The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-03-28

LdIIln or the Sun service, etc.
Every one of these services is man
aged and controlled by a stock COM
pany for profit Each of these COM
panies sells the news where it may.
Several of these organizations are
first class and give the Associated
Press good stiff competition, but most
of them buy little news here and
there and sell a great deal more than
they buy; but they are not organized
on the mutual basis.
The Associated Press pays enorm
Gus sums for it's news and yet, re-
member. sells nothing. During the
recent Portuguese revolution the As
ISOLATED Press paid as high as $1.15
a word for news from Lisbon. It
paid that to get the news for it's mem
bers and then when its members
printed the big news in their noon
grabbed it for nothing and sent it
out to their members.
That is the reason the smaller as
sociations can cut the rate and sell
news at a lower figure than the mem
bership expenses of the Associated
Press papers are in corresponding
towns. If news costs the Associated
Press $1.15 a word and the other or
CARNATIONS simply appropriate it,
without paying anything, from the
noon or early editions of the Asso-
ciated Press papers, you see what an
advantage they have. The advantage,
however, is only apparent, Just as the
imitation has an apparent advantage
over the real thing, in cheapness.
The fact of it is, all these other news
organizations, and I think that there
is no exception, are United for reve-
nue.. The great organization is SIM
ply Associated for news.
Little "Old Bill White of the EN-
poria Gazette, "What's-the-M Matter
which counts just the same in the
Associated Press meetings, as the one
big vote of Big Don Seitz, the heavy
weight of the New York World.
The little fellows are stronger than
the big fellows in the Associated Press,
because there are more of them, just
like Lincoln's common people whom
the Lord loves.
BY the way, did you know that,
speaking of the consideration given the
smaller papers, the other day mem
bership was granted to the Princeton
College Daily Paper? Now, here is a
little college paper printed in Wood
row Wilson own town, which has the
same voice on the motions and resolu-
lions pertaining to the welfare of the
Associated Press as the one voice of
the great Chicago Tribune or of the
Cincinnati Enquirer.
A few years ago some of the larger
papers formed a sort of club or organ
ization of big dozen, and proceeded
to try to improve the Associated Press
service. They spent lot of the good
money of the members of the Asso-
ciated Press, and they did lot of
good which resulted in improved serv-
ice. but one of the principal objects of
the big dozen, or special committee. |
was to change the bylaws to permit
the big papers to do certain things
that they wanted to do.
Well, they drew up bylaw after
months of hard work, that they
thought fitted the case, but it was an
unjust bylaw to the little papers and |
the little papers wouldn't stand for 1t;
and they slew that bylaw; and the old !
bylaw remains today as it was origin |
ally.
In fact the bylaws of the Associated |
Press are so well drawn that it is
practically impossible to change them
and they really don't need changing.
Frank Noyes, the president of the |
association and the man who knows
more about it than any other man in |
it., excepting General Manager Stone, |
thought he would like a new bylaw. |
He worked with others trying to get
this new bylaw, but he couldn't get it.
He found that when he drew up the
bylaws originally, he drew them SO
we'll and so tight that they couldn't
be constantly changed, especially to
the detriment of the smaller papers,
even if it would benefit the larger pa
pers and those which paid the most
In other words, he was:
Hoist by his own petard."
Do you know that Mr.. Noyes had
hose bylaws SO we'll tied and wired
together, for the strength of the A. p.
hat it would really be difficult, when
you get down to "brass tacks" to i'm
prove them. Their workings have
sometimes been extended, or modified,
by proper resolutions, but the bylaws
themselves have never been amended,
md it is not likely they ever will be.
When Mr.. Noyes had them drawn he
knew they were we'll drawn and
lrawn so that they could not be "tin-
xered with and when even he, de-
string the best interests of the As
ISOLATION, thought that bylaw
should be changed, he could not get
t changed. The little papers would
lot stand for it and the big papers fin
.Ily acquiesced. Some of the biggest
oapers. however. saw the injustice
4I,1 bod not req lived and