The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-05-16

message takes precedence over the
ordinary material being sent on the
| wire and the operator is allowed to
break in and send the bulletin without
the formality of a schedule. After the
| first bulletin on the fire is sent adds,
| with new details are sent as quickly as
possible until the story is completely
covered. This fire story is copied by
| all operators on the circuit on which it
is filed and when it reaches Kansas
| City it is sent east toChicago where 1t
| is again sent east to New York, If it is
| of sufficient importance, and in this
| manner the news that fifty people
! burned to death in Topeka hotel is
| flashed over the entire country in the
short space of a few minutes.
I Operators System.
! In case a story of paramount interest
| over the entire world breaks" the
| operators use what is known as the
visible relay system. While one oper-
ator is receiving the message on his
| typewriter another operator reads
over his shoulder and sends the story.
In this way not a second of time is lost
and story sent from New York
reaches San Francisco and Galveston
almost inStantaneOuSly-
! AS you can see accuracy is the first
word in the Associated Press service.
| If a mistake is made much time is lost,
| hence the great pains taken by every
member of the organization to see that
news is handled in a precise, clear cut
manner, with no superabundance of
words. 1t is imperative that story be
| told in as few words as possible be-
| cause of the volume of news that
pours over the wires every day. Also
| editors and writers must bear in mind
| that space in newspapers Is limited
| and the story must be prepared in
| such a manner that if exigencies of
space prevent more than one para
| graph being used the reader will get
| a good idea of the story by reading the
| first paragraph.
| When you consider that every min
ute of the day and night everywhere
i in the world there are men and news
! papers working at feverish speed to
| get the important news events spread
| out to newspapers in all parts of the
| country the tremendous work carries
a romance of achievement that few
people realize when they pick up the
daily paper and read of events that
happened in Europe only a few min
utes before they read the words tell
ing about it
Quick News.
When Pope Leo XIII died in Rome
the news of his death was read in San
! Francisco just nine minutes after the
doctors pronounced the word. The
MESA ge was repeated back to London.
| Paris, and Rome from the United
States and gave the papers of those
Port Arthur was taken by the Japan
csc in 1896 the story came to New
! York in fifty minutes, passing through
27 relay offices on its way. Few of
the operators knew what the dispatch
meant but they could read the Latin
words and they sent them along and
the world was informed on one of the
most important events of the day in
record time.
In a recent address to a cosmopoIi-
tor in, hill 1aIr1 hi Ma1x 1Jo
E. Stone, general manager of the As
ISOLATED Press, told of some of the
workings of the foreign service of the
organization. He said: Assume that
a fire has broken out in BenGres, the
second city of the HinduS, on the
banks of the GangeS and 100 or 1 900
persons have lost their lives. Not far
away at Allahabad or Calcutta, is a
daily paper having correspondent at
Benares, who reports the disaster
fully. Some one on his paper sends
the story, or SO much of it as is of
general rather than local interest, to
the agent of the Reuters company at
Calcutta, Madras, or Bombay. Thence
it is cabled to London. Hongkong,
Sydney and Tokyo. At each of these
papers are Associated Press men. one
of whom picks up the story and for
wards it to New York
Cost Dollar a Comma
This plan of organization is carried
out in all corners of the globe in the
effort to transmit all of the important
general news that happens.
The European war news, which has
been the most significant the world
has ever known, has been covered ac-
curately and completely by the Assoc
ciated Press at a great cost. Mr.. Stone
told his recent audience in Philadel-
phia that every comma in the speech
of Chancellor Won Bethmann-Ho 1lweg
in the German eichstag last April cost
one dollar to flash by wireless to this
country, and every word was bought
eagerly at the price by the Associated
Press. The speech appeared in papers
| of this country and people read it at
| a cost of an iuappreciable fraction OF
cent.
A Murder Verdict
| Coming nearer home let me tell you
before 1 close of an incident which
shows the alertneSS and attention
given to news by the Associated Press
This incident, in a small way is in
dicative of the work that is done in
all parts of the country. In Kansas
City about a year ago the murder trial
was about to close The verdict was
vitality important to newspapers OF
Kansas and Missouri and also of i'm
portance east to Chicago as the cir.
cumstances of the crime were IN
usual In order to get this news out
effort was made. The Associated Press
man who covered the trial made it q
point to cultivate the friendship of the
telephone operator at the court room
He also made friends with the bailif1
who promised to tip off the verdict OF
the jury before it was read in the
court room. AT 3:45 clock in the
afternoon, just fifteen minutes before
the day wire closed and the night wire
opened the verdict was brought in
Through his friendship with the tele.
phone operator the A. P. man wa.
able to get a direct wire into the of.
flee where two men were prepared tt
take the story in relays. The mo
unfriendly'' bailiff tipped off the YER
dict as he promised and the A. P. mar
flashed it to the office Immediately
At the office three bulletins ha6