The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-01-29
BY Holl Game.
Continued from Page Eighteen.

and call for your answer in an hour
They put the manuscript on side
board and went away.
Half an hour later another man
came up. I thought he looked both
nervous and audacious.
Our editor has sent me for Holmes
story, and to know if you have decided
to review it, he said.
No, there it is still, take it away
with you, 1 answered.
Then, glancing up quickly, l saw the
man reaching out his hand for the
manuscript. There was a greedy look
in his eye, which made me uneasy.
Wait, l said, I'm an old journalist
myself, you know, and 1 think it would
be better form to give the thing back
to the men who brought it..
Well, if you prefer to, - said
the fellow, and edged out.
In half an hour more the two earlier
visitors returned. I hope you've de-
cided to do that review said one of the
gentlemen. No, I've not, and I've told
your editor so already by the messen-
ger he sent a little while ago. l replied.
Then the men looked at me in blank
astonishment. What messenger" they
asked 1 described the man who had
come for the manuscipt. They stared
into each others face.
"'Good -. It's that fellow -- on
the -
IA journalist on rival yellow jour
nal, getting wind of their errand, had
tried to scoop both the murderer
manuscript and my review.
Then l can give you good story
of the American photographer who &C
companies the interviewer and whose
business it is to take snapshots OF MS
subjects in characteristic and, IL pos
sible, ridiculous attitudes, at unWary
moments One of the Photographic
hawks came aboard the Campan1a IN
the customs boat early on the morning
of our arrival in New York. For some
time he wandered about the snip,
without doing anything which attract
ed my attention.
Then. as we steamed to the ship S
berth, his writing confrere came up 10
me- The sun was shining, We were
standing upon the promenade deck, un-
der the shade of the hurricane deck,
and he drew me to the ships side while
he pointed out his own lodgings on the
fourteenth floor of a lofty Sky-Scraper.
| didn't feel an absorbing interest IN his
story and | was rather at loss to
know why he told it to me. A Few
minutes afterward l heard him telling
the same story tc Lord Brassey.
eft began to strike me as funny that
this person should be so Zealously cir
culating such valuable information
about himself when all at once 1 be-
came aware that the snapshot man
was usy behind him. The promenade
deck was in the shadow, and this was
the place of collision by which that
artful pair of hawks got their subjects
into the sun.
"'You did him pretty Well said to
the photographer when he had tnlshed
with Lord Brassey.
"'Oh. he's not the first I've done,
see!'
And the fellow showed me the list
Of his mornings 'takings.' The fiend
had got three separate snapshots of
myself.
Apparently there is no libel law in
America strong enough and swift
enough to cope with the doings of the
worst of the newspapers. When New
York newspaper published false &C
cusation of myself and followed it up
by still more false apology and l con-
templated an action at law my friend,
Goodwin Smith, said: You might as
we'll take action against a mosquito
while 1 was at Washington I dis
cussed this aspect of the lower Ameri-
can journalism with an official of state,
who stands too high to be named in
such connection.
mo libel law, however rigorous, will
meet the case he said. There's only
one thing that will meet it, What's
that? l asked.
"a horsewhip,' he answered.
'In the Bowery of New York I made
the acquaintance of a typical New
York boy, who had won laurels as a
prizefighter, and I found his views of
journalistic justice strangely similar,
with only some trifling differences as
to the means"