The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-02-08

loon; items that the railroads are ex-
tending their shops and offices here in
a city where the employees pass no
groggeries IN going to and from their
dutles;A leading to sobriety, to work
Wen done, homes of their own better
clothes and food and entertaiI1rn emit
and education for the Workmen
and his family not known nv fhe shon|
men whose factories are fringed with
noisy saloons instead of with 0I1iet
homes 49,
Despite the flippant remarks to the
contrary, the reader has general conn
oence in the, news stories in his paper.
ana depends upon it for his informa-
.ion- He bases his actions on his he
lief that the news is true
Errors VIII Happen.
A Few days ago, just as the paper
was going to press late in the after
noon a reporter for the State .Tournal
telepnoned from the house of renre
rentatlves that a certain resolution
mad been adopted and victory tharahv
secured by what was .calle5 the a.,
lmnInistration forces; that is. the adon-
lion OF measure favored by the pres-I
ent administration. The vote was close
and was announced as 81 to so. The
paper was printed immediately with
tnal news. Owing to the closeness of
the vote, there was more or less CON
fusion A recaSting was made nv the
teHers, and meanwhile the sneaker an
nounced that the measure was lost
because he ruled that it must have,
not only majority, but two-thirds of
the votes cast. All. of this reouired
considerable time, during which the
paper was being printed and when If
is remembered that the papers are
turned out at the rate of a thousand
every three minutes It will be seen
.ioW natural was the error which the
paper conveyed to its readers that
evening The next day of course the
correction was made, but meanwhile
the reporter who had unintentionaIlv
Illuminated his paper and. deceived the
readers. had an uneasy night.
me CORRECTION of news is made the
more difficult from the fact that eve
witnesses upon whom the reporter
must depend have a different view
and DO not always agree. Some peo-
pie see things blue which others de-
clare positively are green.
The omission of two Commas or tho
infection of the voice may convey ex-
actly the opposite intended.
Thus: The Capital says the State
Journal is fine newspaper Or: The
Capital, says the State Journal. is
which is it?
The gathering of the news is at
tended by difficulties which are not
easily overcome by those who are in
experienced. Often a new reporter
rails entirely to grasp an important
situation or be equal to the task as
signed.
1t is related that some time ago a
city editor was obliged to dispatch to
the scene of an. accident a reporter
who had recently joined the staff
Hours passed. Nothing came from
the scene of what was rumored to be
a dreadful railroad disaster.
In desperation, just before the pa
per Went to press, the city editor
reached the reporter by telephone and
was astounded to hear from him over
the wires this explanation: "There is
too much excitement. here. So many
people have been killed and. injured
that cannot get anything about it
until matters quiet down.
Another new reporter was sent to
cover wedding. In the course of
time he drifted back into the newspa-
per office, when the city editor asked
him If he had gotten a good report of
the event He said he, had nothing;
that he had. written nothing because
there was no wedding; everybody
waited but the bridegroom failed to
appear.
The Associated Press.
Probably the greatest reporter is
the Associated Press which has alert
correspondents in all the principal
centers Of the United States and of the
world, collecting news which is almost
instantly transmitted to every part of
the country in general
The great effort of the modern news
paper is not only to print the truth,
but to print it quickly Money, men
and methods are not spared to this
end.
In reporting a yacht race of inter-
national Importance, boats equipped
with wireless telegraphy follow the
contestants.
In a recent baseball championship
game, deemed of nation wide impor-
lance, the event was as quickly known
thousands of miles away from the
field as it was known just without the
gates of the enclosure. Associated
Press wires extending to all parts of
the country were located at the side
of the field. Reporters witnessed the
play and dictated direct to the tele-
graph operator each incident of the
game. The victory was flashed in
stantly over the wires and was known
instantaneously in Chicago, as well as
by the spectators on the grandstand in
Philadelphia.
The Associated Press not only has
for the quick Transmission. of the news
leased wires running into and through
the Offices of the Topeka morning and
evening newspapers, the wires being
busy all the day in one and through
out the night in the other, but for
still greater quickness several thou
sand code words are used.
For instance, instead of sending
over the wires the announcement that
the supreme court of the United States
decides the income tax law unconsti-
tutional. the words which came over
the circuit were: Scotus decides the
income tax law uxl, scotus standing for
supreme court of the United States,
and uxl standing for the word uncon-
stitutionaI
The other day an item was tele-
graphed reading: James K. Hackett
has fapib;'' that code word represent
ing filed a petition in bankruptcy, the
made up words scotus and fapib be-
in the first letters of the words "Su-
preme court of the United States and
filed a petition in bankruptcy
The Associated Press is not an or
! ganization, as it is sometimes under
stood, for profit. 1t has no profits. 1t
is merely an association of newspapers