San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-01-24


paper in the land is so low but what it
can hurt and sting you"
"How? should like to know"
How? Simply by printing any low
scandal at your expense: and no matter
what your record or your character may
have been, no matter how damnable a
lie may be asserted of you, the mass of
the people will read and believe, and
your natural protectors-th the generals
and the war department-will call upon
you to defend yourself against even
anonymous assault"
You do not mean that. major, do
your" asked Miss Marshall.
III do, emphatically | have seen Off
GERS time and again compelled to report
to division or department headquarters
that they were innocent of allegations
made by nameless scribblers in the daily
press. have seen the most abstemious
men in the army heralded as drunk on
duty by sheet that withheld the name
of its informant. But all the same the
officers were called to account. When
we were sent to aid the marShals in
breaking up the whisky distilleries in
Brooklyn; when the first colored cadets
were sent to West Point; when Chicago
was burned and we had to shoot some
providing robbers to rid the ruined city
of the gang that flocked there; when we
were hurried in again in II, and all the
great cities of the north were practically
at the mercy of the mob-at every one
of those times, and heaven only knows
how many times between, the press
made scandalous assertions by name
about one officer or another.
I'm most cases there was no truth
whatever in what was said; in every
case, however, the officer was compelled
by his superiors to establish his inno-
cence. By heaven! I'll never forget our
experience in II We were ordered to
lose not an instant in reaching Chicago.
The strikers had sidetracked the Ninth
on one road and blocked the cavalry on
another line, and when we stopped for
water the railway men attempted to
leave us there. Iput Lieut.. Marin with
a small guard at the engine and kept the
strikers off, using no force, saying not a
word, making no reply to jeers and in
suit, but the leading paper came out
next day and denounced Marin and me
as being armed ruffians, declared we
were both reeling drunk, and gave most
outrageous details of things that never
happened. OF course as army officers
were the targets of this abuse, the ar
ticlo was copied in eastern papers. Marin
was @ man who never drank drop, had
a magnificent war record, was a general
officer of volunteers and a gentleman
honored throughout the whole service.
"All the same he and | were COM
PEELED to submit written denials to de-
partment headquarters, and all the sat
isfaction we ever got was that the editor
said his reporter had perhaps been I'M
duly influenced by the prejudiced state
ments of the strikers. Why hadn't this
occurred to him in the first place? Why
didn't he know that these men, furious
at being thwarted, would say anything
to revenge themselves after we had gone
on our way? He did; but because just
such sensational articles would make
his paper sell among the masses, and be-
cause he knew that where the army Of
fcer had one friend he had score of
enemies, that was enough for him. Now,
that and host of similar experiences is
why say that no son Of mine shall ever
take up SO thankless profession. OF
course if the country were in danger, the
flag assailed, he would fight as l would.
As for me, I'm too old a dog to learn new
tricks, and having lived my life in the
service must die in it." And again the
major paused for breath. "You think
I'm an extremist, don't you, Laner' he
finally asked.
perhaps so, major, although | admit
that the press has been most unjust; but
think we have more friends among the
people than you give us credit for"
mot one bit of it! You think the
press knows better now and wouldn't do
it all over again. That's what Hearn
here would say. Now, you mark my
words. gentlemen, so few are our friends
in this country, that is, in the north at
least-either in the press or the public,
that any story at the expense of an army
officer would be eagerly published by al
most any paper in the land, and used as
text by hundreds of editors all over
the nation to warrant a vicious stab at
our whole army, and the people far and
wide would eagerly read, and even those
who declared they didn't believe it
would be influenced"
Il can't think our people are such
fools as to believe yarns that are evident
ly manufactured to malign," said Hearn
stoutly. Everybody ought to know
that it is from deserters, or dishonorably
5;eoboroad man or low camn followers