mohammedans killed All
quiet now. May lead serious complica-
tons
This brief dispatch was telegraphed to
the Office Of the Eastern Telegraph Com
pany IN bombay, whence it was trans
mlttea 10 Alden. In Alden 1t was received
III the Office OF the Hindoo-European Cable
company. The operator sent the message
INTO the cable-room, and a few minutes
later II was on its way to Suez There it
was delivered to the Eastern Cable Com
pany, whose operator Immediately sent it
20 Malta. AT this place another operator
OF Vne same company repeated the mes
sage 10 Lisbon. From there it had only a
snort stretch OF sea to cover to reach
romance, where, unmolested by pirates or
aught else, 1t was telegraphed to its desti-
nation in London.
NOW, from the moment that the operator
IN Calcutta touched the key OF his clicker
until the message was delivered to the
man who was on duty in the United Press
Office in London two hours had elapsed
But, owing to the kindly habits of the sun,
although the message had been filed in
calcutta at 10 A. NJ, it was received in Lon
don at about A NJ of the same day.
The United Press man made two comics
OF this message. One he sent without de-
lay to the Central News of London. The
other he sent by cable to the United Press
office in New York. The man in the Cen
tral News office at once teIegraphed it to
the offices of all the afternoon and even
ing papers III England and Scotland. The
man IL the United Press Office in New
York received the message shortly after
A. NJ. OF that same day. That roisterer
The sun, was still turning night into day
on the other side of the Atlantic.
Nov, at 2 A. NJ. most of the newspapers
in New York have already gone to press,
but it often happens that they issue a
second edition even at a later hour to pub
lish important news. At any rate, when
the man in the United Press office receives
that message at ? >. n. he almost becomes
excited.
"'Herep he cries. Grab manifold
bookl Take this
Some man in the Office seizes book of
tissue paper interspersed with sheets of
carbon paper, inserts 1t in a typewriter
and writes-each impress of the key re-
cording itself upon thirty sheets-this
message:
n CALCUTTA, July Ga number of Mohamme-
'ans desecrated Brahmin temple in this CITY
att O'Clock this morning. a fight ensued and
six OF the Mohammedsns were killed. All is
quiet now, but 1t is possible that serious COM
phcetions may arise from the affair.
"a minute later messenger boys set out
Tor the offices OF all the newspapers that
receive this service and hand in the dis
patch. At the same time half a dozen
telegraph operators in each of the big
Eastern cities in the United States have it.
In each OF these Offices it is again received
operators and again sent on to many N ore
cities.
And so the messages fash across the
country, zigzagging everywhere, like bolt
OF lightning, so that no city may be omit
ted gaining hour after hour as it strikes
westward, until even before midnight it
reaches all the newspapers along the Pa
cifc slope that are members of this.globe-
encircling institution, informing them that
at Z o'clock <)f the day that has not vet
daWned for them six Mohammedans were
killed in Calcutta.
''The incident of the Calcutta dispatch is
almost daily occurrence. Sometimes the
story comes from India, at other times it
is from China or the South African colo
MES, or other regions equally remote; but
after reaching London it goes through the
same course"
The Louisville Courier-Journal gave
some interesting information on the sub
ject one day this week in an interview
with Mr.. Walter P. Phillips, general man
ager OF the United Press. "The principal
strength of the United Press" it says, sis
on the Atlantic seaboard, while the Chi
cago Associated Press draws its support
mainly from the country west of the Ale
EAanleS. DOM aSSOcldLlOnS serve a num-
Der of papers published within the terri
tory occupied chiefly by its rival" Mr.
Phillips, when asked why the recent con-
ference had been fruitless, replied that it
was owing to the radically differing modes
of organization in the two competing con-
Germs. No plan had been devised, he said,
at the recent conferences by which COM
binatlon of interests could be effected
80 h. io41a
dering its distinctive methods. The Chi
cago Associated Press is a cooperative
partnership, in which each paper, re-
gardless of its importance, has voice in
the management equal to that of the big
Chicago dailies. The United Press is
purely q business concern, which buys and
sells news, although it is actually con-
trolled by the principal New York papers.
Mr.. Phillips is confident that the United
Press viii eventually triumph over the
ho no h infi