With these words the editors of The American Magazine heralded to the world the first of my articles under the title of "Barbarous Mexico."
"Skilfully applied influence upon journalism!" Little did the writer of that pregnant phrase realize how pregnant it was. Little did he imagine that before six short months were gone that phrase would be as applicable to his own publication as to any other.
What was the skilfully applied influence exerted upon The American Magazine? I am not pretending to say. But to anyone who will go back and read again the bold announcements of the September, October and November numbers of the magazine—1909—read the enthusiastic comments of the editors on the interest aroused by the series, the delighted statements of jumping circulation, the letters of subscribers begging the editors not to fear, but to go on with the good work, and then note how the magazine sheered away from its program after the first of the year, the conclusion that there was some kind of "skilfully applied influence" seemed pretty well justified.[1]
- ↑ Since this matter was put in type The American Magazine has begun a second series of articles on Mexico, in which it promises to follow out the thread of exposure which it dropped several months previously. In the October issue, 1910. it prints under the name of Alexander Powell an article two-thirds of which had been written by me and furnished to The American fifteen months earlier. The alleged author did not even take the trouble to re-write the material, and it appears almost word for word as I originally wrote it. To my mind this is but a confirmation of my widely circulated charges: First, that The American failed to carry out its promises to the public because of "skillfully applied influence;" second, that it has gone back to the subject of Mexico only because its readers Who have read my charges have whipped it into doing so. Finally, its publication at this late day of my original material is proof that it has not been "gathering new facts." as announced, and that the facts furnished by me in the first place are the most effective as well as the most reliable that have yet come into its possession.
