The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-05-08
HOW TRAPSARELA|D
BY NEWSPAPERS
Notable Examples of Editors
Who Caught Rivals
Pilfering.
SOME JOURNALISTIC TALES
AMUSING INCIDENTS IN ENG
LAND AND AMERICA.

London. May Some little time
ago. 1T was recently stated, when
the good ship Baltic pursued her
way across the trackless Atlantic,
those on board received a series
OF shocks by the alleged receipts Of
items Of sensational news through the
medium of wireless telegraphy. A
distinguished financier was alleged TO
have committed felo de Sc, a young
lady held in the highest repute and af-
lection on both sides of the Atlantic
was said TO have eloped with a mem
Der of the British embassy at Wash
ington, and it was further alleged that
Japan had sent an ultimatum to Ber-
lin demanding the withdrawal of Ger
man troops from Chinese territory.
Naturally. the press of two hemis-
pheres on the receipt of these tfdfng s
animadverted strongly upon the repre-
hensible conduct OF the miscreant who
was responsible for this jeu d'esprit,
and strongly urged that in the event
of the crime being brought home to
him legal proceedings should be forth
with Instituted. Having thus delivered
their fulminatory brOadsides. 1t must
have been not little annoying to the
editorial soul when ii came OUT Jnat
ever, and that they themselves had
been grossly deceived.
To publish false news, however, Is a
somewhat dangerous expedient to
-
ties done in order to expose the pilfer-
Ing OF items Of news acquired at con-
siderable expense, was clearly fndi-
Gated some little time ago, when In
utilizing the information acquired by
another company. the latter confessed
to having set traps by sending out on
divers occasions inaccurate cricket
scores, several of which duly appeared
in organs subscribing to the service
supplied by the defendant company.
One of the good stories told in jour
nalistic circles anent the smartness of
the member for Bury. Mr.. George Toul-
min NJ P, is in respect to a trap in
TYNE that was set by him and his col
leagues on the staff of the Preston
Guardian. when a rival contemporary
was suspected Of lifting without
Acknowledgement the item of news
Gathering together a number of his
staff the conspirators between them
concocted the story of sensational
murder, the scene of which was iald
In a corner of the county of Red Rose,
too remote to permit OF Immediate tel
egraphic Inquiries and had special
edition of two or three copies, con-
tanning the sanguinary tidings printed
the '5salted" copies should fall IN the
right hands, and after the lapse of a
space of time that in Its brevity re-
Elected the greatest credit upon the
SD1aTtneSS OF INC sail Oti w.
paper, that organ had rushed OFF an
edition containing details of The
"crine" that were considerably fuller
than the original story. The Feelings
M the pfckers-up of unconsidered
trifles when it dawned upon them later
in the day that they had fallen head
long into a trap prepared for them
may be imagined.
Some few years ago, when Famous
firm OF map publishers were doing 9
great trade in maps of the seat OF war
Il was noticed that other firms Were
nroducIng efforts IN cartography thas
bore a singular resemblance to their
own production. When, therefore, fur-
tber editions were called for and, as the
result Of further research and the ex-
ieencies of the campaign the names OF
a considerable number OF towns, VII
IL ges- rivers and mountains had TO De
inserted. the firm ran into several
comics of their production as names
several anagrams for the woros
"Traced. copyright, law courts, oam
ages" and awaited results. Long Pc
fore their patience was exhausted tne
pirates bold had rushed off fresh eoi-
lions of their contraband maps, and IN
one and all were faithfully reproduced
the test words that We're to be their
undoing-
This latter trap recalls the an
nouncement that appeared IN the
Musical Courier of New York a few
years ago that bore the following IN