Salt Lake Tribune | 1911-06-13 | Page 6 | Entitled to the Cake

. ENTITLED Tp THE CAKE. The Senate Finance Committco does not neglect the opporunity for having a little fun with the witnesses called in connection with its hearing on the Canadian reciprocity agreement- A good many witnesses have been called iii thai hearing who could hardly be supposed to liavc much to do with it in the way of furnishing practical information in-formation useful to the committee, and with these there was a good deal of latitude, both in question and answer. When Manager Melville E. Stone of the Associated Press was called, the committee asked him how it happened that former President Roosevelt was so successful in getting bis speeches, interviews, in-terviews, and statements into the newspapers. news-papers. The bearing of this upon Cn-uadian Cn-uadian reciprocity is liot very easy to discover; but Mr. Stone wag in a compliant, mood, and explained comfortably com-fortably to tho committee that Col. Roosevolt had always taken the (rouble to give to the newspaper meu advance copies of all of his speeches wherever it was possible for him to do so. this to ensure accuracy, and lo give tho editors ed-itors ample time to make such commenl as they desired upon the speech when it was delivered. Jt also gave tho editors edi-tors of the news of tho da' an opportunity oppor-tunity to ply the blue pencil where this was neccssaiy. Mr. Stone explained further, with regard re-gard to the matter of news getting and news publishing, that "news implies an clement of the unexpected aud the unusual." lie illustrated this point: by sa3ing that "a good Methodist minister may preach the gospel according to John Wesley for forty years and never get a line in the newspapers; but lot him preach infidelity for ono Snnduy and it makes a live news story." Senator Bailor of T.exas undertook to rebuko this position as "pandering lo unwholesome unwhole-some public laste. " , Mr, Stone rejoined, re-joined, "Would you read a good preacher's sermon every Sunday?" With a grave voice, and -without relaxing re-laxing a muscle, or changing the expression ex-pression of his face. Senator Baile' replied. re-plied. "Yes, and enjoy it." Tho report re-port docs not say that Mr. Stone had a nice, large crusted cake brought in aud presented to Senator Bailey, but certainly that was the proper thing for tho occasion. Senator Bailey wns, on the face of the answer, undoubtedly entitled en-titled to the cake, whether ho was pur suing the lino of absolute veracity or not.