The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-07-05

portant public matter was up for de-
termination by the president. AL of
the larger metropolitan dailieS were
particularly interested as it did not
have to do especially with Washington,
and the entire correspondents world
at the capital was on the qUi vive to
get it, including myself. All channels
which We're usually tapped by the in
itiated were found to be as barren as q
desert stream in midsummer. Tele-
grams from the home offices poured
into our various bureaus here couched
in imperative language that the news
must be obtained. evidently in the be
lief that all correspondents have 60 do
is to go out ask officials for the de
sired information and receive il,
coupled with good cigar and q bottle
of wine. As a matter OF fact when Of
ficiais wish to keep secret q piece Of
information all possible loophCles OF
escape are securely padlocked and it is
lthe exception that it gets cut.
Il had about given up hope of secur-
ing q beat in this particular instance.
though I was. of course. is viSilant as
ever. The time for the maturing of the
project was close at hand. and any day
it might by official announcement be-
come public property. one night as [
was sitting idly in the lobby of an up
town hotel half doing in my chair
waiting for the appearance of a SEN
atOr with whom l had an appointment
on an incOnsequential matter. 1 over
heard one of two gentlemen who were
sitting behind me drop the words the
president. The high backs of our chairs
nearly touched, and by instinct my
drowsy senses became clear, and
woke up.
81" The president remarked one Of the
gentlemen. said that it was his inten
ton TO adopt that course irrespective
of the consequences either to himself or
the party.
But you pointed out to him what it
meant to us; that he was clearly i'll
error?' replied the other gentleman.
q" 'ElaborateIy,' responded the first
speaker. but the president said that he
was convinced that accruing results
would prove that we, and not he, were
in error.
Then we may as well go back to
New York tomorrow was the answer.
and both gentlemen arose and walked
toward the cafe apparently in a very
respondent frame of mind.
Il was an involuntary listener to this
scrap of compensation, in which, it will
be observed. not a single word was
dropped as To tile subject matter there
Of ] at once jumped to the conclusion
that the government. through the pres
ident's action, intended to take the af-
firmative of the proposition, the news
side of which the cores ondents had
so long and earnestly endeavored to as
certain. With a straight tip as to the
course of the government, the CORE
spondent could do the rest. while with
the wrong tip he could not only make
his paper ridiculous. but would in all
probability lose his position; hence the
care in making a scare-head, page
wide story.
In the furtherance of my conclusion
my paper had the Leaf of the season
the following morning as L stated the
facts as though they came from official
sources, as, indeed. such I considered
it was as clear as if the president him
self had given me the information. Two
days after a member of the. cabinet
gave out officially what L had wired
over. and with it the announcement
that the leak had occasiOned much
annoyance. and its source would be in
vestigated thoroughly 1t is here given
correctly for the first time"