The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-09-25

OF the day Labor was shot ana handed In q
despatch Of about 900 words All correspond
ents had deposited in advance ample
funds to cover the cost OF kilograms In
order to avoid the delay OF frequent
payments. The receiver. therefore. accepted
| the despatch with the customary Merci.
monsieur" The sender happened TO wait for
| moment. and presently saw the telegraph clerk
| pick up his message. cross the room. climb on
a chair and carefully place the despatch on top
! OF a cabinet. The man returned to his seat.
received a few more kilograms from the per-
sons waiting at the window. checked them.
gave them to a messenger to take to the
operating room. got up again and carried
q heavy ledger over to the cabinet and depos-
tied II on top OF the London mans despatch.
The correspondent was mystibed. but did not
interfere until the clerk had received few
| more kilograms and had carried afew more
miscellaneous articles across the room and
| piled them upon the cabinet. Then the Lon
doner demonstrated gently:
| Aren't you going to send my despatch2"
Your despatch has been sent. Monsieur"
| was the calm reply.
mo. II hasn't. It's over there on top Of that
cabinet" in sisted the correspondent.
The clerk looked at him a. II thought he
had been bersft OF his senses.
Nothing OF the kind. l sent your despatch
| to the operating room az soon as you handed 10
| to me-" was the polite but firm reply.
The Englishman began to get angry and
In rather peremptory tones asked the clerk to
verify his words by examining the top OF tho
cabinet The clerk was sure by this time
that his interocutor was crazy. He NUT
tered something about these English" and
sharply asked the insstent disturber to
stand aside and not block the line
at the window. The enraRed journalist
hurried of. found French oonfrere OF influ-
ence. to whom he explained the situation. To-
gether they returned to the telegraph office
and sent for the Chief. The case was laid be-
fore him. He went to the cabinet. lifted down
heap OF things on top. and there at the bot
tom Of all lay the despatch. Then. naturally.
the Londoner began to say things. but tho
Chief interrupted him.
Now, be reasonable. you mustn't he angry
with this poor fellow. Have little considera-
ton of the circumstances. He has been in
tears all day ever since he heard Labori had
been shot. He doesn't know what he 10 doing.
Really it isn't fair for you to be cross with
him"
And what could the correspondent do after
that explanation
How to communicate the news OF the court
martials verdict most expeditiously to the
waiting world has, OF course. been the problem
uppermost in every correspondents mind
vissd for securing a few seconds precedence.
and some OF them were sufficiently inRen ious
to deserve success. but in tho end pure
chance proved to be the controlling factor.
This applies to the dispatches announcing the
Judgment filed By the correspondents here
after the decision had been announced in court
by Col. Jouaust. Those kilograms poured into
the Rennes telegraph office in a perfect ava
lanche and. as usually happens in times OF
| cab thn rdA of frb n ~
did not follow the exact order OF receipt
In fact. the last was sometimes first.
Those OF us who have had experience OF
similar confusion at presidential elections
at Versailles and other occasions had prepared
for this EN- ergency We wrote our dispatches
in duplicate. filed one at the earliest possible
+ moment and waited to slip the other into the
. distracted clerks hand at the moment whom he
handed over the swelling pile OF kilograms for
transmission. The chances were that the TOP
or last message would be sent first.
1t is probable. despite all the rush at Rennes
| that tho first news OF the verdict
reached New York via. London. Some OF us
learned yesterday morning that the decision
would be telephoned to the homo Office in
Paris a few minutes before it was publioy an.
nounced in the courtroom at Rennes. As q
matter OF fact. at the moment when the de-
eisve words were being read to the assem- bled
, eeived at the London Office OF THE Sun by
telephone from its Paris correspondent in the
Prime Minister'S office. and had been trans.
, ferred to the cable. which delivered 1t in New
York three minutes later.
The fato OF two plans OF rival American cor.
respondents for beating their fellows deserve:
, to be recorded. They were not satisfied with
conveying the news from the courtroom to this
: telegraph office-a distance OF less than a quar-
| korA ~ ia huf foot pr thAV
ranged systems OF signals. In one case.
! series OF boys stationed at intervals
along the route was to pass along the
> signal OF guilty" by holding tho righ
. hand hiRh In the air. who both arms in that
' position would signify innocent" The boys
were carefully drilled and the system WORKED
perfectly until the fateful moment came. Their
, the frst boy gave the signal properly. but the
l second lost his head Instead OF raising his hant
> | he clapped both arms to his sides and started
pell nell for the telegraph office. His employer
saw him coming and ran to meet him unable tc
| imagine what had happened. The boy simpl,
=, | flung himself into the newspaper mans arms
Too much excited himself to think of an!
French. tho correspondent shook his LITTLE
wretch and shouted in English:
. What 10 it2"
Then tho boy bethought himself. Up wen
, his right hand high In the air. "Coupable." h,
yelpou, anu Tottou Will MS arm etiii w penin'
. his employer the rest OF the way to the tele
. graph office.
The other incident was no less tragic
. Another series OF boys was to wave red discs
' the verdict was guilty. blue ones for the fou
- to three verdict OF dishonorable acIuitta
= and white for innocent. The correspond
q ent who relied on this scheme mad
a boy at the Lycee end OF the line
A crowd of more than a hundred men an,
G boys was waiting at the slot beneath wndoy
through which the word was to come. Al
broke and ran at the same moment when tn
news was received. and tho small boy with
h red disc was simply knocked down an
. trampled on by the crowd before he could Civ
the signal. H. H. U.
A DpEyEUS 1RFFTs MIS- CUIJDRkE