The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-10-03
tone OF VOICE
HAS A MEANING
How Nsxspaper Reporters Get Tips
on News ~ Listening to
and Watching
W. TumuIty.
HE SAYS VERY LITTLE
But Il 10 the Way He Says Il and
His Manner Of Speech
Which 10 to be
Considered.

WASHINGTON. oct. 2.-The ma
tion's thoughts and feelings are being
swayed these days through the
medium OF Secretary Joseph P. Tum-
ulty's gestures and the tones OF his
voice.
For Mr.. Tumulty is the presidents
mouthpiece, and for the first time in
the memory Of generation the pres
ident Is going 1t almost alone in the
handling Of a great national crisis.
In domestic affairs we are an argu-
mentative and opinionated democ-
racy. In international politics most Of
us are babes in the woods. and the
man At the corner grocery who can
settle the tariff and currency issues
on hand is willing to leave 1t to VIII
SON."
Even the Washington correspon-
dents who usually know exactly what
ought to be done, can't make up their
minds these days until they have
seen Tumulty.
At 10 o'clock every morning. Secre-
tary Tumulty sits at his desk with
twenty or thirty sondents
grouped about him, their ears strained
to catch his every Infection. He says
very little. His manner is informal
and he uses the usual measure of slang
as he jokes with the newspaper men.
II an intelligent layman, new to
Washington had attended one OF these
conferences recently he'd have left
the white. house with the Impression
that Mr.. Tumulty had q crouch that
morning and that he didn't approve
OF q certain Washington dispatch in
q certain New York paper. To the
newspaper men who know him the
few casual words let drop by the pres.
dents secretary spoke volumes That
afternoon, papers from New York to
Manila heralded another "crisis"-tf,is
time q real one. President Wilson
would insist on disavowa' OF the
Arabic sinking as condition to con-
tirping diplomatic relations.
Mr. Tumulty's name is seldom men
toned and he is almost never quoted
Every day the Washington dispatches
speak Of high administration on.
cials." white house circles" or Of
friends OF the president" Nine times
out OF ten they mean Mr.. Tumultv.
To the correspondent who knows every
detail in the progress Of diplomatic
negotiations and every angle OF the
situation ten words and
a gesture by Tumulty can be turned
into dispatch long enough to I'LL a
column on the first page. and every
word OF 1t reasonably accurate.
"The Daily Planet had good
story this morning" says Tumultv to
one OF the correspondents in his most
y
there Is a rush for the Planet and
within an hour the wires are. carry
Ing An approximately accurate state
ment Of the presidents position in
the Dumba matter, or the stage Of
negotiations on the submarine issue.
Yet until !Tumulty had uttered his
careless comment. "The Planets"
story probably represented merely
correspondents lucky guess.
The man who trusts the gestures
and infections to guide the thought OF
q nation when peace and war are in
the scales. must be an artist. And
Tumulty is that. These daily confer
ences are something like game, and
the newspaper man who knows IL we'll
enjoys PLAYING It, He finds it exhiliar-
ating to pick out the big news from
twenty minutes Of small talk. Part OF
the game Is to act as though one of
these chance remarks meant no more
than the talk about the weather or
the latest joke. between which they
are often sandwiched There is an
understanding that Tumulty
will say exactlv as much as he wishes
to say and no more. He is never asked
to confirm or explain.
It speaks well for the way things
are done at the executive offices that
the Correspondents don't hesitate to
Ego strong" on one OF Tumulty's
tips Sometimes these tips are al
most as intangible as thoughtsugges-
ton. II the correspondent were ask
ed for verbatim quotation from Tum-
ulty iustifying his conclusions. he
think OF single sentence
that would be admitted as evidence.
Yet few mistakes are made. and re-
quotations from the white house are
rare. There are none of the stories.
in other days, Of the presf-
dent using the press to send out feel
ers" and then reversing HIS attitude
II the public's reaction proved mfav-
orable.