The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-02-01
PRESS
5TH YEAR
OF LABOR SERVICE.
IS Paper Members In
Cooperative Effort
By CARL HAESSLER

according to Sec.- Treasurer Carl
Haessler, who transmitted the fol-
lowing annual report TO the Jan.
81 meeting of the executive board,
given here in part:
To the Executive Board, The Fed,
Grated Press: The year 1923 dem
onstrated in number of ways the
prestige and vitality of The Fed
. Grated Press. Not only was our
daily labor news service, the only
one in America, deemed influential
enough to warrant attack by power
full enemies but we proved able to
weather the storm at least for the
time being. Our membership has
not been scared away. Wherever
we are known we are trusted. FL
nancially we have pulled thru a hard
year with our deficit $500 more than
at its outset, but we wrote off $1,000
in bad debts. The deficit Jan. 1,
1924, was $45,672.6S. We survived
when two OF the five English lam
guage labor dailies went under. We
are now an internationally known la
Dor institution.
Grown During Year.
Our membership was rs papers in
Jan. 80, 1924, compared with 73 pa
pers Jan. Is, 1923, a gain of two.
These represent all shades of labor
thought, including A. F. Of L. CEN
trail bodies and international unions,
unafiliated. unions like the Locomo-
tive Engineers and Amaigamated
Clothing Workers, the /. w. w., So
cialist, Farmer-Labor, Workers, and
Federated Farmer-Labor parties, and
independent farmer and labor
groups.
The American Fund for Public
Service contributed $15,640 to assist
in expanding and improving our serv-
ice. Part Of this has been definitely
renewed for 1924 and negotiations
are almost completed for consider
able portion of the remainder.
Assessments from newspapers pay
less than half the cost Of producing
the daily service. The difference is
made up by donations and various
auxiliary F. p. enterprises. Total ex-
penditures for 1928, including bond
accruals and writing off bad debts
were $57,237.S9. Both figures are
more than 400 below budget esti-
mates. If there had been more in
come we could have spent tito good
advantage under the budget.
Expansion Urged.
Our domestic and foreign news
gathering could be greatly expanded.
Besides the Chicago, Washington,
New York, and Australian bureaus
with salaried staff, we rely on string
correspondents in the United States,
Canada and Mexico who receive little
or no compensation. The European
bureau at Berlin has maintained it.
self with practically no direct fnan-
cial help from the F. P. during 1923.
Volunteer correspondents serve in
London and Moscow. l believe it is
essential to F. p prestige and serv-
ice to provide for better financial
support for the European bureau.
For 1924 l propose that our policy
continue along the lines followed in
the past as stated to the A. F. Of L.
investigating committee. This state
ment was stamped by the committee,
after investigation, ITO be an ac-
curate presentation of Federated
Press policy" 1t follows:
Important Policy.
~ shall work as managing editor
Of The Federated Press as long as /
am permitted to carry out my con-
ception Of its proper function, which
is, / believe, to be a cooperative la
Dor news service catering impartial
ly and cordially to every group in
the labor movement. / have tried to
cut out the fractional news and re-
ports Of internal union strife that
is of no concern to labor as a whole,
tho wads Of such news come to the
desk. / have tried also to proportion
the news so that all albor elements
may have an opening in our columns
if they wish it."-Carl Haessler,
managing editor, quoted in executive
council, A. F. Of L., report, page 118,
October, 1928.