The Yale expositor., 1912-06-06
GREAT TASK AHEAD
Newspaper Men Preparing For
Two Conventions.
TO MOVE ON CHICAGO SOON
Then They Must Make Quick Jump
to ealtimore-tiow Tickets Are
Assigned and Quarters Provid-
cd for the Correspon-
dents.
BY GEORGE CLINTON.


Washington.-Moving day is immi-
nent in Washington. Very soon scores
OF members of congress, the cam
paign managers of three Republican
candidates and hundreds of persons
VINO are TO be merely onlookers will
take trains, regular and special, to
move on Chicago for the great Re-
publican national convention.
While the Republican convention is
at Its height other scores of congress-
men and campaign managers of at
least four Democratic candidates and
more onlookers than are numbered
among the hosts of Chicago specta-
tors, VII lmove on Baltimore. The
conventions this year are regarded by
everybody in Washington as certain
TO be OF unusual interest. The de-
mand for tickets to both great affairs
has been greater than ever before and
the committeeman are being put to it
not simply to meet the demand, but
TO discover ways and means of de-
Ginning demands 80 automatically as
not to give offense. 1t is a case of
pegs In one hole and this Is the thing
which not even the sagacious and re-
sourceful national committeeman Of the
two parties are able to do.
Army of Correspondents.
congressman, political managers
and onlookers will not be the only
ones to leave Washington for the Chi
cago event. At least $50 newspaper
correspondents will desert the gal
leries of congress some days in ad-
vance Of the Republican convention
to go to the Lake city, to report not
only the convention itself. but the
Notwithstanding preliminaries.
There will be 500 newspaper men in
attendance at both conventions.
Prior to the conventions. the ma
tional committeeman Of both parties
are extremely busy men. but there are
others who have to work also. The
correspondents In Washington have
what is called a standing committee
whose duties it is to regulate the press
galleries, to decide on who is entitled
to admission and who is not. to in.
vestigate in the rare cases where some
correspondent is charged with unpro-
fessional conduct, and to do many 9TH
er things in the way of regulation
and good government"
Mr.. AIbert's Large Task.
The chairman OF the standing COM
mittee Of correspondents is Charles s.
Albert. To Mr.. Albert have come the
applications from all the managing
editors of the daily papers OF the coun-
try asking for assignments of seats
on the press platforms of the two con-
ventions. 1t Is also the duty of the
chairman to confer with the other
members Of the standing committee
and to determine whether or not the
demands of the different newspapers
have been out of keeping with the
real news necessities in the case 1t
Is rather a difficult and delicate Job
to determine just how many seats the
newspapers are entitled to. When all
the applications are in, the requests
for newspaper seats are turned over
by the standing committee to the
on the management OF the two conven-
tions. and the seats are assigned.
In the house press gallery acting
as it's superintendent Is a government
employee who has been for something
like thirty years at his post of duty.
He is Charles III. Mann. a Marylander.
He is not only veteran of the Wash
mi ty0te T,f
convention service.
In the senate press gallery as super.
intendent is James ID. Preston, young
and extraordinarily active. He has
been travelling back and forth between
Baltimore and Washington several
times a week ever since the Demo-
cratic national committeeman fixed on
vention. 1t is not too much to say
that Mr.. Preston probably knows just
what kind of quarters have been as
signed each individual correspondent
IT has been one of his duties to see to
1t that the writer's have places to
which they can 60 TO pound out FOR
themselves, or to dictate. instant copy. |
Department Press Agents Accused.
Members of the house rules commit
tee recently have been investigating |
the use of press agents by the de- |
partments of government" In many
of the departments men are employed !
to put out information concerning the |
work which the government intends to |
do along certain lines. Much of this |
is sent to Washington CORE |
spondents and good deal of it is use |
full, for 1t contains facts which are of |
service In writing articles concerning |
the activities of the government.
The charge has been made that |
some of the publicity agents OF the |
have gone beyond the
bounds of propriety and have put out
matter intended not only to defend |
officials from attack, but to bring dis
credit upon people who have criti-
cised the workings of the depart
,y,npto The dtra,t ,horoa ,,,ada ,nn-