Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-08-15

n
TIC. II was anonymous and may be with
out claim to regard. 1t is marred b.
several mistakes of fact. Some of then
are inexcusable; the truth might Sc
easily have been learned. Neverthe
less it is desirable that every body
should know all about the Associated
Press, whether it is an unlawful and
dangerous monopoly, or whether it is
in the business of circulating tainted
news Its kilograms are published
in full or in abbreviated form, in near
ly 900 daily newspapers having an ag
gregate circulation of many millions
of copies. Upon the accuracy of these
news dispatches, one-half of the PEG.
pie of the United States depend for the
conduct of their various enterprises,
as well as for the facts upon which
to base their opinions OF the activities
of the world. With a self-governing
nation, it is all important that such an
agency as the Associated Press fur
nish as nearly as may be the truth.
To mislead is an act of treason.
The writer's history is at fault For
instance, the former Associated Prea<
the old-time United Press. as he al
leges. Nor did tle Chicago Inter
Ocean go to law because it was re-
fused admission. 1t was a charter
member; it actually violated a bylaw,
discipline was administered and
against this discipline the law was
invoked, and a decision adverse to
tie then existing Associated Press re-
suited. The assertion that a fan
chise to newspaper in New York or
Chicago is worth from $4,000 to $780,
Coo will amuse thousands of people
wlo know that five morning Associat-
ed Press newspapers of Chicago, the
Chronicle, the Record, the Times. the
Freie Presse and the Inter-Ocean. have
ceased publication in the somewhat
recent past, and their owners have not
received a penny for their so-callei
franchises" The Boston Traveller
and Evening Journal were absorbed
and their memberships thrown away.
The Christian Science Monitor volun-
tarily gave up its membership and
took another service which it pre-
ferred. The Hartford Post, Bridge
ford Post, New Haven Union and
Schenectady Union did the same.
Cases where Associated Press papers
have ceased publication have not been
infrequent. Witness the Worcester
Sry, St Paul Globe. Minneapolis
Times, Denver Republican, San Fran
cisco Call, New Orleans Picayune, In
dianapolis Sentinel and Philadelphia
Times, as well as many others.
The statement that the Press Asso-
citation of England is an unlimited CO.
operative organization betrays incom-
plete information. Instead it is a
share company with an issued capital
of G49,440, sterling. On this, in 1913,
it made e3,70S, 9s, 1Od, or nearly S
per cent. And it had in its treasury
at the close of that year surplus of
c 23, 2S1. 19s, cd. or a sum nearly equal
to so per cent of its capitalization. 1t
sells news to newspapers, clubs, hotels
and news rooms. 1t is not. as is the
Associated Press, a clearing house for
the exchange of news. Ii gathers all
Of its information by its own employees
and sells it outright. Finally, it does
not serve all applicants, but declines
as ii always has, TO furnish its news
TO the London papers.
But there is more important matter.
1t is said that the business of collect
ing aud distributing news is essential
" monopclistic But how can this be?
The field is an open one. a single re-
porter may enter it and so may an as
ISOLATION OF reporters. The business
il any case may be confined to the
news of city or it may be extended
to include a state, nation, or the
world. The material facilities for the
transmission of news, so far as they
are of a public or qUasi-public nature,
the mail or the telegraph, are open to
the use of all on the same terms. The
subject matter OF news, events of gen
eral interest, are not property and can
not be appropriated. The element of
property exists only in tle story of the
event which the reporter makes and
the diligence which he uses 10 bring Ii
% the place of publication. This ele-
ment Of property is simply the right
IF the reporter TO the fruit of his own
abor. The "Recessional' was a report
Of the Queens Jubilee. 1t was made
Dv Rudyard Kipling, and was his prop
erty for that reason, to be disposed OF
Dy him as he thought proper. He
might have copyrighted it and re-
served to himself the exclusive right
IF publication during the period of the
copyright. He chose rather to use his
common law right of first publication
and he did this by selling it to the
london Times. He was not under OBJ
igation, moral or legal, to sell 1t at
he same time 10 any other publisher.
Every other reporter stands upon the
iame footing and as the author of his
story is, by every principle of law and
equity, entitled to monopoly OF his
he nuscrfpt until he, voluntarily as
;igns It or surrenders it to the public.
lie does not monopolize the news. He
,annot do that, for real news is as
wit of which Rosalind said:
Make the door upon it and it will out
t the easement; shut that and twill
tut at the keyhole; stop that. twill out
IL. ri.