The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-26

root ort news of the Drumelzicr by tele- phone, discovered that Fire Island had no telephone except the private govern ment line running from one life-saving station to another along the coast But at Quogue, fifty miles east of Fire Island and twice as remote as the latter from the city, the newspaper discovered, through the good offices of omniseient Central" that the life-saving station on the beach had a general telephone con nected with the Bell system in addition to the government wire. And by putting questions to the life-savers at Quogue, who were constantly in touch with Fire Island on their government telephone, the paper was able to get the news it re- quired. It was merely a matter of tele- phoning an extra hundred miles.
 The city reporter looks for telephone in sudden emergency as a starving man looks for bread. A reporter will almost
 break and enter'' to get at a telephone, if the matter is hot enough. Not many months ago reporter of a New York evening paper was sent out in the early morning to cove a local railway accident. When he got on the ground he saw at glance that the story was a big one; sev- eral cars were smashed up and num- Der of bodies were removed from the wreckage. The other papers were ahead Of him and each had several men already on the ground. He looked hastily for the familiar sign of the blue bell. He visited in rapid succession one telephone in cafe, one in a millners shop. and one in drug store. All were in use with other men standing in line before him. In the drug store he learned that a woman who occupied third floor apartment above had private telephone. He dashed up- stairs and rang the doorbell, until a frightened maid appeared.
 T want to use your telephone" he an- nounced, pushing past her.
 Through a curtain he caught sight of the familiar wooden box in another room and dashed in unceremonously. Two el- derly ladies in a big maogany bed greet ed his appearance with shrieks of Burg iarsl Murderl Police!"
 Calm yourselves, ladies'" he said, talk ing the receiver Pm not-Hello give me 2OOO James-Im not a burglar. It's all right. There's been an accident outside and l-Hello, give me the city desk, please!-I merely want to telephone to a newspaper. Sorry to disturb you, but Hello this is Smith. This is a big story. etc"
 Telephones Besleged.
 Similarly at murder trlal that has attracted great public attention ta.. tele- phones in the court house and in the relghnorhood are besieged by a crowd of reporters from tn1 teginr.ng of the trial to the end In the case of some of the New York evening papers that have fre- dOent edlti:ns, fin all big proceedings s written out Tn full by two reporters ilI the courtroom, and sent to the nearest teie- phone, where 'noiher repU ter is waiting to lead the co; y ever the wire into the newspaper office. At the office end of the wire man tycw. ties the story as it is dictated to him from the original copy. Even when the c.ti. house is only half inis from the newspaper office this meth od saves fs1 minutes over the old-t time scheme of sending the copy from court room to office by messenger. As soon as big case goes to the Jury in New York a representative of every newspaper and press association preempts a telephone in the court house or in a neighboring store Then each representative proceeds to hold down" the telephone until verdict is reached, when the verdict is flashed" over the wire into the office immediately. Often within five minutes after the verdict is given the paper is being cried on Park Row with the news. In the recent trial of Nan Patterson for the murder of Caesar Young in New York City, some of the evening paper men "hed down" tele- phones in the court building for over twelve hours continuously after the jury retired to consider the evidence.