The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-21

the State of New York and the Southern
associated Press, all of which are affiliated
Win our organization. All the other
ohited Press papers buy their news at O.
liAea rate under separate contracts. The
oosl OF maintaining the organization. how
ever large 1t may become owing to I'M
usual expense, such as that entailed by the
japanese war, is borne by the rich and
powerful newspapers, and the smaller
papers get the benefit of it without extra
expense. Ihe character of the organiZa-
tioh can be Judged from the class of men
VINO are associated in its management. Its
president IS Charles A Dana of the Sun,
the recognized dean of American journal
ISM, and among the directors are James
0orden Bennett, proprietor of the New
York Herald; George f. Spinney, pub
Usher OF the New York Times; Whitelaw
Reid, owner of the New York Tribune:
John ii. Holmes, proprietor of the Boston
Herald and president of the New England
Associated Press; Evan 2. Howell, pro-
prietor of the Atlanta Constitution and
president of the Southern Associated
Press; George Bleistein, proprietor of the
Buffalo Courier and president OF the New
York State Associated Press; Milton A.
McRae, general manager of the Cincinnati
Post and the st. Louis Chronicle, and L.
Clark Davis of the Philadelphia Public
Ledger
"In what way" the reporter asked,
''does the cooperative plan work disad-
vantageously in the Chicago Associated
Press?'
IF anything were needed" Mr.. Phillips
replied, ''to convince me that it was radi-
cally wrong and unavoidable certain points
that came out in the recent conference
would be sufficient to supply the def
cheney. 1t is cumbersome piece of ma
chinery. It is like attempting to steer a
ship with multitude of rudders In seek
ing for common ground of agreement we
were met at every step by obstacles which
the representatives of the Chicago Asso-
ciated Press believed to be insurmount-
able, and all owing to their mutual plan of
organization, as they called it. No plan
for harmonizing our differences could be
proposed that they did not fear would be
open to objection from two-thirds of their
members"
Are not the small papers much better
E4ObCSlSO tIe 1uubud1 Didn
mot at all, u was the reply. ''They are
not so well off. During the two years
warfare with the Chicago Associated
Press, The United Press has never raised
its prices to customers. The sinews of
war have been supplied by the original
members of the New York Associated
Press, which are now the controlling
force in The United Press. Further than
that, during the depression of the last
twenty months burdens have been light
ened where the smaller papers nave found
it difficult to meet their obligations. None
of our papers can complain that it has
not been assisted to conserve its business.
'The Chicago Associated Press has had
to meet its increased expenditures by rails
ing the assessment of its members, large
or small, rich or poor, and by borrowing
money from the banks. The assessments
have been just about doubled since the
fight began, and the small papers are the
real losers by it. In practice, yoEsee, our
plan is much more advantageous for the
smaller papers than the cooperative plan,
which is supposed to inure to their special
benefit"
"What, in your opinion, will be the up
shot of this process?"
81 look for the dissolution of the entire
concern, believing as I do that its organi-
zation is fundamentally wrong.
About 20 per cent of the entire cost of
collecting the news is met by few papers
in the large cities, and it is but natural
and Just that the business management
should be in their hands, instead of being
scattered among number so large that it
rV1l-
the New England Associated Press, for in
stance. The Boston papers pay 20 per
cent of the cost of operation and the thirty
or forty others outside of Boston make up
the balance. The Boston papers are natu-
rally largely looked to for the government
of the organization. Their conservative in
fuence in the management has worked
satisfactorily for over quarter of a CEN
tury, and the business is managed so con-
scientiously that the interests of the other
papers are as safely guarded as of those in
Boston.
"The cooperative plan, so called, has
never been q success. No railroad, no
newspaper, no bank, no insurance COM
pany, no business has ever succeeded in
which several hundred men had equal
shares in the management and meddled
alike in its affairs. The Chicago Associated
Press must fail ultimately for the same
reasons, and the crash will come sooner
than most people imagine. First, because
of the speedy dissipation of the surplus of
$120, 600; second, the doubling of tolls, and
third, the piling up of debt which is ad-
mitted in the annual report of the asso-
citation to have reached $500, 900, and is gen.
orally believed to be between 100000 and
$500 600.
"What is your idea of the way in
which the entire business should be con-
ducted2"
PERSONALLY am unalterably opposed to
the cooperative plan on any extended
scale. 1 believe in federation of the vari-
Gus associations, each to preserve its
autonomy and to govern itself in its own
fashion; TO gather the news and to manage
all its pecuniarv transactions, and to ex-
change the news it has gathered, within
agreed-upon boundaries, at frontiers that
may be mutually acceptable. There
should be half dozen or more organiza-
+iOns oil fo0athor in