The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1909-10-19

permission Tor name and quotations be given.
Ninety-nine times out of 100 when a news
paper having a Washington CORE
spondent publishes, under capital
city date line, that on high authority
IN a certain department ut may be
SAID" ETC., the correspondent has ~
been talking with the chief of the de-
partment or with one 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 .
some thousands Of times through the L
newspapers of the country although vi
II Is extremely likely that many of
tne readers In view of the fact that ~
olrect words to the effect that the IUN
president has spoken and quotation WIN
marks were absent, hesitated to be- MI~
lieve that what they read came warm WIN
from the White House. liz
1t has been said that the president VNn
OF the United States Is never tn no MA
quoted. That is the rule Once in M
great while presidents take tho han = n
on apd->say; You may say that
sHiu So Ordinarily when Mr.. Taft
or any OF his predecessors In Office
nave had occasion to put forth pro-
nouncement 1t has been prepared
with forethought and has been given ont in
printed form to be put upon the wires for
general consumption.
Inc president talks to the Washington cor
respondents perhaps more than semi.occa
slonally and unless inhibited they NAV charge
their own words with the spirit of what no
mas said and then give 1t to the readers of
what they write. The first lesson that newly
appointed correspondent has to learn is that
no matter now sharp and direct a statement
ia given to him by any official it ia not to he
USED with name unless permission is given
rermlssion generally is given save in the
cases OF the president and the cabinet off.
GERS ana even IN these cases there is the gen.
eral understanding that the statements NAV
be put before the public in such form that
u may De known definitely that either execu.
i've or CABINET authority has spoken
me 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 he
had IN the outer Offices of the executive man.
SION tnan Is to be had In the capitol itself
or course this statement has no reference to
the actual passing of legislation.
NO bill OF great Importance having a 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 tho son.
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 nand. 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 a
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
daily shadowing forth of future events
1t may not be wide of the mark to tell how
once on 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 scoop" and
secured 1t under the very noses of his fel.
lows. This thing hardly can happen more
than once In newspaper mans lifetime un-
der similar circumstances.
1t was in the early days Of railroad rate
agitation. The whole country was anxious
to know what the president intended to 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 for 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
rom sight. however, the correspondent who
new who he was started after him and over