Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-04-29
BY FRANK q. MOVES,


the May issue Of North American
Review
Probably no institution is more
widely known by name that the Asso- (
ciated Press and, on the other hand, /
more vaguely understood by the pub
lie generally as TO its organization and
its functions. For whatever cause
this may be, that it is a fact is daily
apparent.
The Associated Press is an associa-
tion OF something over $50 newspa-
pers, operating under a charter of the
state Of New York as a mutual and CO
operative organization for the inter-
change and collection of news. Under
the terms Of its charter the CORPORA
ton is not to make a profit nor to
make or declare dividends and it's not
TO engage in the business Of selling
intelligence nor traffic in the same"
In other words, the Associated
Press is simply common agent of its
members by which they arrange an
interchange Of the news that each col
lects, and is bound by its member
ship obligation to contribute for the
common use Of its fellow-members
and also as the agency through which
reports Of foreign and certain classes
of domestic happenings are collected
and distributed to the newspapers
served by the organization.
The fact that in the present year
we celebrate the Goth anniversary of
the first nationwide cooperative and
non-profit-making news-gathering or
tsanfzaffpn in To 10
the publication of something respect
ing it timely.
The Associated Press is in no wise
the master of the newspapers consti-
tutins its membership; it is distinctly
their servant.
It's board of directors is composed
Of active newspaper men chosen at
annual meetings by the membership
and N an experience running through
20 years of intimate connection with
the present organization and also that
Of the older Illinois corporation ] have
never known an instance in all the
changing personnel of boards of direc-
tors when there was any departure
from the most rigid observance Of the
highest obligations OF trusteeship and
Na'h 'roih VI ~ way anu Htluou inter
ests. The president, vice president
and members of the board OF directors
serve without salaries.
The Associated Press OF today is the
outcome Of many year struggle be
tween two opposing systems. One
that OF news-gatherinG concerns with
private or limited ownership which
dealt at arms length with newspa
pers to which they sold news at such
profit as might be secured. and over
which the newspapers who bought
from them had no more control than
over the paper mill supplying them
with print paper
The other system is based on the
theory that powerful, privately own,
ed and controlled news-sathering
agency is d menace to the press and
people.
Determined to establish an agency
subject only to the control of the
newspapers for whom it acted, in 1879;
a group of western men composing tn,
Western Associated Press began
fight TO attain this end, and since tina
time a contest between these two OF
posing principles has been waged. II
asserting that the Associated Press
rs today constituted, is the servan
and agent only of the newspaper
for which II acts, | have no though
OF minimizing the tremendous impor
ance of the work il does as such a
agent but wish simply TO emphasiz
the thought that properly speaking
has no entity of its own. no missio
save TO serve its members.
Its members are scattered from In
Atlantic to the Pacific from Canad
TO the gulf, and represent every POI
sible shade of political belief, relig
Gus faith. and economic sympathy
is obvious that the Associated Pres
can have no partisan nor factions
bias, no religious utilization, no cal
italistic nor pro-labor trend.
Its function is simply to furnish il
members with truthful, clean, con
prehensive, on-partisan-and this
its broadcast sense-report of the new
Of the world as expeditiously as
compatible with accuracy and as ec
nomically as possible.
To do this the newspapers col
posing its membership contribute fir
the news Of their localities and Sc
ond,>weekly assessments of money a
gregating about 100000 per annul
with which an extensive system
leased wires is maintained (22,0
miles OF wire in the daytime and
600 miles OF wire at night. burea
in the principal American cities ST
plementing and collating the news
local newspapers and bureaus for I
original collection of news througho
the world
The volume OF the news report
members varies greatly, ranging fro
500 words daily by telegraph or te
phone TO papers able to utilize but