Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1909-09-08

one who talks. unless specific
permission for name and quotations be given.
Ninetynine times out of 100 when a news
paper having a Washington CORE
spondent publishes, under a capital
city date line that high authority
In certain department 1T may be
sald, etc., the correspondent has ~
been talking with the chief of the de-
partment or with one so close to him
officially that the voice Of the one is -
as the voice of the other.
The president of the United States
Is never to be quoted, but it is prob
able that things the president has N,
said directly have gone to the public SV
some thousands Of times through the l.
newspapers OF the country although IT
1t Is extremely likely that many of ~
the readers, in view of the fact that lax
firect words to the effect that the IW
president has spoken and quotation mlS
marks were absent hesitated to be- WHIT
iieve that what they read came warm WA
from the White House lA
IL has been said that the president TIf
or the United States is never to he l MH
quoted. That is the rule. Once in W
great Whle presidents take the ban y n
on and say: you may say that
sad So" Ordinarily when Mr.. Taft NJ
or any OF his predecessors in office
nave had occasion to put forth a pro.
nouncement it has been nrenarad
with forethought and has been given ont in
printed form to be put upon the wires for
general consumption.
The president talks to the Washington cor
respondents perhaps more than semiocca
slonally and unless inhibited they NAV charge
their own words with the spirit Of what he
mas said and then give it to the readers of
what they write. The first lesson that a newly
appointed correspondent has to learn is that
no matter how sharp and direct a statement
is given to him by any official IL is not to he
q m trnlac
Permission generally is given save in the
cases or the president and the cabinet Off.
GERS, and even In these cases there is the gen.
eral understanding that the statements NAV
De put before the public in such form that
1t may be known definitely that either execu-
tive or cabinet authority has spoken
The White House is the source of the
greater part of the vitality interesting news
that goes out OF Washington and by the
White House one does not necessarily mean
the president. More legislative news is to be
had in the outer offices of the executive man.
sion than is to be had in the capitol itself.
or course this statement has no reference to
the actual passing of legislation
NO Dill or great Importance having Re-
publican origin ever goes into the hopper OF
congress unless its merits or dement's have
been pretty well discussed in the office OF the
president. The Republican member who has
a measure Of national moment to introduce
into congress naturally goes to the president
to get from him his opinion
Frequently, more than frequently the sen.
ator or representative who has conferred
with the president is willing to tell the world
through the newspapers how the chief execu-
tive looks upon the legislation which he has
In hand. This holds of course only when the
measure has been met with presidential favor
and not with presidential frowning
Senators and members and callers from
distance get access to the presidents room
through an outer office, where during the
morning hours newspaper correspondents
assemble. From this little office there is a
daily shadowing forth of future events
II may not be wide Of the mark to tell how
once on a time a Washington correspondent
who. with 20 Of his fellows was in the outer
White House Office. secured what is known to
the daily writing fraternity as a SCOOP" and
secured it under the very noses of his fell
lows. This thing hardly can happen more
than once in a newspaper mans lifetime TN.
der similar circumstances
It was in the early days OF railroad rate
agitation. The whole country was anxious
90 know what the president intended 10 do
what bill for rate regulation he intended to
indorse and what member Of congress was to
be the lucky father of the measure which was
to hold the country's interest certainly fcr an
entire session.
While the correspondents were in the
White House Office man came out from the
presidents room, passed unchallenged by the
newspaper men, for apparently none of them
knew him, and walked rapidly away from the
entrance in the direction of Pennsylvania ave
nue.. One correspondent did know this man
by sight, but he held his peace and his own
counsel
Before the presidents visitor had vanished
from sight. however, the correspondent who
knew who h0 startod after him and ovar.