Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-03-06
HE SPOILED HIS STORY.
Misguided Zeal for Truth Was This
Reporters Ruin-The Appeal for
Mercy Had to he Made.

From the Chicago Record.
Newspaper reporters are sometimes
thrown against strange experiences in
getting the news that other folk COM
fortably read next morning. But, believ-
ing. himself in a fair way to obtain a mar
rative which no other news writer Is
aware Of, the reporter is willing to go
sleepless and foodIess and to undergo all
kinds of perils in order that by all means
he may get his piece of exclusive news.
Such a man was Ezra Hemming, who
worked on a Western paper-one Of the
kind which would now be denominated as
'yellow"-and frequently thrilled his
town with startling stories of fact Hem
ming had a reputation for alertness which
was second to none. and as he had a
large circle of friends who made 1t their
business to inform him upon privately
known affairs, he was seldom at the
day John Boyd. who was the sheriff Of
the county, captured a horsethief who
was badly wanted by a community in the
interior of the state. The deputy from the
county, the officials of which were after
the thief, came down to the metropolis.
and in his conversation with Boyd init
mated that there would be a lynching when
he got home with the prisoner. Boyd told
things, and the reporter had a long talk
with the deputy. To his dismay, he
learned that the prisoner would not reach
the rural community which wanted to do
business with him until 2:45 in the morn
Ing. an hour which precluded the possibil-
ity of a good story. Hemming was a man
of resources, though. and as there seemed
to be little question of the details of the
coming event, he went to the office and
wrote a three-column account of the lynch
ing. mentioning the names of prominent
concentrations. To stretch out to i'm
posing length. he cause one man, whom
he was prudent enought to designate as
appeal in behalf of the culprit.
despite the rayer of Higginsor's ten
der-hearted advocate. however," Hem
ming wrote, the farmers who had suf-
fered from his depredations insisted on
wreaking their vengeance And he went
on in that strain for several pages, max
ing the intercession a strong point.
He explained to Crawford, the city edi-
coming out just as he had written It, but
to be sure he would wire a YES or NO
from the station when his train reached
deputy.
At 8 o'clock in the morning Crawford re-
ceiyed this jubilant bulletin:
big thing. Five hundred people. Mile
or more of rope. Now headed for tall syca-
more tree"
And just as the foreman was sending
to. the pressroom the page with Hem
mirg's glorious exclusive story came this
announcement:
ITS all off; they're not going to do IT.
Hemming came back LOOKING like a mad
man. For two days he roved around,
stopping at odd times to butt his mead
against something hard. At last he was
induced by Crawford to explain.
when we got there" he said. cit was
a sure thing. They had it all ready, and
took Higginson away from the deputy with
a yell. Then ] sent my first bulletin. They
rushed him to the sycamore, and were
just going to swing him up when 1t oc-
CURED to me that 1t would spoil the story
If somebody didn't rise up and make an
appeal for mercy for the thief. 1 waited.
hoping for the usual intercession. till the
danger line. and then. as nobody else
showed a sign of talking for him, I jumped
up on something and started in on it my
self. I just wanted to make the facts fit
the story I had written, so I made the
speech I had attributed to the unknown.
At first they didn't want to listen, but
soon they quieted and ] poured 1t in, think
ing all the time how lucky I was to have
written the thing. 1 jumped down then and
stepped aside to let the regular programme
go on As I did so. somebody yelled: BY
thunder he's right! And another voice de-
clared: Tt would disgrace the town. boys,'
And a third called: Let's take him back to
jail" And before I knew it that lot Of
chumpS had turned tail and rushed nv
thief-my private horsethief. my own man
for whom I had spread myself over three
columns, back to the town and to the
jail. where they left him and dispersed.
That" said Hemming. sadly. sis why
I want somebody to break my head in.
Would you mind kicking me all after
noon, II I pay you for your trouble?" =