The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-30

of the clients of the Chicago Associated
Press. The consideration is even more po-
tent with them. BY it the conditions are
much more favorable for the starting of
new papers in the West than in the East.
The minutes of the joint conference COM
mittee show that everything was done by
the representative of The United Press to-
ward meeting this desire, that it
had been done honorably and fairly.
The failure of the negotiations and
the unreasonable attitude of the rep
resentatives of the Chicago Associated
Press throughout merely. show that while
The United Press was ready to act in the
interests of smaller papers the Chicago
Associated Press was not. The result is
that our clients in the small towns are
satisfied that the fight should go on, while
the clients of the Chicago Associated Press
are correspondingly disconnected with the
Chicago management of that organization.
"Why was the Chicago Associated Press
successful for time in detaching Eastern
and Southern papers from The United
Press?"
Their plan of operation was simple
one,' he said. ''In the South, for instance,
they reported to the clients of our ally, the
Southern Associated Press, that they were
paying far more for the service than the
cost of collecting and handling the news,
and that the surplus was going into the
pockets of the big New York papers. 1t
was plausible and attractive appeal. The
Chicago people offered to provide their
associations by furnishing the Southern
papers with news at a lower rate
fhau norit,n The h
ern Associated Press had formerly been
Press and the Chicago Associated
Press, and after it had gone over in body
to The United Press it was to be expected
that a few papers here and there would
continue their obligations with the Chicago
Associated Press. The price at which the
Chicago Associated Press undertook to do
the business, of course, was unremuner-
ative. They made contracts at loss. 1t
was adesperate plan of warfare. and to be
successful it necessitated the breaking up
of the organization of the Southern Asso-
ciated Press in a rush and driving The
United Press, through this and similar
means in other fields, out of business
within a short time. The United Press
once out of the way the Chicago Asso-
ciated Press could proceed to readjust
rates on business basis without fear of
losing its clients.
'As 1 have said, the Chicago Associated
Press counted on making stampede, but
the stampede did not occur. The papers
we lost in the South, moreover, involved
no pecuniary loss to US, as it happened
that the cost of serving them was oner-
Gus. Similar alluring propositions were
made in the Eastern States, where we lost
a small percentage of our least important
clients. But The United Press, instead of
going out OF business, went steadily on in
spite of the OBJECTIONS. Like our allies,
we refused to be stampeded and were con-
tent TO bide our time. We knew that in
the long run our rival must lose rather
than gain by its methods. This tells you
why the Chicago Associated Press was al
first successful in breaking into our ranks
and why, after time, it could make no
further lnroads.
1.-THE result of it's shortsighted and I'M
businesslike policy begins to be seen.
According to its own annual report the
losses of the Chicago Associated Press in
the Southern business have reached the
sum of 1864 "a a month for it's distributed
service alone. OF course the expense of
collecting news il that section involves an
equal or greater additional expenditure.
The members of the association. publishers
of papers in the West, expostuiated with
its management when they saw how
things were going.
Their own assessments were raised 80
per cent, and they were then called upon
for voluntary subscriptions, in order that
the business might be carried on and
papers in United Press territory be served
at loss. Even these measures did not
avail. The surplus of more than $1O0 600
which had been accumulated by the old
Western Associated Press before it was
succeeded by the present Chicago organ
ization. mas swept away. Large sums were
borrowed from the banks. and they went
into debt to the extent of more than $780,
coo. The reckless policy which had failed
to disrupt The United Press had borne it's
legitimate fruits.
"All this history may be read in the
official reports of the association itself. 1t
was read there by members of the Chicago
Associated Press, and they naturally pro-
tested. They were told in reply that the
war would soon be over, and then the
Western and Eastern papers would be
made to pay all the news cost and more.
The more obstreperous of the captured
papers would be "crucified." With these
assurances the members of the Chicago
Associated Press had to be content, and
they are still waiting for the war to be
over, so that they may recoup themselves. -
"Why was it that while the enemy was
making these inroads into your territory
The United Press was able to make so little
Roadway in the West2" was asked.
THAT involves quite different matter, -
Mr.. Phillips replied. ''but the explanation
is equally simple. We were at great dis
advantage in their territory in respect to
Geographic facilities. The Chicago or
ganization had inherited from tine Western
Associated Press very favorable wire ar.
rangements on the Western Union system
which were the result of twenty-five wears
of business, during which the Western AS.
ISOLATED Press had been the ally of the New
York Associated Press. At the beginning
of the fight we found ourselves hampered
because of the fact that large part of our
business in the West was done on the wires