THE ASSOCIATED PRESS OF AMERICA.
(London Daily Express.)
With the evolution of the United States into a world power there has grown up across the Atlantic the greatest news-gathering agency ever imagined or created, whose despatches are momentarily being read by nearly half a hundred million people, and upon which Europe itself is sometimes dependent for the first word or whisper of what has happened within her own gates. The name of the agency which supplies America with its news is the Associated Press.
Startling in its scope, romantic in its history, the Associated Press has now, probably, more influence upon daily international events than any other agent, except the will of the peoples, which it helps to form.
Sixty years ago, when America was in industrial and political childhood, its papers depended for news upon Associated Press post-boys, who, after meeting incoming schooners at New York, rode hot haste, or leisurely, according to the character of the rider and nature of the beast, to the various papers inland.
To-day the Associated Press sends over 31,000 miles of private telegraph lines, which form a network across the continent of America, thousands and thousands of columns, supplying about 3,000 American papers with news of what is happening from minute to minute in America and abroad.
NETWORK OF WIRES.
In addition, the Associated Press keeps Europe and the rest of the world informed of the news of the great Republic, gathered and distributed by over 2,000 employees, who are supported on an annual revenue of over half a million sterling.
The Associated Press was started about 1840, when seven of the New York daily papers combined to reduce the expense of news by post-boys.
The organization at present consists of over 700 of the leading American daily papers. Each paper has a vote whereby fifteen directors are elected. These in turn elect officers. Through contract relations 2,300 other papers are granted the Associated Press News service, making a total of 3,000 out of the 3,200 daily papers published in America.
These 3,000 papers have a daily issue of 15,000,000, and each paper is estimated by an impartial statistician to pass through the hands of three persons; hence it is estimated that every despatch sent by the Associated Press reaches 45,000 pairs of eyes.