The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1914-12-09
NEWS THIEF CAUFHT
PRESS DETECTS
NEW YORK WIRE TAPER.
Clever Rake Message Sent and Later
Reappears Among Client of News

H. l.. Linder, telegraph operator
in the employ of the Postal Telegraph
company, and attached to the Office
of the New York Globe, was arrested
at New York Friday, charged with
violating Eection SO of the penal
law, in that he revealed the contents
of telegraphic message sent out by
the Associated Press.
For long time it has been evident
that dispatches of the Associated
Press were being Systematically
stolen and were redistributed by a
number of smaller agencies. A care
full watch was set upon the business
and suspicion pointed to man en-
ployed in the Office of the Globe, a
New York evening paper. The case
was considered with the executive
committee of the Associated Press
directors at recent meeting and a
plan to detect the culprits and bring
them to justice YVES adopted.
For the purpose of transmitting
the more important news in bulletins
| wires connect the central Office Of the
organization at 81 Chambers street
with the editorial rooms Of the va
rious mem bers in New York. In the
Office of the Globe these bulletins
were copied surreptitiously by Linder
and repeated to the New York Press
| Bureau, a Wall street concern. Ere
quently within two or three minutes
after their receipt in the Office Of the
Globe they appeared on the News
! Bureaus ticker and in the reports of
the International News Service, the
Central News of America and other
minor organizations.
For the purpose Of trapping the
wire-tappers the following dispatch
was prepared:
Bulletin, E. O. S.
"Petrograd, November 27-The
Russian dreadnought Filba, formerly
the Ismail, striking mine in the
Gulf OF Finland, is complete loss,
with $50 lives.
add Petrograd under dash.
"Loss Of Filibad-the Ismail-was
one of four Baltic dreadnoughts laid
down at the Kronstadt yards in 1912
She had a displacement of $4,000
tons and carried nine 14-inch guns
and twenty 5-inch.' -
The short bulletin wire to the
Globe Office was detached from the
circuit, which included the other New
York evening newspapers, not mem.
bers Of the Associated Press, so the
message would 81 to the Globe alone
AS anticipated, the dispatch instantly
appeared upon the ticker and not
long after was printed in the papers
served by the other news agencies in
different parts Of the country. As
soon as this was done, and before il
appeared in any issue of the Globe, q
4 notice to s'kill" was sent out, and the
telegram, therefore, at no time reach.
ed the public as from the Associated
! Press.
The word "Filiba" was cryptic
Substituting for the initial consonant
the consonant following thhe alpha.
bet, and for the two vowels the
vowels following the alphabet, Fill.
ba" became Globe" The telegram
was identified beyond question and its
source made plain. The telegraph
operator was arrested and made q
full confession. He was arranged
Friday afternoon before Magistrate
F. B. House and held in $4,000 bal!
| for hearing on December /.
! In order to OBSERVE the methods OF
the New York News Bureau, trust.
cd detective was employed and estab.
lished himself as an investment
banker, "Mr. R. D. Smith," at an Of.
fee, No. 366 Broadway. He fitted
his Office carefully with safe and
appropriate furniture and installed
one of the New Y rk News Bureau
tickers. Employees Of the Associat.
ed Press were assigned to watch the
ticker with great care and to time
each dispatch. During a period COW
ering several weeks it was observed
that the dispatches of the Associated
Press were constantly repeated upon
the ticker within FIVE or ten minutes
after they were sent out by the A. P
The New York News Bureau is not a
member of the Associated Press and
is not entitled to it's service.