Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1918-04-30
AT. PR0VES
EQUAL TO ALI:
Tests OF WAR
Annual Report of News
Gathering Organization
4 Praises Staff Men.
RELIABILITY, SPEED,
CARDINAL FACTORS

n S<1UNAJxANk1A + k1OxOINO
s New York, April .26.-The report of
the board Of directors of the Associat-
/ Cd Press this year is considered of
I, such unusual interest as to warrant
/ publication. It refers among other
things to the experiences Of some
! Associated Press men in the foreign
4 services and In making this part pub
l lie the board, contrary to It's long
e1tablished custom, authorized the In
se1tion In parenthesis Of the name Of
.tAes man conce1ned The report fol-
I1oNs: q
SO the membe Of the Associated
deavored to summarize briefly the
year. We make no such attempt this
year. There have been months during
which moro epoch making news has
developed than during some previous
years and all newspaper men must
wonder whether we shall ever return
TO former standards Of news values.
i DIFFICULTIES ARE MANY
Nor do we enlarge In this report
upon the !. news-gathering achieve
lments Of the organization. With those
| achievements have come many In.
levitable disappointments. Overtaxed
aea4les, muddled censorships and
istnallar .exigencies Of war often have
upset our plans and frequently neu-
ltfslised the resources Of our stan.
lYet We have incomparably the most
lcomprehensive machinery for collect
ling and distributing news that the
world has ever known.
~Of qnr men abroad we gratefully
acknowledge our appreciation. Tor
lpadoes and mines at sea and shot and
tehell on hand have held no fears for
ttham. Their escapes amid danger
Msve been countless: One Crank
N. America was knocked down by
Z4ppiin bomb in London but worked
M that night as usual-merely an in
'1qdent Of the days work in an office
building which had itself been hit by
such shells.
4 FALLS INTO soMME RIVER
y Another Robert T. small) fell into
the icy Somme but rode thirty-fve
miles TO cable the story Of the first
American In Peronne; another
sHCharleS r. Thompson) was on the
highest rampant of the castle Of Gori-
TIA when q shell burst and buried him
under q pile Of earth, and on that
afternoon he/ wrote g. story which
thrilled the press Of Europe as we'll
q of the United States; another
s'(Walter Whiffin) was shot in the
knee on Russian observation post;
another Charles 8. Smith) after a
bayOnet and fist encounter at Hardin
escaped with painful decorations.
ie-"Another James Hickey was
blown through glass door by the
Halifax explosion but before dressing
his wounds was resourceful enough
Ito ind In a demolished building the
terminus Of the cable to the Yves.
Indies and sent by way of Bermuda
and Havana to New York the first d.
rect messages out of Halifax. Such
Incidents are not unusual In the ser-
Nice OF this organization.
!. REPUTATION FOR TRUTH
s ''rhrough the years. The Associated
Press has by maintaining its stand.
ards Of accurate reporting. preserved
tho lest traditions Of Journalism. The
1ood name Of The Associated Press
Ras not been impaired. The public
NomhdenceAin our dispatches has
steadily grown until millions Of read
ers now hesitate to give credence to
many published reports until assured
that they are carried by our associa-
10. The sensational Zimmerman
.1oee With its report Of diplomatic in
strigue in Mexico was universally ac-
;cepted as genuine because The Asso-
cited Press said 1t was. The bonn
bardment Of Paris at long range was
ridiculed by other press associations
kand by ordnance experts, but the
Paris bureau Of The Associated Press,
which for two days alone reported
this startling development Of the war
to American readers, convinced the
skeptical quite as thoroughly as did
Ithe official confirmation Of its report,
employees GO TO WAR.
when the governments action in
taking over the Dutch ships in Amerj.
can harbors was reported in Europe
several chancelleries inquired in
European capitals whether The As
sociated Press announced this fact
Ihis reputation for telling the truth
on the part Of The Associated Press
sis recognized now quite as generally
Throughout diplomatic and Journals.
no circles abroad as it Is in the
United States and 1t is an asset Of
membership in this organization that
IL Of the utmost value.
During the last year the war natur-
ally has drawn heavily upon our
stat. It has been the policy Of the
management not only not to seek ex-
emption from government service on
behalf Of it9 employees, but to en-
courage such service. Hundreds Of
men who a year ago were serving this
organization are in the military or
naval or other service of the United
states. Our operators In particular
have been able to render valuable
service for which their training has
poculiarly fitted them. Within a year
10 have thus lost more than one
fpurth Of our staff and many more
M9n ara soon to leave us.
APPRECIATION OF WORKERS
ssrTu <h1o y,ariod ~ war "a the a.