Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-10-31

to the press associations. Alas! how
ever cheerfully the correspondents
may inform the world that they will
get the news as before" to them
selves they confess the situation is
decidedly veXations and deplorable.
Not so much that they will be unable
to garner the pearls of wisdom that
drop from executive lips but because
they are no longer able t olet the world
know on what terms Of intimacy they
dwell with the truly great. Formerly
the correspondents could say while
chatting with Secy. Blank the other
day. or "at dinner last night one of
the cabinet said to me-" or zone of the
most influential members Of the cab
met informs your correspondent" etc.
In the good old, rare old golden days"
a correspondent could pipe up" al
most anythil- of this kind and it
went, but now, with the secretaries
cautioned to beware of condolences at
their own homes, any such story would
be regarded either as gross breech
of etiquette, if true, or as self-brand-
ed fake" Nevertheless, there are
compensations, for no longer will the
correspondent receive such messages
IL Jill LILO 1lloloSluS OQllOl ldGc dl ulSuI
as this: "See the attorney general
in beef trust cases." or Rush thous-
and word interview with Root on
Russian situation" The impression
prevails here that whenever a man
aging editor thinks his Washington
correspondent is loafing, he immeSi-
ately wires him something like the
above. Most Of them previously were
pocketed and after a decent interval
the reply was sent that Secretary
Blank declines to talk" now it is
merely: Impossible. See Roosevelt's
censorship order
Speaking of orders from editors,
probably the most unique was one
which read u quote from memory
There is something in the air. Rush
a thousand words" Nice tip, that, for
a correspondent. Another time west
ern paper telegraphed Its correspon-
dent: Send good story on possible
war between England and Germany"
He tucked the dispatch in his pocket
and hustled around interviewing state
department officials and others and
replied: mo possibility of war be-
tween England and Germany. Almost
Immediately came the pre-emptory an
swer: "Send story at once as order
ed. We know what we want"
The Presidents Trip.
For the first time President of the
United States has been wholly beyond
the borders of his country. From
Washington to Roosevelt the custom
has been religiously observed that the
president should not pass the confines
of the United States and there is no
record that it was ever broken, al
though it is suspected that sometimes
en- his fishing trips Cleveland passed
the three-mile limit. Mckinley while
OF the Mexican border at Ell, Paso
started across the bridge over the Rio
Grande but stopped half way so as not
to pass to Mexican soil. Roosevelt
went to sea and for several days the
government was without President.
Technically he was on American ter
ritory, for where the American flag
floats legitimately over land or sea
there Isl American ground. Conse-
quently 1t would be difficult to say he
was incapacitated merely because he
had gone to sea for few days, which
he car very properly do on an Ameri-
can war vessel as commander-in-chief
Of the army and navy.