The Portland daily press., 1900-10-19


Copy Of the Testimony In the
Credit MObiIier Investigation A
Suicides Story of His Act.
Back IN the seventies the newspaper
boys called them beats" but nowadays
they are known as scoops" A scoop"
Is story of some importance published
exclusively IN one newspaper good
piece OF news that no other paper has
managed to get hold Of The reporter
VINO turns IN many scoops during the
year IS looked favorably on by his city
and managing editors and, if he writes
1alrly good English, has a splendid
ehance for promotion, for the neWsgath-
erer who gets the scoops is a man who
mas an eye for news, and It is that kind
OF a man who eventually sits in the man
aging editors chair and looks after the
destiny Of the paper.
In the good old days before the Asso-
elated Press service, when ever. paper
nad Its own correspondents throughout
the world, scoops Of an international
character were more numerous than they
are at present Now, with news agency
and special correspondents in every city
IN the world, it is difficult for a paper to
OBTAIN really big exclusive piece of
news
One Of the most famous beats of the
Old time days was the exclusive publica-
ton by the New York Tribune of the full
report Of the Credit Mobilier committee,
with all the testimony verbatim.
Although reporters had been admitted
to the sessions of the committee and the
papers had published summaries of the
proceedings and testimony from day to
day during the long and painful investi-
CATION. the testimony in full had never
been printed. People evinced a great in
terest to read the entire testimony. They
wanted to be able to Judge for them
selves how far the prominent statesmen
involved were actually inculpated. Great
puDlle curiosity was also shown regard
ing the report Of the committee.
w hen the chairman, Judge Poland Of
Vermont, very dignifed, white haired
old gentleman, who always wore a blue
sswaiiowtail coat with brass buttons, pre-
sented the report to the house, all Of the
boys IN the press gallery made an imme-
dlate rush to the clerks office to get hold
OF the document and send as much Of it
as possible over the wires that evening.
The Washington correspondents of The
Tribune were then Y. L. White, Homer
6. Ramsdell and e. Y. Smalley.
Mr.. Smalley had been assigned to fol-
low the daily work Of the Credit MoboIier
committee and had received orders to get
that report, cost what it may. How we'll
the correspondent followed out his orders
was shown by the fact that within ten
minutes after the report had been de-
posted with the clerk Mr.. Smalley had a
copy Of it under his arm and was rush
Ing down Pennsylvania avenue to the tel
egraph station on the corner of Four
teenth street There Mr.. White was
holding three New York wires by sending
2 lot Of stuff, most Of which was never
intended for publication. The miscella-
neous stuff, however, served as an effec-
tual means of preventing any of The
IrIbune's rivals capturing the wires be-
forehand
Next morning The Tribune came out
with i've pages of agate type, comprising
the full report of the committee. 1t was
at that time the longest special ever sent
TO any newspaper and has seldom been
equaled since.
The Trlbune's contemporaries were
naturally disgruntled at the beat and at
once queried their Washington repre-
sentatiyes for an explanation They were
never able to fathom the mystery, and
TINS IS probably the first time the riddle
has been solved.
Mr.. Smalley had arranged with the Of
fetal reporter of the house for a complete
copy of the investigation. The copy was
made secretly from the official reporter S
notes. +1o
gressed and handed to The Tribune man
when Judge Poland made his report to
the house. The price paid for the copy
was $500.
The other correspondents were only
able to get IN a very meager synopsis
that night as The Tribune's report clog
ged the wires.
a most sensational scoop appeared in a
PaelIe coast daily some years ago. It
was the suicide of a reporter on the pa
per and was written by himself He
mad been complaining of i'll health for
some time and one Sunday asked for a
day off, which was given him.
Next morning, a little after 2 o'clock, a
messenger boy handed the city editor q
large, thick envelope. When opened, it
was found to contain a graphic descrip-
ton OF the reporters suicide, even de-
scribing the position he lay in when
discovered by the horror stricken news
paper men,
Accompanying the story was short
note which read:
This is a scoop. You viii find all de-
tails correct. Don't report to police until
too late for the other papers to get it.
So long. Yours, -.
p. S.-Pretty good story, isn't it?"
Two reporters were Immediately dis
patched to the young mans room and
after breaking IN the door found him "
ing on the floor with a bullet in his heart.
The paper was phoned the result Of the
Investigation and next morning came out
with double decker on the front page.
It was a scoop, too, the police being no
tined i've minutes after the paper had
gone to press--KV ashington Post.
Marble Heart
Madam" said the tramp to the farm
er's wife, have you any objection to my
lying down in enc Of your fence corners
and dyingY
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