Truth. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1901-1908, 1905-03-04

purchasing news from other associa-
tions in the same business as the
Associated Press. The Inter-Ocean
unlike our Herald, wanted to be an
up-to-date paper. 1t was not salts
fled to get the news from one organi-
cation. To retaliate, the Associated
Press attempted to boycott this paper
and refused to furnish it the regular
associated press dispatches. The In
ter-Ocean sought the protection of
the courts with the result that the
case was carried to the supreme court
of Illinois, the court of last resort in
that state, and it was there decided,
among other things, that the Associa-
ted Press was a monopoly; that it was
engaged in business upon which
public interest was migrated; that up.
on principles of justice it could make
no distinction with respect to persons
who wished to purchase information
and news for purposes of publication,
which the Associated Press was ere.
ated to furnish. We quote the follow
ing from the opinion delivered in the
supreme court as to a complete an
swer to all the Herald says:
1T (the Associated Press) reaches
out to the various parts of the United
States, where its agents gather news
which is wired to it, and through it
such news is received by the various
important newspapers of the country.
Scarcely any newspaper could organ
lie and conduct the means of gather
ing the information that is centered in
an association of the character of the
appellee (the Associated Press), be-
cause of the enormous expense, and
no paper could be regarded as a news
paper of the day unless it had access
to and published the reports from
such an association as appellee CAS-
ISOLATED Press. For news gathered
from all parts of the country the var
ious newspapers are almost solely de-
pendent on such an association, and,
If they are prohibited from publish.
ing 1t, or its use is refused to them,
their character as newspapers is de-
stroyed, and they would soon become
practically worthless publications.
The Associated Press, from the time
of its organization and establishment
in business sold it's news reports to
various newspapers, who became mem
bers, and the publication of that news
became of vast Importance to the pub
lie, so that public interest is attached
to the dissemination of that news.
The manner in which that corporation
has used it's franchise has charged it's
business with a public interest. 1t
has devoted its property to a public
use, and has, in effect, granted to the
public, such an interest in it's use that
1T must submit to be controlled by the
public for the common good, to the
extent of the interest it has thus ere.
ated in the public in it's private prop
erty. = -
Efforts to prevent competition and
to restrict individual efforts and free
dom OF action in trade and commerce
are restrictions hostile to the public
welfare, not consonant with the spirit
OF our institutions, and in violation
OF law Section 8 of Article II of the
bylaws of the appellee sought to pre-
vent any member of the appellee asso.
cation from furnishing it's special
or other news to, or receiving such
news from, any person declared by
1t hostile" Inter-Ocean VS.. Associa.
ted Press, 1874, Ill.
The Associated Press then aban.
doned the state of Illinois as the place
OF It's abode, and organized a new cor.
poratlon under the laws of the state
OF New York, and sought by re-incor.
pOratlOn to get around tha onip;on