Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1895-10-14
THE SECRET OUT.
How the Report That the President
Had Been Assassinated Originated.
1t Was a Trap for a News Thief
and the Bait Was Swallowed.

and the Bait Was Swallowed.
ST. Louis. Oc.cber 13.-The secret Of
The origin of the rumor that the Presi-
/ dent had been assassinatcd, which was
So promptly Investigated and denied
/ bis the Associated Press. Friday morn
ing. is Out. and there is general smile
q. The manner in which the United
| Press Association was taken in, as we'll
IS commentator for the clever trap
I which was SET 20 catch @ thief. The
ST.. Louis Republic operates an eXclu-
sive wire between New York and ST.
+ Louis every night after six o'clock, and
matter going over that wire is The eX-
/ elusive properly of The Republic. For
some time pls- there has been q suspic-
ion that ID IS wire was being tapped by
unscrupui0us persons, and Thursday
night q trap was SET for the t1lel, the
/ bal being q fake sensation. The Re
I public says
l. was necessary that the story should
De one that would Immediately com
mlnd attention. Therefore, President
/ Cleveland was asslssin3ced. He was
+ ass5ssiua-ed on paper by the New
+ York correspondent, Of The Republic.
/ The story had the ring of truth.
AT about . o'clock q. M. yesterday
/ bulletin was sent over The Republics
leased wire from New York that the
/ President had been murdered. The
/ villain who had done the foul deed had
/ escaped Quickly following came
another bulletin th3c the assassin had
i been caught. Upon his person was
/ found Sir Cleveland's p0cke,bo0k, con-
liDiug SSs5.54. There could be no
doub, of the fend's guilt
! Then followed The story Of 1000 or
/ more words. Secretary Lamont had
/ left Washington on special train for
I Duzz2ri's Bay. Chief Justice Fuller
/ was En- Chicago and would Immediately
+ 20 90 Bloomington. ILL.,. 20 swear in
/ Tioe-Presiienc Stevenson.
The story was lail aside in The Re
public office. The trap was bai-ed and
SET
Within twenty minutes message
/ came % The Republic from the Chica-
so Times-Herald. asking if this paper
/ had any news of Cleveland's assassina-
ion This was startling. Such quick
/ action had uOt been expected.
While an answer that the rumOr was
not true IVES being written, a message
/ 60 The same cEec, as that of the Times
Herald was receive from the Tribune.
/ of Chicago. This was followed closely
by similar messages from the san
/ Francisco Examiner and the Detroit
T Free Press. That The Republics leas-
I el wire had been capped was now
certainty. A dispatch received over q
wire belonging exclusively to The Re
public was known from The Atlantic
/ Coast 10 the Pacific wichin hall an
hour
The newspapers that asked The Re
public concerning the story were in
formed that il was untrue and were
asked where they got their informa-
tiCu The two Chicago papers replied
/ tina, they heard il from their New York
I cores pondents. but did not say how the
story gOt 10 New York.
The United Press. on organization
that would have il believed that il is a
rival OF the Associated Press. finding.
+ yesterday forenoon that the story Of
the assassination was untrue circul3--
ed the report thai the dispatch had been
sent cut oy -Ae Associated Press. This
was. OF course, false. II was more; 1t
was m3n;tes-y m1lciously false The
I truth was mat when The story had
gained eireu.3'ion. TIE Associated Press
was ASKED oy MS clients TO run II
! down. iAa' was oone' ana the Asso-
ci4,e~ - uor.-let us members ana
ci. nus 'Aie 1-e I't7lUeu1 was awe ana
We'll
w nen me agencies through when the
United Ftess h1d Circulated us raise
ana malicious report learned Jae truth.
,aey promptly SEM ou- alsp1IcAas over