Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-16


by Commissioners and the growth OF The
Star along with 1t is well illustrated by the
estimates reported by the temporary Com
missioners to the Treasury Department for
the expenses of the District government
during the fiscal year 1S77-1S7S. That was
the last year during which the whole ex-
pense of the District government was paid
by the District people, for in 1878 came the
compact by which the United States recos-
nized its obligations and agreed to pay one
half the expenses. The estimates OF the
Commissioners for that year were sl,"oo'
61403, exclusive of salaries. The estimates
of the Commissioners to Congress last year
were for more than ten millions of dollars.
The estimates of 1S77-1S7S were divided as
follows:
Schools, 1869, 776 49, police, $50 1S4.74; fire
department, $50 1S0.7O; annual interest on
old funded debt, not including that on the
3.65 bonds, s544, 1880; street lamps ana
gas, $1376S6.20; sweeping and cleaning
streets and alleys. $40, 1871; sanitary pur-
poses, board of health, and removing gar
bage, $31, 322. 80.
The telling of the estimates required TWO
sticks" or about four inches of type IN the
daily newspapers. Nowadays the Commls-
sioners' estimates occupy as many Columns
in the daily press. The service OF Inc star
at that time however, was very GOOD lndeeu'
The news of the District government pegah
to take it's place Of prominence ana there
would often be more than column OF IT,
all told. But there was still the INDICATION
that the headlines of today are of very re-
cent origin, for then a column OF gooo
news would be included under a single line
caption.
The modern system of reporting is very
complete. The newspaper man VINO IS WISE
forms friendships with people who are IN
position to either give him good news or
drop a hint as to where news is TO De loulu'
The Commissioners are no doubt very III
surprised oftentmes to have reporter
come to them and ask about some matler
which they supposed was close secret
In such instances the Commissioners, as 40
most of the other public officials, take lhe
newspaper man into their confidence. Inc
STORY may not be ripe at that parucu-
lar time and so the man of the pen ana
the authorities carry their secret between
them until some afternoon 1t appears as
"scoop" Public officials are very appre-
ciative of a man in whom they can repose
absolute confidence, and when they kno"
he has detected a "story" in the air and
has 1t exclusively they give him the beneht
of his energy and alertness by saying noth-
ing on the subject to his competitors unless
they should bring up the subject point blank
themselves
The press room at the District building
is quite a center of interest. The officials
having business with the Commissioners
often stop in, and it is there that many OF
the weightiest problems of the day are
sagely discussed and decided-at least to
the satisfaction of the newsgatherers and
their visitors, if not to the highest powers
Unfailing Vigilance Required.
The present form of government requires
unfailing vigilance on the part of the news
paper man to keep abreast Of what is going
on In days gone by the councils would do
certain things on certain nights and later
the legislative assembly had it's regular
hours for sitting and transacting business.
NOWADAYS the Commissioners have no spec
flied time for taking action on public mat
ters Their board sessions are usually very
informal and may be held in one of the
Commissioners private offices. For the
sake of preserving the records each matter
acted upon is in the shape of paper, which
is jacketed in the executive office and car
ried by messenger from one Commissioner
to another for approyalsor disappresal, IS
the case may be. 81
The newspaper men, If they can catch
these papers en- route, are let into knoWi-
edge of affairs. Some Of the papers travel
In opaaue sealed envelopes, however, and
have a. stamp mot for Publication on
them. Sometimes, however, even the opaque
envelopes dc not prevent the reporter from
knowing the contents. 1t Is then that he
corsults the Commissioner privately and
brings all his eloquence to bear In the en-
deayor to convince the official that the mat
ter contained in the paper should really be
given to the public. Often pencil mark
through the Not for Publication" lifts the
embargo, and away to his typewriter rushes
the newsgatherer and in a short while
fleet messenger is en- route to the office
with half column or a column beat"
The Star has private telephone wire to
the District building press room so that late
happenings may be telephoned into the Of
fee In this way news Of interest transpir
ing as late as 3 o'clock or 3:15 o'clock finds
a place in the regular edition of the paper
which goes to press at $50 each afternoon.
Thus while great advances have been
made in the methods of District government
and the making and collecting of news, the
newspaper men at the District building
have to regretfully admit that there is one
feature of the situation which does not
compare with the old days. The city rec
ords of third of a century ago show that
the councils would each year, about Christ
mas time, make appropriations of $500 each
to the reporters assigned to municipal mat
ters There is no such inducement attached
to reporting at the District building today.
The city fathers took the ground that the
reporters, by printing various items of news,
saved the municipality quite a sum in adj
vertising Comparing the amount of city
news published then with what appears in
the papers of today, the reporters figure
that at this time they should be receiving
annual gifts of about $4,000. But the pub
lie must not be led into believing that they
are
Intellectual Economy.