The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-07-02
1t Is Alleged to Have Been In.
Stigated by the Asso-
Ciated Press.
THE MAIN ISSUE IGNORED.
Dana Charged the Rival Of the
United Press With Gross Mis-
representation.


Frank B. Moves of Washington. against
Charles A. Dana and the denial by the
court of the compliments petition that
the editor be removed to Washington for
trial some of the facts upon which the
alleged libel was based have begun to come
to light. Mr.. Dana, who had been COM
PEELED to postpone his trip abroad while
awaiting Judge Browns already famous
decision, sailed for Europe on the St.
Louis last Wednesday.
Walter P. Phillips, the secretary and
general manager of The United Press,
talked freely to reporter yesterday re-
garding the history of the Noyes suit and
consented to furnish for publication some
of the facts which tended to support the
Suns characterization of Mr.. Noyes as
dishonest"
THE idea of the suit brought against
Mr.. DANA" said. Mr.. Phillips, "by the
Associated Press people-for it was
brought at their instance and they put
Mr.. Noyes forward simply to carry out
their purpose-was to divert attention
from the main point in the Suns now
historical article of February %. The
Chicago Associated Press people had every
reason to avoid and evade the main
charge, which was as follows:
"The management of the Associated
Press exhibited to the clients of The United
Press statements of the Associated Press
earnings and expenditures, showing always
a balance on the right side. We have be-
fore US cable dispatch sent by the man.
agement to James Gordon Bennett on No.
vember l, 1898:
" UNITED Press now losing over quarter
million dollars per year. On other hand
Associated Press making money
Hundreds of newspapers will recall
their experience during the period we are
reviewing and will confirm this record of
the falsehood they were told and of which
they were the victims. At no time has
there been any intermission. The Evening
Post, the Brooklyn Eagle and other papers
hereabouts taking the Associated Press SER
vice printed on the 14th inst. a report of
the annual meeting in Chicago of the West
ern Associated Press, in which the follow
ing passage occurred:
"'The report of the board of directors and
general manager has been given to each
stakeholder. 1t showed in detail the finan-
receipts and expenditures for the last sew
enteen months, up to December 81, 1894,
and that the income was more than suf-
ficient to cover the outlay
"We have the full copy Of the report of
the board of directors of the Associated
Press which was handed to every member
present at the annual meeting in question,
and we take from that part of it which is
furnished by the auditing committee. con-
sisting of J. w. Richards of the Indian
apolis News and s. +. Gunnison of the
Brooklyn Eagle, the following figures:
ssThe tabulated statement shows net
loss on the business of $1i, 96i GA in the
month preceding the date on which the
above cable dispatch was sent to Mr.. Ben
nett; net loss on the business during the
next month, November, of $23, 157 Il; in
December of $27, 1856 SO; in January OF s27,-
| 2S6 05, etc.
'The new management has succeeded
up to date in administering the affairs of
the Western Associated Pressso as to lose
over half million dollars and place it
upon basis of permanent, hopeless and
incurable insolvency."
SIS the Suns statement true that the
! Chicago organization has lost half mil
lion dollars since the warfare beganw
at has lost much more than that, but /
| will let an expert answer that question by
giving you copy of his letter to me. 1t
is from T. 6. Mason the auditor of The
United Press. Mr.. Mason was for many
years connected with the bookkeeping de-
partment of the New York Associated
Press and the Western Associated Press.
If his figures are at fault it is that they are
too low. In my judgment the loss on the
part of the Chicago Associated Press indi-
Gated in his letter falls short by 100000 OF
the amount actually lost. The data for
his statement are all derived from the
printed annual reports of the Western AS
sociated Press and the Chicago Associated
Press"
This is the letter referred to by Mr.. Phil
lips:
sNEw YORK, June %, 1895.
"Waler P. Phillips Esq.-DEAR SIR: On
July 1, 1891. the surplus of the Western
Associated Press in cash, accounts receiv-
able and bills receivable amounted to about
$3.50, 900, out of which there was paid to
members in July, 1891. dividend amount
ing to about 1874 900, leaving $4,000 to the
credit of profit and loss.
"0n January /, 1898, the date on which
the Illinois organization was to take over
the business of the Western Associated
Press of Michigan, the surplus was little
over $50 900, and: it is generally understood
that by August !, 1893, when the new or
ganization formally opened its books, there
was practically nothing left to the Western
Associated Press. The last dividend to
the stockholders of the Western Associated
Press was that of July, 1891. Thus, not
only was the surplus of S116, 900 dissipated,
but the stockholders failed to receive any
returns from the operations of their bust
ness, which produced for them under the
management of the old joint executive
committee an aggregate of $330,0O and
which nnder the conditions existing pre-
vicus to 1S90-91 may fairly be said to have
been worth $4,000 year, or for the four
years ending June 30, 1895, $3.50, 600.
"If am correctly informed the assess
ments on afternoon papers taking the early
morning service were continued after the
report was stopped in February, 1893, and
the expenses which those assessments were
| levied to cover were discontinued, but they
are still levied and collected as a part of the