San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-01-31

fdalt9ymen.
The court had finished its labors and
gone. The correspondents had gone.
but presumably only to renewed labors
The various journals throughout the
northwest that had so confidently pre-.
dicted the summary dismissal of the
offending lieutenant were now in a some
what difficult position. They had started
in to prove the officer BLACKBOARD and
the private martyr; the result was ex-
actly the opposite, and the problem was
now how to get out of the pickle. To the
average man, soldier or civilian, the con.
sciousness of having publicly wronged
fellow being would have proved a source
of distress so deep that nothing short of
retraction as public and apology as far
reaching as the affront would satisfy
the offender. But, in its Jovelike at
titude as censor of the morals and man
ners of the people. the press has no such
qualms of conscience.
As one eminent Journalist expressed
it, "Of course we are sorry we are mis-
led somewhat. but we can't take back
what has been said: that Injuries the pa
per" And of course as between injur-
ing the paper and injuring the man it
is the man who must suffer. Another
gifted editor, in whose eyes no benefit
was quite to be compared with free ad-
vertising, expressed himself as consider
ing that That young fellow really
ought to feel very much obliged to us,
nine tenths of the people might never
have heard of him at all If it hadn't been
for this" And he spoke in all serious
ness.
Of course the correspondents them
selves had long since seen the inevitable
results, and had duly prepared their re-
spective papers for the crash" Some Of
these journals promptly dropped the
matter at once and for all as no longer
worthy of attention; others transferred
their assaults from the array of heutep-
ants to the array of courts martial
Others still. too deeply committed to
extricate themselves, threw open their
columns to any damaging story affecting
the army which their correspondents
could fabricate: and those papers which
made any reference to the facts elected
before the court did so in the smallest
type. but head lined the item in sarcastic
or explosive big capitals.
The Palladium, or rather its editorial
head, when explaining matters to knot
of men at the club. quietly justified the
course of his paper by saying I'VE did
not send Mr.. Abrams there at all He
had gone to Central City on some per
sonal business of his own, to look into
some property, and while there this Mr.
Schonberg, a wealthy, prominent. and,
as we supposed, reputable business man,
told him about the offensive manners OF
the officers TO the people, and offered to
prove that they would be insulted and
ostracised if they ventured to visit the
garrison; and Abrams got warmed up
and telegraphed to the managing editor
that he was 'on to good thing, and so
we wired him to go ahead. But
iunivr member Of the editorial staff
frankly admitted that he, in common
with other journalists. had for sixteen
years been laying" for chance, as he
expressed it, to get in good whack at
the young West Pointer. and here they
thought they had it.
Meantime the record had gone to de-
partment headquarters for the action OF
the general commanding, and Lawler
went with 1t to fight the case to the last.
There was not soul at Ryan that did
not know that, though the lips of the
court were sealed, the finding had been
mot guilty on every possible speciica-
ton. All Lawler could hope to do now
was to persuade the general to pick the
proceedings to pieces and rasp the court
in his review of the case; but even this
proved futile The general, it seemed.