Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-04
CONTRAST SHOWN
IN SPEED OF NEWS
Public Gets Inaugural Details
From Radio and Press.
Waited in Old Days.

The Inauguration of President Hoover
today, with the Nation hearing his voice
by radio, when he pledged himself to
perform faithfully the duties of Chief
Executive, and the daily papers taking
the details Of the inaugural ceremonies
INTO nome even before the thrones
viewing the inaugural parade have dis
persed, emphasizes how distance has
been annihilated by modern means Of
communication since the first inaugural
ceremony, 140 years ago.
In the year preceding George WASH
ington's inauguration-that period DUR
ing which the fate of the Constitution
was being Observation-Disclosures ex-
pressed 1mpatience at the slow trans
portatlon OF the mails. In a letter to
Jonn Jay, who was Secretary of Foreipn
AHairs under the Confederation. and
VINO was our nrst Secretary of State,
unoer Gate OF July, 1888, he wrote.
with the greatest anxiety. our printers
are not so fortunate as to obtain anv
rapers from the Eastward. Mine. which
nave been generally more regular, have.
however, frequently been interrupted
for some time past.
~ mas often been understood bv wise
pollt1clans and enlightened patriots that
giving facility to the means of travel
ing for strangers, and of intercourse
Ior cltizens, was an object of legislative
concern. and circumstance highly
oenencial TO any country.
In England, am told, they con-
sloer the mail coaches as, q great
mooern Improvement In the post ONCE
regulations. trust We are not too old.
or too proud. to profit by the experience
Of Others"
Reply Of Mr.. Jay.
Mr.. jay In his reply. three months
Your ideas relative to the diffusion
OF intelligence and useful information
oy means OF the newspaper and the
press appear TO be exceedingly Just.
NOR DO perceive any good objection to
preferring the stage coaches to the
the mails" -
Inc use OF the word printers" bv
washington Is interesting, for IL, is
SHOWN in the ancient annals that at
mat period and for several years there
after, representatives of the public press
were invariably referred to as printers"
POSSIBLY because the pioneer reporter
OF the time was also editor, foreman
and pressman.
Most Of the newspapers were small.
not unlike the tabloid of TODAY IN size
generally four or six pages. three col.
umns to page. When the newspaper
reached town, the printer would re-
prnt from 1t In his own journal the
most important news, and In this way
the news OF the great events went from
town to town.
So 1t was the newspaper that pro.
claimed throughout the land the scenes
OF the nrst Inauguration. Going south
ward from New York, where Washing
Con was inaugurated, the Jersey Jour
nal and Political Inteliisencer OF Efiz-
aoetnton, N. j., reprinted the story
phia newspapers In the Issue ~ Nav
the Maryland Journal and Baltinnore
advertiser May 8, the Virginia indie
pendent Chronicle Of Richmond. Nav
10, the State Gazette of North Caro-
iina, published at Edenton. MAY III. and
the Augusta, Ca, Chronicle. Nav 40
North Of New York City. the Con.
necticut Courant of Hartford presented
the inaugural news to It's readers in
the issue OF May 4, and the Boston
Gazette, May II. So that, In this re-
lay system, the unembellished account
eventually reached the length and
breadth OF the new republic.
Pony Express Established.
In 1888 Messrs. Hale and Hallock. en-
terprislng proprietors Of the New York
Journal OF Commerce, having success
fully established a system for obtainino
foreign news by boarding homeward-
bound vessels at sea, revolutionized the
transmission Of news from Washington
to New York by the establishment of a
pony express" with eight RELAYS be-
tween Philadelphia and New York. This
enabled them to publish the proceedings
OF Congress one day In advance of the
other New York morning newspapers.
who FIRST combined to establish an oppo-
sltlon express between New York and
Philadelphia. and then persuaded the
Post Once Department to run 1t. Hale
and Hallock then extended their RELAYS
to Washington. and often made the
whole distance Of 237 miles In 20 hours.
while the express mail was A hours on
the road
The introduction Of the locomotive
suggested possibilities of faster TRANSPORT
to become great systems were slow In
spreading so that the horse drawn We
hicle was maintained for many years In
this work.
In 1871. President John Tyler's mes
sage left Washington at three minutes
before IL and arrived In New York at
S:l5 pm. This was heralded as q re-
markable piece Of work, as it was one
hour quicker than had ever before been
accomplished
In 1874. in Baltimore. experiments
were being conducted, the success of
which meant that news transmission
was to be revolutionized. Prof. S. F.B.
Morse had been granted q congressional
appropriation for the purpose Of per-
fecting his magnetic telegraph. BY the
first part of May wires had been strung
half the distance between Baltimore and
Washington. The wire was protected
by covering of rope yarn and tar,
It was placed on poles 20-feet high and
100 yards apart. Reporting on the ex-
periments over the first part of the
line. Baltimore newspaper stated:
The nuid traversed the whole az miles
and back again. making the A miles in
no perceptible part Of q second"
Line to Washington.
BY May Is the line to Washington
was completed. the Washington term
inal being located in the Capitol Build
ing. very close to where President Hoo
yer stood in delivering his inaugural
which was carried without wires
into thousands Of homes In all corners
II the United States.
During the convention that nominated
James X. Polk. then in session in Balti-
more, bulletins Of the proceedings were
sent to the Capitol, and
this caused q newspaper to record 1t
as the wonder of science in the present
lge." Another newspaper stated: 1T
appears almost incredible. previous to
the facility with which the
is held by telegraph.
that such humiliation Of space could