The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1913-04-28
IS newspaper columns in the more
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IS newspaper columns in the more
important cities.
The method of collecting foreign.
news has been greatly changed in re-.
cent years. Formerly The Associated
Press collected its foreign service in
London. receiving the news there of
he Reuter- company of the Wolff
agency Of Germany, and of the Havas
agency OF france with smaller affil-
lated agencies in Italy and Spain.
The objection to this method was
that the news as received in London
was alleged to be impressed with an
English basin any event it was
~concededly not collected from an
American viewpoint.
To meet this criticism The Asso-
ciated Press has established regular
bureaus of it's own in all the great
news centers, and now maintains Of
fees and staffs in London, Paris, Ber-
lin, Rome, st. Petersburg, Vienna,
Toxic, Picking, Mexico City, and Ha-
Vana, in addition to hundreds of in
dividual correspondents scattered
through the world.
~ . piobdDlC lila III lIG lOTGlRn
news field the extraordinary genius
of Melville E. Stone, the general man
ager of h Associated Press, has
been most strikingly exhibited. Just
prior to the Russo-Japanese war Mr..
Stone secured from the Tsar of Rus
STA the abolition of the censorship,
and newspaper men still remember
the remarkable nkne with which
h Russian government gave out the
news of Russia's reVerses in that con
flict.
Orders expediting the message of
The Associated Press were issued at
MS instance by the German, French,
Italian, and Russian governments,
and as a result it has come to be
common for European capitals to get
the first news of continental events
through Associated Press reports
cabled back from New York.
One beneficial result coming from
this more direct relationship is to be
found in the minimizing of the i'll
effect Of the occasional outbreak of
some utterly inconsequential German,
French, English, or Japanese yellow
s~poradically abusing the United States
and it's people.
Formerly profound significance of
a widespread hostility was attached
t. such ~outpourings. With the closer
understanding that comes from more
Intimate knowledge, we now under
stand the relative Importance of the
newspapers of other countries as we
are able to weigh and grade our own.
Inc disadvantage of lack of news
touch is strikingly apparent in the re-
latlons of the United States with the
Central and South American nations.
These countries secure their news of
the United States by way of Europe
and it consists mainly of MURDERS,
lyHchings and embellishments. The
~antlpathy to the United States by the
people of these countries is undoubt-
edly largely due to the false perspec-
tive given by their newspapers. If in
truth we were the kind of people they
are led to believe we are they would
be fully justified in their attitude.
1t has been the aim of those in
trusted with the management of The
Associated Press to secure as it's rep
resentatives both at home and abroad
men of high character and attain
ments, and it may, l think, be fairly
assumed that the reputation for ac-
curacy and fairness that it's service
enjoys is largely to be attributed to
an unusual measure of success In this
endeavor.
While The Associated Press is gen.
orally held in good esteem, l would
not be understood as indicating that
it has been exempt from criticism and
attack.
If in a campaign all the candidates,
or their managers or press agents did
not accuse The Associated Press of
the grossest craftsmanship as against
the particular candidacy in which
they We're interested, those bearing
the responsibilities of the service
would feel convinced that something
was radically wrong and would look
with suspicion OF the report them
selves.
This is but human nature During
the last campaign for the presidential
mlnat1on every candidate either in
person or by proxy expressed his con-
V1ctlon that The Associated Press was
favorable to somebody else.
Mr.. Wilson'S press agent asserted
that u service was pro-Clark, and
in the opinion of Speaker Clark we
had sold out to the Wilson people.
MT. rats managers felt that he was
not being given a fair show and Mr..
Roosevelt was firm in his conviction
that the of information had
been choked to his disadvantage.
Or course later we know that Mr..
wilson does not share the only-for-
publication views of his press agent
and Speaker Clark is as emphatic in
MS Withdrawal as in his hasty
charges. Mr. Taft's managers realize
that The Associated Press cannot re-
port speeches that he does not make,
and Mr.. Roosevelt mnSt SOC q b,,ror