The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1898-11-17
NEWSPAPER PIGEONS.
The Birds Are Employed to Carry
Copy in the British
Provinces.

In the economy of an evening news
paper, in the British provinces at all
events, the carrier pigeon plays an i'm
portant role as messenger.
For newspaper purposes there is not
much advantage in flying birds from
great distances. The Edinburgh Even
ing Dispatch has some notable birds.
Except on rare occasions, these are
never flown further than 20 or 25 miles.
Their work, as rule, lies nearer home
in carrying to the office in CockburE
street reporters copy from the many
cricket, golf, football and sporting
fields that encircle the city, and which,
with one or two exceptions, are not in
connection with either the telegraph
or telephone systems. Every Satur-
day, which is the great day for sports
in the Edinburgh district, as many as
80 or 40 birds are requisitioned as mes
sengers. On the morning of the days
when they are to be worked the pig
cons are sparingly fed. Like school
boys liberated from school, pigeons, if
they are hungry, will likely hurry
home, and when they do arrive there is
always a good feed of peas or maize
awaiting them.
The reporter writes his copy on
what is known as ''fimsy"-a light
oiled paper, and uses carbonized paper
to obtain a duplicate. The ''fimsy" is
attached to the leg or legs of the pig
con by means of elastic bands; and at
football and cricket matches the toss
ing of the birds from time to time is
always watched by the crowd with
great interest. The arrangement at
the newspaper Office for trapping the
birds and taking the copy from them
is rather ingenious. In the Dispatch
Office, for example, there is clear fly
i'll for the pigeons, through the Gus
tomary arched opening, into small,
well-lighted compartment of their
loft. The floor of this small chamber
is movable plate, nicely adjusted so
that the moment the pigeon alights
upon 1t two things occur. The weight
of the bird liberates a catch and a wire
portcuilis noiselessy falls and closes
the entrance. At the same time, an
electric circuit is formed, and bell
rings in the subeditor's room to give
notice of the arrival of the bird. The
pigeon is thus it's own jailor and her
aid. On hearing the bell, boy in at
tendance runs to the loft trap, takes
the copy from the bird, and, through
ali inner door, allows it to enter the
loft proper, where it is at liberty to
regale itself after its labors. Birds
do not always come straight home, and
even when they do so, they do not al
ways hurry into the trap. If the DAY
is fine they will sit upon the roof in the
sunshine and dress their plumage, and
occasionally they will amuse them
selves by picking the "fimsy" from
their legs, that being done when it has
been carelessly put on. In these cir
cumstances, when the subeditor is
waiting a racing or football result, his
remarks on carrier pigeons and their
playful ways are apt not to be of a COM
piimentary character. 1t is then that
the duplicate comes in handy, for, aft
er the pigeon has been dispatched. the
reporter endeavors to send the COPY
of the message that it carries to the
nearest railway, car or telegraph sta
ton by hand messenger. In Edin-
burgh, good newspaper work has been
done by using carriers in connection
with events occurring on the Firth of
Forth. 1t is obviously of great i'm
portance for an evening newspaper to
receive messages from a reporter who
may be several miles from land When
the car recently came to Leith, re-
porter went down the Firth to meet
him, and sent intimaton of the ap-
proach of the imperial yacht by car
rier pigeon.-London Sketch.