Show TRUTH FOR ONCE IM spaniards I 1 said my friend don donjon auw editor of a cuban nispa per called el heraldo the rula of the 9 government over its subjects Is unjust and wicked there is absolutely no liberty of the press I 1 looked up nua what of all that I 1 asked and what of all till that he repeated Wes we shall hallbe be forced to caaso publics tion I 1 and he c came me over aud and whispered to me the colbor has suppressed every column of tomorrow a paper but tho the that was truly a serious situation nation eit it was a difficulty that seemed ansur mountable moun table by even a manlike man like don V with ith his indomitable will and resi re atle s energy he lie was sitting at the editorial table before him was a budget of in te resting material newa news direct from front the camp of the insurgents and many other items all streaked with the censor s red pencil during the past two months I 1 had been assisting him as the staff had been considerably depleted by a I 1 call for volunteers by the rebel army the weather was oppressively hot the heat steamed through the huge doors and windows which were throb n wide open we were all dressed in unite hito suits innocent of course of col lars and waistcoats cats half naked negro boya boys waited for copy but got none they were inky little imps ideal prin er s devils I 1 I 1 we must fill all the space said the editor and ina in a tone of a commander he gave his orders in his native tongue which literally translated meant I 1 make a page of the spanish virtues and arld stretch the shark to a column and a half tho the latter was in reference to a gig gigantic antio shark that had been making frequent visits to the harbor of late and at times when the suppression skipp relon of our newa news made us short of material the timely reappearance of the shark could always be depended upon to fill censorial gaps I 1 did my best with it and speared and I 1 described graphically its death struggle this same shark bad had been killed once or twice before by some reporter but no matter it was dying again in good ta stein in my hands and the devil was at my elbow when the lo calista or geu oral era reporter came in he u was as in breathless haste he had obtained some important items of the war the spanish soldiers have mode made an attack upon the rebels in their strong bold in san the engagement last ed two hours and the loss to the enemy was great it was impossible to ascer tain will the number killed the cubans cub un captured 20 prisoners after which the spanish retreated the matter hag has been hushed bushed by the military authorities I 1 took a note of all this taking care to leave out all that would bo be likely to be disapproved of by hia his worship flenor perez who held the office of censor ever mind that hevin nevin don juan said to me we ought to have that autt as it Is IL but anything else bemid be fraid the reporter yes A filibustering expedit expedition iou with arms and ammunition landed last loust night at a point about three leagues from here bere it wag was not discovered until the supplies aup plies had bad all been brought broughton on shore and safely delivered to the agents of the insurgents all efforts to seize the goods hae base proved ineffectual the boat has been abandoned and the crew cannot be found with this re enforce ment the cubans va will ill be fully equipped to resist the attack of the troops recent ly dispatched to ali the e interior Inter for don juan had bad a nice little coffee col ored nose for news he ire wanted to serve hia his readers with this palatable medhot stuff he ile said modestly that it would make good reading besides it was something that tickled his great warm cuban heart but unless he gave the glory of the victory to the spaniards thievery thi very svery desirable reading matter would never grace the columns of ri heraldo and there was one whole blank page to be filled yet I 1 he took off his panama hat to cool his bead head and drummed his its fingers on the table he ile consumed cong umed just two minutes in thinking out an I 1 per footing an ingenious plan I 1 will try it be said husli rush an and dinless in less time than it takes to write A he be had set every man in the office to wort work turning out my of lu spanish cuban victories were lost to sights and sounds not c en th cry of los I 1 that spread wild alarm among the inhabitants an I 1 out troops of mounted mill military tary ng no the material was then given to the printer for genor senor perez had taken a firm stand read nothing that bad not been met et up in type go so my frigid and I 1 sat down and smoke I 1 lung long cigars ebule we waited fur tl tie e proof beets sheets there were two kinds tl III at day 11 the one telling of cuban victory the 4 other in similar words eav cave an account 1 L 11 I 1 r 4 6 AI ix 4 I 1 17 cole of jhb bi M the cuban foe don juan much time care carefully ibby coloring ono one side of the former with a vermilion preparation all his ON ov n the tile secret of N v inch be he divulged only to me it was a fine line adhe adhesive tive subh substance tance i in le e from the pollen of a native flon flower er and when marked left an indelible imbres tion allon this done ho ile fitted them hotly neatly and aud without a crease to proof root sheets 0 o 2 and they were bel I 1 fast together by the sub tance betat mi and ilow how the spanish guns boomed through tha the medium of printers ink and bow how the cliant soldiers erB 20 prisoners and routed tho the rebels and iced ei si ery cry mt bit of the tile up piles plies brought to the country by the tile ali buster ers mado made up a it whole page pago of glowing material that i N have passed hubter at the deak of tho the old spanish ofil official cial but most of all how bow it all contradicted itself in fix one and the same copy which waa was double and aud went over amis arms and ammunition pris boners and all to the cubans dou ilou juan took tool it upon himself to oon ey the decoy proof sheets to the censor 11 II mould donld them to no one for fear aar of discovery diK dib OVery covery there waa was no out outi ard sign that would lead to detec tion tiou but the extra ka fe 0 parted bo he Ze reminded minded me of something he had hall told me several times before be careful he lie said much con coined remember remembers what that you are under suspicion of be ing a correspondent of an american newspaper I 1 ou on are v arched and likely to be arrested at any moment if I 1 bad only been one of 3 our depta ed american corre correspond spon lents N M ho next 1 to the cuban cubans come in for a good taste of spanish misrule I 1 atmas a position much co eted by me but C as it was I 1 had to be content u with ith only the subhi cion I 1 thonlief thon lied don juan joan and NN warned armed him la in turn it if that scheme of yours is found out I 1 said you 11 II be garroted Garro ted tomorrow morning at the castle tor for conspiracy ecim piracy against the govern ment or soine other excuse I 1 know it ho he had said exactly N hat imas I 1 as going to bay say but I 1 am confident of getting through all right unless something un on expected happens I 1 or the sale rale of mak ing a reputation for my paper for giving truthful reports and be done with the contemptible hess lies w e have been printing all along I 1 will risk it I 1 wished him well but I 1 had bad my mis givings to s a man with courage I 1 would not bai hae e carried the thoughts of such thelga in iny my mind hat that he carried in tit bis his hand that la is lot not in cuba where here there was a daily execution leo ution of some one and damp dun boons goons for occupants and im I 1 was as already under the IN watchful eye of the senor perez bat sat at bis his dek carefully bading reading and revising the proof sheets of ae the various neus newspapers papers and periodicals in the town it was his busi est time and an hour bour elapsed before he be reached the roll marked el heraldo eraldo Il tie ile took it up examined ik it skimmed through the contents and then began to read critically his attention became hied fixed upon certain reports and aird he was seen to read them over more than once to make bore sure that his eyes did not de do ceide him where did you get your facts he asked from a spanish eyewitness re turns don juan but they cannot be verified they cau can be eoll perez an ant with nith a vengeance he brought bin his pencil and ran it through an item just below which it bad had been previously calculated would A be digap proved by him hum senor perez did not know that at that moment he marked double with the roll once more in chipos his pos session don juan departed I 1 think it quite imp sible ible to debe ribe the feelings of a cuban who has tricked a spaniard the town was in a state of wild excite ment another alarm that the insurgents were coming bad been kaiwa rai aed and sol diera swarmed through the streets and sentinels stood at the cor corners nerg avery cuban was closely watched and several arrests were madei mada don dori juan felt no little annety he put the papers in hia bat hat and was sas walking in more haste than was considered proper by the guards and he be was stopped by the challenge who goes there spain was the quick response what kind of people inoffensive and back to the office he camo came with the precious proof sheets where hey they were separated and lo 10 I 1 there they v ere two copies marked exactly alike the original with the red backs were very wisely destroyed the contents of the other came out in el heraldo the next day cuban victory never looked more glorious in print than when embellish ed with the tracings of the censor it pencil or its ita counterfeit that little affair stirred up tl if a whole judicial sy system steni fl rl II eraldo was aas promptly laid before the authorities and slid road read surprise traveled downward from front the governor through the clerks to tho the next official and so on down to the humble cuban who lounged in the trop leal jeal sun and wondered how don juan ever dared I 1 re remained long enough in the office to read the paper and then went out t i the landing of the filibuster expedit expedition tort as its the cu cuban ban reporters had been lie de barred from obtaining any news my trip took me into thickets in which I 1 loht my way av several times and it was vms late be tore i 1 returned 1 was in possession ot news that I 1 felt sure woul won I 1 malic wake an other startling sensation when uben it ap feared in print but I 1 never reached the office that day nor since the inevitable happened I 1 was walking along the placa de do annas amas senor don charles cald said the officer I 1 arrest you of course I 1 aked asked for what N hat and avid be told me that the govera government went had bad dia covered that I 1 was an american corre corte 1 I denied the charge emi batio ally and that I 1 was the author of 1 scandalous and untruthful published in the lew new york therefore my arrest I 1 said that he was mistaken min mlis taken and aa as cooly as possible went with him anever I 1 never shall hall forget those first moments in jail the town had a garrison of more sol diers than tt it could conveniently accod modiste and a portion of the troops had been qu artere terel I 1 in the jail to either the disgust or delight or both of the prison ers who were crowded in groups of two and three into the small cells the door had boa locked nod IWAS I 1 WM looking lonal ugly through the iron itter tt tie e ode r m hen bell I 1 heard a slight cough and turn ing I 1 found myself lu ill the august pres euce eum ot of no it ss a I 1 ed personage than senor I 1 erez himself Weve we w ere refel fel low prisoners lie ile drew away from front me disdainfully while I 1 ma male ie a respectful bow bon with my I 1 eels together toge thir and wall lug ing backward as I 1 had keen wen the bit h dignitaries doat do at court atthe at the pal 0 next in line to tho the dib distinction of bt alting ing an american correspondent mas ft as mccu dying the same cell with bei bet or perez he lie seemed to think it a reflection upon hia his dignity to be in my company I 1 americano meric anol I 1 tie lie said a asly bously I 1 bowed again this time for my na tlona tion alit ht I 1 hope that tt no e shall not be together long I 1 said that is I 1 hope I 1 shall be soon released I 1 you he said you N imal ill get our punishment for your complicity with don juan in defying the government and publishing tha the lies about the sol diers of spain in el heraldo I 1 I 1 senor I 1 thought I 1 was to be pun isbon tor for being an knie american correspond cut ent I 1 think it Is unfair to arrest a man mail on one charge and punish him for an other do not worry I 1 he answered wit with a malicious malio loua smile you snail shall have all the law allows for both in due time that was a wicked witticism I 1 learned he had been confined in jail pending an investigation as he be was under suspicion of havi having ug app approved roved of the lies that bad had appeared in the paper I 1 was much concerned about don juan and what of the editor I 1 asked asod cautiously the government go deals very promptly was the reply Y bien I 1 and well then he is probably on his way to th the a castle now I 1 you mean that he is going to his death deaths I 1 gasped yes certainly I 1 could not restrain myself excited beyond all reason I 1 made a wild rush tor for the door in an attempt to break from the cell and make an effort at least to gave the lio life of my friend all of which had I 1 succeeded succeed 4 would have been utter folly on my part parl at that moment several imperious officials appeared bearing certain proof sheets they were shown to senor perez and he examined them he ile had held them thein in his hands before but he was not aware of it up to that time ho had remained steadfast in the asser ti alon on that t the it 0 editor had ignored his aup sop of the reports he N a as certain be he had bad suppressed them lie ile could not see how in his loyalty to hig his sovereign be he could have done otherwise here was the evidence that he be had not here were bis his own marks of approval hero here v w ere exactly the same mine words ho lie ha ba I 1 read only of course as they read now the subject n alter v as reversed perez stood amazed are tl ti eso your marks he be was asked benor senor perez hesitated to ea xa 6 him self there was only ono one ansu angner er that ho he could give 0 no o he ho replied the whole thing 11 Is a for fordery cry ery it as att ital moment the astonish ea t at nim him and then at me and from me back to him again 1 returned their gaze with an we tar of in difference lut but I 1 was not sura sure of my countenance I 1 was afraid some little look would rei ren eal the fact that I 1 knew more than I 1 cared to tell about the affair but fortunately the uncertainty that I 1 felt concerning my own fate fato left a blank expression in my face after many more questions the officials took their departure quite satisfied with their investigation and fully determined to bring to justice the cubans who had dared to forgo forge the cen censor bor a Is I 1 was a passenger on board the tile first mail fi teamer that left port after my or rest and my next item of news for tho tile cuban paper were N ere sent bent from america but don juan I 1 ad long since joined the rebels that is the story how el heraldo published the truth for once and then died a at glorious death josephine voss in detroit news bews |