Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1914-11-28
Telegraph Operator Arrested
for Stealing Dispatches
From Associated Press for
Other News Bureaus.
CRYPTIC WORD USED
TO EXPLODE METHODS
False Bulletin, Purporting to
Come From Petfograd, Is
Caught Up and Sent Out to
Minor Newspapers.

New York. Nov. 21.---H. l.. Linder
a telegraph operator IN the employ
Of the Postal Telegraph company
and attached TO the office of the New
York Globe. was arrested here TODAY
charged with violating Section 552.
Ct the penal law, in that he revealed
the contents Of Il telcgraphic message
sent out by the Associated Press.
For a long time II has been evident
that the dispatches OF the Associated
Press were being Systematically stol-
en- and were redistrsbuted by a num-
Der or smaller agencies 10 their
clients. "A careful watch was set upon
the business and suspicion pointed TO
q certain man employed In the office
Of the Globe, a New York evening
paper as the guilty person. The case
was considered by the executive COM
mittee OF the Associated Press direc-
tors at recent meeting and plan
TO detect the culprits and bring them
10 justice was adopted. For the pnr-
pose Of transmitting the more inn
portant news In bulletins. wires con-
meet the central office of the organi-
zation at No. 51 Chambers street,
with the editorial rooms of the va
rlous newspapers In the office OF
the Globe the bulletins were copied
surreptiously by H. L. Linder. q tele-
graph operator employed By the Pos
tal telegraph company, and repeated
TO the New York News bureau, avail
street concern. Frequently within two
or three minutes after their receipt
y NJ tl,v offer of ffr 6; lobe they APP
peared on the ticker and In The re-
ports Df the e'1nternational News Ser
Vice, the Central News of America
and other minor ORGANIZATIONS.
How They We're Trapped.
For the purpose of trapping the
Wire tappers, the following dispatch
was prepared
Bulletin EOS
"Petrograd, Nov. 27.--The Russian
drcadnaught Fliba, formerly the Is
mail, striking a Iinine in the gulf Of
Finland. is a complete loss with 450
lives.
tAdd Petrogrdd under dash, loss
Of Fliba. 1.-THE Ismail was one of
four Baltic dreadnaughts laid down
ut the kronstadt yards in 1912. She
had a displacement of 2S,000 tons
and carried nine 1f-inch guns and
twenty 5-inch.Y
The short Bulletin wire to The Globe
Office was detached from the circuit
which included the other New York
evening papers, members OF the As
sociated Press. SO that the message
should so TO the Globe alone. AS am
ticipated, the dispatch instantly APP
peared on the ticker and not long
alter was printed IN the papers sery
cd by other news agencies in different
parts Of the country. As soon as this
was done and before II appeared In
any issue OF the Globe, a notice to
XIII was sent out and the telegram
therefore, al no time, reached the
public as from the Associated Press.
A Cryptic Catch Word.
The word ''iliba' was cryptic. Sub !
shutting for the initial eonsonant,
the consonant following II In the al |
phabet and for the two vowels the I
yowels following il in the alphabet /
7. !. I. B. A.. became G.. L. o. u. Il. !
Thus the culprits were left no chance
q escape. The telegram was identified |
beyond question and its source made
plain. The telegraph operator was |
arrested and made full confession.
l'e was arraigned this afternoon be- /
lore Magistrate +. Il. House and held |
IN $4,000 bail for hearing on Decent
Der
In order TO observe the methods
OF theTNew York News bureau. q
trusted Pinkerton operator was en-
pioyed and established himself as an
investment banker Mr.. X. ID. Smith,
az an office at No. 3o6 Broadway.
ne fttcd his office carefully with
SAFE and appropriate furniture and
installed one of the New York News
bureau tickers. Employees of the AS
sociated Press were assigned TO watch
me ticker with great care and TO
ume each dispatch. During period
covering several weeks. ii was observ-
ca mat the dispatches of the Associ-
ated Press were constantly repeated
within five or ten minutes after they
We're sent out by the Associated
Press.
The New York News bureau Is not
member of the Associated Press
ahd is not entitled to its service.