ization is
to report the news dispassionately and to maintain the service
absolutely free from propaganda.” 21 The objects of the Feder
ated Press , as stated more fully in its by -laws, are as follows:
" Being unable to obtain unbiased news service from the
existent press associations, certain persons, owners of or repre
senting newspapers and other publications, hereby unite in a
mutual and co -operative organization for the collection and
interchange of intelligence, telegraphic and otherwise , for pub
lication in the newspapers or other publications owned or repre
sented by them . . . . This association is not to make any
profit and is not to make or declare any dividends. It shall be the general policy of this association that its news service must be handled without bias for or against the principles of the
several groups represented by themembership .” 23
This statement of principles does not vary materially from that made by other co -operative, non -profit making associations organized to collect and to distribute news. But a self-imposed
handicap has seemed to be its motto, “ The news in spite of the newspapers.” Since it restricts its reports to “ the news of the labor and political movements ” and to “ all matters of interest to the workers everywhere,” the scope of its activities seems
limited. Moreover, since it recognizes that “ while it is not possible to eliminate all opinion from news reports, since every person who writes , necessarily writes of events as he sees them , the Federated Press adheres strictly to the principle of report ing events objectively,” 23 it does not in its statementof principles differ from other organizations that also aim to report events objectively .
The Industrial News Bureau Service is a proprietary business " that goes out each week to five thousand newspapers in four teen western states ,more than half the area of the United States , three to five sheets to each paper. Sheet marked four is gotten
up separately for each state. We getmore matter published for industries and against radicalism , or socialist schemes that are against private ownership , than any publicity organization in the West.” 24 21 Letter of Clark H . Getts, March 22 , 1921. 22 Cited in the Constitution of the Federated Press League, Article II. 23 Folder issued by the Federated Press, n . d . 24 Letter from t
