The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1898-05-30
SPOILED HIS STORY.
ZEAL FOR TRUTH THAT WAS A RE-
PoRTER's RUIN.

why the Enterprising Newspaper Man,
After the "Little AFFAIR" Was Declared
OF, Was Anxious That Somebody Should
Give Him Kicking.
Newspaper reporters are sometimes
thrown against strange experiences in get. |
ting the news that other folk comfortably
read next morning. But, believing him
self in q fair way to obtain q narrative
which no other news writor is aware Of,
the reporter is willing to go sleopless and
foodless and to undergo oil kinds of peril
In order that by all means he may get his
piece Of exclusive news.
Such man was Ezra Hemming, who
worked on "A western paper, and frequent
ly thrilled his town with startling stories
Of fact. Hemming had reputation for
alortnoss which was second to none, and
MS he had a large circle of friends who
made it their business to inform him upon
privately known affairs he was seldom at
the short end Of an Exclusive" story
Ono day John Boyd, who was the sheriff
of tho county, captured a horse thief 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 intimutCd
that there would be lynching when he
got homo with his prisoner Boyd told
Hemming of the threatening aspect of
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 40 in the morn
ing, an hour which precluded the possibil
ity of good story. Hemming was 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
lynching, mentioning the names of prom
inent citizens present and adding flourish
es and ornAmontation. To stretch out to
imposing longth he caused one man, whom
he was prudent enough to designate as
unknown" to mount box and make
an appeal in behalf of the culprit.
"Despite the prayer of Higginsons ton
der hearted advocate however, " Homming
wrote "the farmers who had suffered from
his depredations insisted on wr6aking
vengeance" And he went on in that
strain for several pages, making the inter
cession strong point.
He explained to Crawford, the city cdi-
tor, that there was no doubt of the thing
coming out just as he had written it., but
to be sure he would wire eyes or NO
from tho station when his train reached
tho town, for he planned to accompany
the deputy.
AT 8 o'clock in the morning Crawford
received this jubilant bulletin
"Big thing. Five hundred people. Mile
or moro of rope. Now headed for tall syca,
moro tree. "
And just as the foreman was sending
to the pressroom the page with Hem
mi6g's glorious exclusive story, came this
announcement:
Its all off They're not going to do
it."
Hemming came back looking like
mailman. For two days he roved around,
stopping at odd times to butt his head
against something hard. At last he was
induced by Crawford to explain.
"When we got there" he said, "it was
sure thing. They had it all ready and
took Higginson away from the deputy
| with yell Then l sent my first bulletin.
They rushed him to the sycamore and were
| Just about to swing him up when it oo-
Cured to me that it would spoil the story
if somebody didn't rise up and make an
appeal for morcy 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, jump
ed up on something and started in on it
myself. | just wanted to make the facts
fit the story l had written, so l made the
speech had attributed to the unknown.
At first they didn't want to listen, but
pretty soon they quieted, and l poured it
in, thinking all the time how lucky was
i.