ASSOCIATED PRESS. In the period prior to 1892 there existed among important daily newspapers in the United States a loose federation of news-gathering associations from which grad ually evolved the Associated Press, the largest co-operative news organization in the world and one of the most successful purely mutual enterprises that has ever been organized in any industry. It is a union of persons who represent more than 1,200 morning, evening and Sunday newspapers. Its function is to collect and dis tribute the spot news of the world, written true to fact and without the expression of opinion, over a network of about 145,000m. of leased telegraph wires. On this system, covering the whole American continent, there is an exchange of the news gathered in local communities by individual members, augmented by the dis patches of staff representatives scattered over the civilized world. The membership spreads from Alaska to Argentina and from the Philippines to Porto Rico. The association has arrangements for news exchange with important news agencies in foreign countries. In all of the leading cities of the world it maintains bureaux. In the United States the domestic news is received by such bu reaux from Associated Press members and is converted into dis patches for publication in other cities, while in the foreign capi tals similar service is rendered by staff representatives with re spect to the news of the affiliated agencies. In the more im portant bureaux over 75,00o words, the equivalent of 6o standard newspaper columns of news matter, is handled in a single day. The Associated Press also furnishes to its members feature and picture services, delivering the latter to more than 4o news papers by telegram under special arrangements. The Associated Press is organized under the Membership Corporations law of New York, its charter providing for a purely co-operative body, without capital stock, profits or dividends. Its control finally is governed by voting bonds apportioned among members. Its annual revenues aggregate more than $8,000,000. Each mem ber is assessed on a weekly basis for service rendered and is also obliged to furnish exclusively to the association and without cost the news of his immediate vicinity. The association is adminis tered by elected officers, a board of 15 directors and a large staff of general and regional executives. General headquarters are situated in New York.
(M. E. P.)