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* PRESS ASSOCIATIONS. 378 PRESSENSE. transmission of news on the Continent. In 1849 he appeared in London and attempted to inter- est various daily newspapers in a phm for in- creasing the scope and efliciency of their foreign news service by acting in combination. His project was not favorably received at first, but one by one the great London dailies came to rec- ognize the value of the new service, and although for the first ten years the more conservative cou- lined their patronage to the department of finan- cial news, a succession of lucky strokes in sup- I)lying early accounts of great political events at length won for the Reuter agency a world-wide recognition as the greatest existing factor in the gathering of international news. It maintains correspondents in every part of the world, and by a cooperative arrangement with the Associated Press in America its .service is greatlv extended. In England the exclusive distribution of all the Iteuter telegrams to the provincial papers in the I'nited Kingdom is in the hands of an organiza- tion in London known as the Press Association. This organization was formed in 1808, when the British telegraph lines were by act of Parliament taken over by the Government. It is a co- operative corporation, formed and controlled bv the provincial papers, maintains an office with manager, editors, and correspondents in London, and has representatives in every town in the I'nited Kingdom. Other British news associa- tions include the Central Xews Agenc.v. organized on the same lines as the Press Association save that it has foreign correspondents, the National Press Agency and the Exchange Company. In the L'nited States the first move toward associated effort in gathering news was made in 1847 in the formation of the Associated Press of New York, an organization of daily papers to reduce useless competition. This organiza- tion, finally launched in 1840, was the fore- runner of all other similar associations in Ameri- ca. It extended its activities and scope rapidly, and as other news gathering agencies were formed throughout the countrv. it made such arrangements with them as practically to control the collection and distribution of news in the entire country. The monopoly enjoyed by the old Associated Press, which had practically ab- sorbed an organization known as the Western Associated Press, lasted for many .years. The re- fusal of the association to admit a paper to mem- bership became almost a prohibition upon publi- cation, and the withdrawal of a franchise proved likewise disastrous. Dissensions finally arose within the organization, and after several com- peting associations had been formed an<J failed, the United Press was finally successfull.v launched in 1882. The original Associated Press finally dissolved, and the greater part of the large metropolitan dailies joined the new organi- zation. A rival to the United Press, however, soon appeared in the field in the new Associated Press, organized in Illinois on a mutual plan b,v Southern and Western jiapers. Subsequently, as a result of dissensions, the United Press dis- solved, most of the New York members joining the Associated Press. In 1900 the Associated Press underwent a reorganization and was rein- corporated in New York as a result of a decision of the Illinois courts in a «uit brought to compel it to furnish news to other than association mem- bers. There are in the L'nited States numerous local Associated Press organizations, such as the New York City News Association, practicall,v a branch of the Associated Press, and also numer- ous agencies for the dissemination of special sorts of news, such as financial, market, or agri- cultural. Other agencies having a more or less national service are the Lallan Bureau, organized by the New York Sidi on the Ijreak-up iil the United Press, and the Scripps-ilcRae Syndicate. PP.ESSBURG, presOjoorK (Hung. Pozsony). A roval free city and the capital of the Count.v of Pressburg, Hungary, situated in a beautiful region, on the north bank of the Danube. 3.5 miles east of Vienna (Map: Hungary, E 2). It is one of the finest cities of Hungary. The fortifications of the old town have given place to spacious boulevards. The Danube is here spanned by the new King Francis .loseph iron bridge. The most attractive of the churches is the elev- enth-century Gothic cathedral, in which the kings of Hungary were crowned. On the tower is a pyramid surmounted by a gilded royal crowni. The old castle, burned in 1811 and existing now only as a ruin, was once the residence of the kings of Hungary. The beautiful thirteenth-century town hall contains a museum of Roman anti- quities. The cit.y has several handsome palaces; including the winter palace of the Primate of Hungary. Other interesting features are the Landhaus, the .seat of the Hungarian Diet till 1848: the new theatre: the park with an open- air theatre: and the race course. The equestrian statue of Maria Theresa, erected in 1807. is also noteworth.y. Among the educational institutions are a ro.val law school, a Catholic gymnasium, a Protestant l.vceum, a priests' seminary, several industrial schools, and a rich library. The phil- anthropic institutions of Pressburg are among the best in Hungar,y. Pressburg has a large dy- namite factorv', a famous brush factory, and a new petroleum refinery. It also manufactures pastry, turnery ware, cabinet-work, tobacco, rib- bons, cloth, machinery, leather, chemicals, cluim- ])agne, etc. There is a lively trade, chiefly in grain, cattle, and wine. Population, in 1890, .52,411: in 1900. 61,5.'57, of whom about two- thirds were fi«rmans and three-fourths Catholics. Pressburg is first mentioned in the ninth cen- tury. In the twelfth century it was strongly fortified, and became a place of great strategic importance. From 1541 to 1784 it was the cap- ital of Hungar.y. Here in 1087 the Hungarian Diet formall.y accepted the hereditary succession of the Hapsburgs. After the battle of Austerlitz in 180.5, Napoleon and the Emperor Francis con- cluded the Peace of Pressburg (December 20), b.y which Austria ceded the former Venetian do- minions to the Kingdom of Italfc and Tyrol to Bavaria. Consult Ortvav. OcsclncJife ilcr titndt Presshurri (Pressburg. 1892-98). PRESSENSE, pra-s;ix'sfl', Edmoxd Deh-MLT DE (1824-91). A French Protestant clergyman. He was Ijorn in Paris. .January 7. 1824: studied theology at Lausanne, Halle, and Berlin, and was pastor of the Free Evangelical Congregation of the Taitbout. Paris (1847-70). He was Dei)uty to the National Assembly (1871-70), and advo- cated amnesty to the National Guards who had joined the Commune, moderation in legislation concerning the 'International' organization, and free education. From 188.'i he was a life Sena- tor. He was an earnest advocate of the independ-