Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-04-26
WAR FRONT NEWS
CATERERS STIR
A. P. DIRECTORS
Escapes Have Been Count
less; Dangers Hold No
\ Fears For Writers
BY associated Press

New York, April 26.-The report of
the board of directors of the Asso>
ciated Press this year is considerea
of such unusual interest as to war
rant publication. 1t refers, among
other things. to the experiences of
some Associated Press men in the
foreign service. and in making this
part public the board authorized the
insertion in parentheses of the name
of Nthe man concerned.
The report follows in part:
ITO the Members of the Associatec
Press:
In earlier reports we have en-
deavored to summarize briefly the
most important news events of the
year. We make no such attempt this
year. There have been months dur
ing which more epoch-making news
has developed. than during some pre-
Vious entire years, and all newspa-
permen must wonder whether we
shall ever return to former stand
ards of news values. Nor do we en-
large in this report upon the news
gathering achievements of the or
ganization. With those achievements
have come many inevitable disap-
pointments. OvertaNed cables. mud
died censorships and similar eXi-
gencies of war often have upset our
plans and frequently neutralized the
resourcefulness of our STAFF. Yet we
have incomparably the most compre-
hensive machinery for collecting and
distributing news that the world has
ever known.
Correspondents Are Fearless
"of our men abroad. We gratefully
acknowledge our appreciation. Tor
pedoes and mines at sea and shot
and shell on land have held no fears
for them. Their escapes amid dam
ger have been countless. One Crank
NJ. America) was knocked down by
"a Zeppelin bomb in London, but
worked all night as usual-merely
an incident of the days work in an
office building which has itself been
hit by such shells; another (Robett
T. SmalD fell into the icy Somme,
but rode thirty-five miles to cable
the story of the first American in
Peronne; another (Charles L.
Thompson) was on the highest ram
part of the castle of Gorilla when
shell buried it and him under
earth, but on that afternoon he wrote
a story which thrilled the press of
Europe as we'll as of the United
States; another (Walter Whiffen)
was shot in the knee on Russian
observation post; another (Charles
:. SMITH after bayonet and fist
encounter at Harbin escaped with
painful decorations; another (James
Hickey was blown through a glass
door by the Halifax explosion, but
before dressing his wounds was re~
sourceful enough to find in de-
molished building the terminus OF
the cable to the West Indies and
sent by way of Bermuda and Ha-
vana to New York the first direct
messages out of Halifax. Such incl
dents are not unusual in the serY-
ice of your organization.
Public Confidence Grows
Through the years the Associated
Press has by maintaining its stand
ards of accurate reporting preserved
the best traditions of journalism.
The good name of the Associated
Press has not been impaired. The
public confidence in our dispatches
steadily has grown until millions OF
readers now hesitate to give credence
to many published reports unassur-
ed that they were carried by our
association. The sensational Zlm-
norman note with its report OF dip
lomatic intrigue in Mexico was uni
versally accepted as genuine oe-
cause the Associated Press said 1t
was. The bombardment of Paris at
long range was ridiculed by other
press associations and by ordnance
experts. but the Paris bureau of the
Associated Press, which for Two
davs alone reported this startling
development of the war to Amer
ican readers, convinced the skeptical
ouite as thoroughly as did the OF
fcial confirmation OF its report.
when the Governments action in
taking over the Dutch ships in
American harbors was reported in
F,urope several chancellories inquired
in European capitals whether the
Associated Press announced TINS
fact. This reputation for telllng the
truth on the part of the Associated
%, is recognized now quite as
generally throughout diplomatic and
Journalistic circles abroad as it is in
tLa United states, and it is an asset
of membership in this organization
that is of the utmost value.
Efficiency Only Impels
srvvbile the growth in membership
,as unusually large during the last
80. +he members should not mis-
+oLe the policy as to growth. IN
IiIxa the privately and proht-
,nalxinp news agencies, we do not
traffic in news. We welcome only
sucb additions to membership as
strengthen the news-gatherlng IA
ciIitfes of this body. AT the close
Of the year there were $50 evening
'a,,.snaneria 391 morning newspapers
"a sivtv-one Sunday morning news
naners or a total of LOSS, receiving
~ service. These newspapers, from
tbe smallest. which receives a 500
vord daily telegraph service. to the
largest which receives upwards of
20 600 words daily. show net in
crease in membership in the year
1917 of 14O. of which ninety-six are