The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-04-30
BOYS OF The
"A. P. TAKING
BIG CHANCES
business Report" of News
Gathering Agency Reads
Like War Romance
ALL IN THE DAYS WORK


the board Of directors of the Associat
ed Press this year is considered O.
such unusual interest as to Warrant
publication. 1t refers among Other
things to the experiences Of some AS
ISOLATED Press men in the foreign ser
vice, and in making this part public
the board authorized the insertion iI
parenthesis of the name of the mar
concerned.
The report follows
70 the members of The Associated
Press:
In earlier reports we have endeav
ored to summarize briefly the most
important news events of the year
We make no such attempt this year
There have been months during which
more epOch-making news has develop
ed than during some previous years
and all neWSpapermen must wonder
whether we shall ever return to form
err standards Of news values. Nor do
we enlarge in this report upon the
neWs-gathering achievements of the
organization. With those achieve
ments have come many inevitable dis
appointments. OvertaXed cables mud
died censorships and similar eXigen
cies OF war often have upset our plans
and frequently neutralized the re-
resourcefulness of our staff Yet we
have incomparably the most cOmpre-
hensible machinery for collecting and
distributing news that the world has
ever known.
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 danger
have been countless. One Crank NJ
America) was knocked down by a
zeppelin bomb in London Dut worked
all that night as usual-.nerely an in
cident of the days work in an office
building which has itself been hit by
such shells. Another Robert T
SmalD fell into the icy Somme but
rode thirty-five miles to cable the
story of the first American in Peronne
Another (Charles r. Thompson) was
on the highest rampant Of the castle
of Corzia when shell buried it and
him under earth, but on ''~' after
noon he wrote story which thrilled
the press of Europe as well as of the
United States. Another (Walter Whit
FEM was shot in the knee on Rus
sian observation post. Another (Charl
es s. Smith) after bayonet and fist
encounter at Hardin escaped with
painful decorations. Another Games
Hichey) was blown through glass
door by the Halifax explosion, but be-
fore dressing his wounds was resource
full enough to find in demolished
building the terminus of the cable to
the West Iidies and sent by way of
Bermuda and Havana to New York
the first direct messages out of Hall
fax Such incidents are not unusual
in the service of your organization.
Through the years the Associated
Press has by maintaining its stand.
ards of accurate reporting preserved
good name of The Associated Press
has not been impaired, The public
confidence in our dispatches has
steadily grown, until millions of read
ers now hesitate to give credence to
many published reports until assured
that they were carried by our associa-
ton. The sensational Zimmerman note
with it's report of diplomatic intrigue
in Mexico was universally accepted
as genuine because thte associated
fress said it was. Bombardment OF
Paris at long range was ridiculed by
other press associations and by ord
nance experts, but thte Paris bureau
Of The Associated Press, which for
of the war to American
readers, convinced the skeptical quite
as thoroughly as did the official con-
firmation of it's report. When the
governments action in taking over
the Dutch ships in American harbors
wa sreported in Europe several chan
celleries inquired in European capt.
tails whether the Associated Press an
nounced this fact This reputation
for telling the truth on the part of The
Associated Press is recognized now
quite as generally throughout diplO-
matte and journalistic circles abroad
as it is in the United States, and it
is an asset of membership in this Or
During the last year the war has
naturally drawn heavily upon our
staff 1t has been the policy of the
management not only not to seek ex-
emption from government service on
behalf of it's employees but to encour-
age such service. Men who a year
ago were serving this organization
are now by hundreds in the military
and naval or other service of the
United States. Our operators in par
ticular have been able to render valu-
aDue service for which their training
has peculiarly fitted them. Within a
year we have thus lost more than one
fourth of our staff, and many more
men are soon to leave us.
In this period Of war, as the activi-
ties and responsibilities of our service
have steadily increased, it is source
of great pride to know that those up
on whom the burden has fallen have
met their obligations with a meas
ure of faithfulness and intelligence
for which the management is deeply
grateful. BY direction of the board of
directors and as partial recognition
Of the efficiency of the staff, the life
Of each employee in the United States
while in the service, has been insured
for the benefit of his heirs or depend.
ents in the sum Of $1,O0v. Because Of
the greater risk involved, established
companies will not accept insurance
Z. II -.