The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-07-18
THEY SEARCH FOR NEWS
MEN WHO SUPPLY THE PRESS WITH
WASHINGTON INFORMATION.
Banded Together Like Trades Union
How They Are Paid and the Sort
OF Service That Is Required.
yreciaI to the INDIANAPOLIS Journal.

correspondents Of Washington, that is,
those who supply special service for out
side newspapers, number about $780, and
they are banded together in trades union
controlled as arbitrarily as any labor or
ganization. The union is known as the
Press Gallery, and the correspondent who
can not comply with the rules which gov
ern admission to the membership of the
gallery is very much handicapped in the
discharge of his duties. althOgh he may be
as legitimately correspondent as anyone
on the rolls. In theory the press galleries of
the Senate and House of Representatives
are provided for the accommodation of the
newspapers of the country, to enable their
representatives to enjoy special facilities
for reporting the proceedings of the two
branches of Congress, but, as matter of
fact, they are operated not for the news
papers but for the benefit Of the trades
union of correspondents. Under the rules of
the Press Gallery correspondents are not
eligible to admission who combine their
newspaper work with employment in any
governmental capacity, either executive or
legislative. This places a great number of
the middle-class newspapers at a disad-
vantage. They want a special Washington
service, and are as much entitled to it as
their representatives here are denied press
gallery facilities because the offices do not
feel they can afford to pay correspondent
a sufficient salary to justify him in giving
up his entire time to newspaper work. He
is, therefore, compelled TO act clerk for
a congressman or find position somewhere
about the Capitol, which fact bars him
from the gallery and stamps him as
rat BY and by, if chance offers, the cor
respondent who is thus Disseminated
against may pick up a second newspaper,
connection which enables him to give up
his outside employment, and then he is
taken into the gallery membership and be-
comes one of the elect. There are many
well-qualifed and able correspondents who
are not so fortunate as to secure two or
more papers, and they have to plug along
on the outside as best they can. While the
poorer papers are thus denied admission to
the gallery and the enjoyment Of the at
tendant privileges, some of the larger dali
lies are cheerfully given three admissions,
with additional cards from special commits
sioners or ENJOYS from the home office.
The skirmishers on the outside and the
smaller newspapers which are discrimin-
ated against by the gallery rules are con-
tinually threatening to break up this exist
ing order of things. but they have never
been able to do So and probably never will
succeed for the reason that the House and
Senate majorites delegate their control
over the Press Gallery to press committee
elected every two years by the membership
of that body of correspondents. This press
committee is composed of a majority of
veteran correspondents, and the tendency
&c he tiohfpr inc IF ib-
eralizing the rules The policy that governs
the press committee and a majority of the
Press Gallery, as shown on a number of
test cases, is that of self-proteotion and of
limiting the number of workers in this field
There is no newspaper field in the United
States as hard to break into and establish
a footing as that of Washington, unless the
new arrival is sent by strong newspaper
and paid salary which makes him entire
y independent and free from the small an
noyances which naturally surround be-
ginner trying to gain footing by coming
here from weak office.
The wheel within the wheel of the Wash
ington press gallery trades union is So
cial organization known the Gridiron
Club. This club is composed largely of
newspaper correspondents, and as it's men,
bership is limited to foBty, and the struggle
for admission thereto among the general
ity of correspondents is very sharp, it is
a matter of easy politics Tor the club to
| control the press gallery. There is a long
waiting list" of applicants for admission
to the Gridiron Club, and naturally these
| applicants for the favor of an election hes
itate to antagonize men with the power of
| blackban by opposing a recognized club
c trick all
| Gridironers to run the press gallery, and
they do it after the most approved style
and along lines that are becoming more
rigid year by year. This is very nice for
the individual correspondents who happen
to be members of the trades union, but it
is rough on a great many papers Of the
struggling sort.
Enrolment in the press gallery list of
correspondents is useful in many ways.
Only those who are on this list are in the
Congressional Directory, which is the only
official list of correspondents published
here. Departmental, bureau or congress
sional news, which is frequently sent Off
cially to correspondents, reaches only those
whose names appear in the directory. In
vitations are confined to this recognized
enumeration of correspondents, and those
whose names do not appear in the directory
have great difficulty in obtaining the ordi-
nary courtesies which are conferred upon
Washington correspondents of established
standing. The news "hustlers'' are handi-
capped in many ways if they are not clas-
sifed in the directory. There are, how
ever a number OF writer's of note in the
Capitol who keep out of the gallery MEM
bership of their own voliton, preferring
not to be bound by its rules. Frank G.
Carpenter is one of this class, and he prob
ably makes more money than any other
writer in Washington. He long since aban-
doned the field of Geographic correspond
ence, and would not, therefore, be eligible
to membership in the gallery, but he has
no desire to enroll himself.
The pay of newspaper workers in Wash
ington ranges from S15 and $50 week to
$40 900 a year. The average is perhaps $40
to $50 a week Alfred Henry Lewis of the
New York Journal. is the only $4,000 man,
and he is probably the only man who has
drawn that single salary in Washington for
newspaper work since the retirement OF
Charles Nordhon, Of the New York Her
aid. The most expensive Washington bu-
reau is that of the New York Journal Be
sides Lewis, who is a sort of envoy ex-
traordinary, there are about half dozen
men regularly employed, while odd assign
ments are given 10 dozen or fifteen more
whenever there is a spread" to make.
The New York Herald bureau is an ex-
DAuSiVe one and so are those of the New