convicted, sent to prison for one year and the book was thereafter not circulated in the regular way. In fact, immediately after the arrest of Fornaro for some reason the New York book stores, at least, refused longer to handle the work. The Fornaro incident occurred in 1909.
Perhaps even a more remarkable incident still was that of the suppression of "Yucatan, the American Egypt," written by Tabor and Frost, Englishmen. After being printed in England this book was put out in this country by Doubleday, Page & Co., one of our largest and most respectable publishers. It was put out in expensive form and, in the natural course of the book trade, should have been purchasable for years after it left the presses. But within six months the publishers, replying to a would-be purchaser, asserted that the book "has gone out of print and absolutely no copies are available!" I have the letter myself. The book was almost entirely about the ancient ruins of Yucatan, but it contained a score or so of pages exposing the slavery of the henequen plantations—and it had to go. What sort of argument was used upon our esteemed and respectable publishers to cause them to withdraw the book can be imagined.
These instances are added to the others to show what happens when a writer does succeed in getting an expose of the Diaz system into print. In this book which I am writing I am doing my best to bring out the most important facts and at the same time avoid giving valid grounds for action at libel. When it appears there will be no legal reason why it should not be circulated as the majority of books are circulated. Nevertheless, if it is extensively offered for sale in the usual way it will be
