The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-07-07
Pemberton-Billing and the "Black Book"
Career of Member of
Parliament Who
Told of Alleged
Document Has Been
Erratic

III a. IN
incident which has some bearing on this
Pemberton-B Billing scandal. For it is diff
ficult TO describe it by any other name.
In the early summer of 1885 l had oc-
casion to call upon Lord Miner, now
Secretary of State for War, at the offices
of the Pail Mall Gazette, of which he was
at the time assistant editor. As he hap
pcned to be out. William 7. Stead, then In
charge of the paper, invited me to wait
in his own editorial sanctum, and natur-
ally our conversation turned on the sen
sational series of articles entitled 1.-THE
Maiden Tribute of the Modern Babylon"
which he had Just published, and which
ultimately landed him in Holloway Jail.
Protested Against Publication.
He vouchsafed the information that he
was about to begin the publication in the
Pail Mall Gazette of another series of still
more sensational articles, dealing with Of
fences like those of which PembertOn-
Billing endeavored to make capital in the
Maud Allan trial. | protested strongly
against the publication on the ground that
it would do harm.
He insisted that the only way to deal
with such offenders was to expose them,
and he showed me pile of papers which
he described as documentary evidence OBJ
tanned through private detective agencies,
and proving blackmail payments.
On the following morning l happened
to breakfast with Joseph Chamberlain at
his house in Princes Gardens. He was
then president of the Board Of Trade;
that is, Minister of Commerce in the Glad
stone Cabinet Afterward, while driving
down with him in his brougham to his
office at Whitehall, the conversation
turned on Stead, and l told him of my
talk with the latter on the previous after
noon.
As any wholesome minded man would
be he was indignant at the idea of the
publication of the series of articles sug-
gested by Stead, and asked me if l had
any objection TO his making use of the
information. On my assuring him that
had none, he directed his coachman to
drive to the Home Office, where he imme-
diately went into conference with Sir
William Vernon Harcourt, Secretary of
State for the Home Department.
A hurry call was sent thence 10
Yates Thomson. the proprietor of the
Pail Mall Gazette, and the result of it
was that Thompson proceeded to the
Pail Mall Gazette office with high Off
cial of the Home Department, in whose
presence the so-called evidence collected
by Stead was destroyed and all the ar
engagements made for the publication OF
the articles abandoned. A battle royal
ensued between Yates Thompson and
Stead, which resulted in the severance
of the latter's connection with the Pal
Mall Gazette
In one way l was sorry to have been
the indirect means of the break of the
ties of Stead with the Pail Mall Gazette
But should have been sorrier still if his
articles had appeared. He was well
meaning and in many respects a very use
full man. But like so many imbued with
missionary zeal he was ready to accept
as Gospel truth often irresponsible asser-
tons. his crusade against vice becoming
in spite of himself means Of the propa-
CATION Of immortality.