Evening journal., 1912-09-02
NEW NEWS OF YESTERDAY
The Real Beginning Of Co.
Operative News
Gathering
BY Holland

you Of course know that it is the
general belief that the original com
bh=-aion OF New York newspapers
which took the title of Associated
Press was due to desire Of the
proprietors Of the five leading news
papers Of New York to share OK
penses entailed by the collection Of
ship news; principally news brought
by vessels from other lands to New
York City. But that was not the
real origin of that very beneficial or
ganization." This statement was
made by Moses Yale Beach, for many
years the owner of the New York
Sun before Charles A. Dana bought
the property. The Sun was estab-
lished by Mr.. Beach's brother-in-law,
Benjamin Day and was one Of the
first penny newspapers OF the United
States. Mr.. Beach became sole pro-
prietor and having accumulated a
considerable fortune, retired to a
beautiful country place in Warren
port, Conn, in the sixties.
81 think | may justly claim" con-
tinued Mr.. Beach, that ] was really
the originator of the Associated Press.
You may remember that, curiously
enough, the Morse telegraph was es-
tablished about the time of the break
ing out OF our war with Mexico.
realized soon after the telegraph was
found to be commercially practicable
that il was to be a very important
accessory OF the gathering and pub
fishing of news.
81 also, after a good deal OF thought
made up my mind that the telegraph
would sooner or later compel a sort
of union or combination among the
sewspapers--since there would be
very great work and expense in the
using of it--for the duplication of
telegraph dispatches containing cur
rent news.
while I was thinking about this
and had, in fact, partially worked out
plan by which the leading New
York newspapers could combine to
pay the expenses Of collecting and
transmitting telegraphic news, and
could then get some of their eX-
penses back by selling this news to
papers outside OF New York, the war
with Mexico began.
"I Immediately made arrangements
to secure dispatches from Mexico by
way Of steamer from one OF the
northern ports TO either New Orleans
or Mobile. Thence the dispatches
were to be forwarded by the nearest
railway communication. Even by the
most expeditions methods the news
was slow in reaching New York
looked the field over again and made
up my mind that by establishing
steamer service from a Mexican port
to Mobile and then utilizing steam
boat service from Mobile to Mont
gomery. Ala, I could save sometimes
as much as a day, occasionally as
much as two days. For at Mont
gomery ! would begin to reach rail-
way communication. Yet this was
very expensive.
Then the idea suddenly occurred
to me that ] would lay my plans be-
fore the proprietors Of the other lead
ing New York papers for the pur-
pose OF inducing them TO combine
so that the expenses Of transmission
Of this news would be greatly reduced
for each paper II would cost no
more TO carry the dispatches for five
papers than It would for one.
"I was a little apprehensiye that
my plans would not be approved, but
they were very cordially approved,
and this system was established with
very successful results. In addition
IL showed the, New York newspaper
combination b. the collection and
proprietors what the advantages OF
transmission OF news were, and it
was not long before these newspapers
entered into a formal combination
which was called the Associated
Press"
Copyright. 1912. by e j. Edwards.
All rights reserved
Tomorrow Mr.. Edwards will tell
Of AN Echo OF a Famous Scandal Of