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SOME PRESS
PIRATES
I The "Herald" Hoist With Its
, Own Petard
AN OLD-TIME CASE
jBow a Melbourne Paper-Was
. Exposed-A Frisco" Example-*
The "Herald" and the "West"
Perth "MoraàHKj Herald," winch
complained thai «àe " Daily News."
pirated its telegrams, and then had
tb climb down, tells a good .dory, oí
how a Melbourne mon?inc daily cirred
its evening contemporary of this re-
prehensible practice- The modus op-
erandi was very simple. A special
edition of six copies was printed , off
by the "Age" ©r the "Argus"'' (wi iah
ever it was) contamino- a .bogus *-able
yrao from London, ck,tailing how the
pugilist Frank Slavin, had.broken bis
leg on the eve bf a big fighi. All
sis: copies wat sent as "exchanges-*
to the office of the pilfering journal,
which of course lifted the alleged cable
wholesale and made a bi"- sensation of
it. The evening paper sold like hot
cakes that night. But it only sold like
stale bread next day, when -the gene-
sis of this particular cable was ex-
plained by the people who had laid
tile trap. There are some tUvsf jour-
nals in this State which would be
none the worse for a similar lesson,.
* « . . .
The moaning protest of the "TÉoau
ing Herald" has a spooiai SnterA?t of
its own, however, to those, who re-
member an episode in the early his-
tory of this particular paper.. News
thieving, it has to bc admitted,' is a
pretty general píacrice/thróughoui thc
inky way of the CotmncUweaith, the
exigencies ' of rushing publica!.- - de-
lays in telegraphic corresponden** ser-
vice and-expense-TCoinptïng many an
editor to resort to the use of shears
and glory in order to 'dish up news to
his readers before î-he novelty. pt it
had staled. Even Bishop, Gibney's
piously-owned organ' was once bádly
trapped into publishing a" epaïessiou
oí ¿bs own. news-thieving methods.
That,«?ati some Gve years cer-
tainly, but thc -theft was a clear one
*aid the exposure sin; jlariy dnimatic.
And this is (he story ol it;
£ ? * '."
The ye-une: turi scribe oï trie ïià<àfctt
organ bf those days ai-J . tho vétéran
horse expart. bossing «he Tàcîng coï
WZÙ3S of its contemporary werv - at
daggers drawn, the enmity being ac-
centuated by the veteran's- jealous re-
sentment of a scoop Accomplished by
tlie other fellow; ' AscawUmdvthe
younger turi prophet was . quick to
notice that the " Herald " invariably
lifted the "West's" lists of weights
(printed by Hackett early in the
week) for each Saturday's . "Herald,"
under the head of " 'To-day's Pro
grammes."- Under pressure, : Êditor
Hackett (not then ''Doctor?') con-
sented to allow his lucine genius to
put up a trap ©u the "Herald" 'maxi.
Whereupon the first publication (early
in the week) of the "Westis" .Mel-
bourne-wired weights ipr a Y.A.T.C.
Moondah Plate and Purse day'R íneet
ñift included at the 'foot of the handi-
caps for the Plate event, the names of j
live horses which existed emly in the
fertile imagination, of the sporting
editor «rf "The Westi" The following
Saturday naming saw the "Herald"
issue with ita several stolen racing
programmes ÍOK that day, the
"West's" faked Moondah Plate hot
being duly included, j
The succeeding SEondev's issue of the.
"West Australian" cot-tained a brief
bat pointed and pertinent esposare of j
the "Herald" and its devious news - !
sneaking devices. The "West" sport- j
ing editor set out in bold cold print !
the names of the live faked horses
which he had readied up for the wing- ;
,ed-horse man of his contemporarv j
and the exposure read thus :- j
TERRIBLE .'..... 6 7 ' 1
Hebrides ... ._". 6 7
Ellice.. 6 7.
Fullarton. _. ." ... 6 7
TELEGRAM. ... « 7 .
« * . »
The impost of the acrostic made
-clear in the capital letters of the top
and bottom names, and of the initial
capitals of the five faked names,, was
cruelly obvious. The "Herald" had
been guilty of using a Terrible Theft
Telegram ! The reign of the veteran
horse expert on the "Herald" who "was
so fcadly tricked, was, it goes without
.-saying, cut ruthlessly short. v
. . * »
ÎSnother.. instance of a paper possess-
ing pronounced purloining proclivities
being shown up to its decided detri-
ment was .provided in 'Frisco in thc
carly nineties. The "Bulletin" and
the "Post"- were the rival afternoon,
news sheets. The "Post" made a
practice-it was proved beyond ques-
tion-of helping itself to its contem
.'porary's foreign cable news service,
.and the " Bulletin" editorial staff
thirsted for the inky gore of their
thieving- rivals. A trick was planned.
Earlv one afternoon the "Bulletin"
published and pulled off haU-a-dow?n
copies of a special edition, the Geusa
tional beads to the cable columns in
whick read : "Terrible Murder-of a
Whole Family-By a Demented Father
-In Central Austria ; " the cable
story going on to relate a string ot
.faked details concerning the case ola
father running amok and wiping out
all his family in Swenlaetsew, *.'a
town in Central Austria," explained
the "Bulletin" footnote. A newsboy
was readied up to cry the edition for
6ale in front of the. "Post" office, and
disposed of one copy instanter to the
"Post", editor. Half an hour later
the "Post" issued with its special edi-
tion concerning the awful affair in
Central Austria, and, while he had.re-
written -the "Bulletin's" story of the
crime, the VPost" editor had stuck: to
his contemporary's spelling of the al-
leged scene of, the alleged tragedy.
Two .hours later a special extra "Bul-
letin" issued with a biting "roast"
upon its rival, the point of the hot
expose -of the "Post's" thieving ? me-
thods being the "Bulletin's" direction
to the public to read the name of the
town SWENLAETSEW backwards,
adding that the words resulting served
to indicate just how the "Post" kept
going. The exposure it may be added,
practically lolled the 'Tost."
$