THE PROPAGANDA OF EVARISTO PANGANIBAN fully in possession, and so would send a bullet over his head — "a shell across his bow," as our naval friends would say. But that, far from stopping him increased his terror, his speed, and his determination not to be obliging. The province was in a perfect stew. The situation, to anyone who knows those people, was really a very ugly one. I tried Evaristo for disrespect to the Mayor's Court and fined him an amount which he paid. The profane and obscene language with which his facile pen had deliberately disfigured the proceedings of the Mayor's Court, could hardly be over looked, but the punishment sought to fit itself to the enormity of the crime. The other specific charge, based on the propa ganda, was of course sedition, stirring up the people. Apropos of this, I elaborated for the benefit of my American friend, the provincial chief of constabulary, on the mischief defendant had succeeded in work ing up, and the actual harm his utterances had done the province; stripped his per formance of the self sacrifice which he sought to impart to it, expressed a pained, and fraternal regret that defendant was in reality more of a demagogue than of a martyr, and otherwise sought to take the wind out of his sails. During the setting forth of these con siderations, Evaristo looked the old familiar look of docile and filial penitence, as if he saw the door of the penitentiary yawning to receive him, but bowed in contrite con sciousness of error, to a higher power. But
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after the last note of the judicial diatribe had sounded, there came an adversative clause, a "However" clause, in virtue whereof defendant's alleged seditious in tent was given the benefit of a reasonable doubt. The Constitution of the United States, with which, like most of his enlightened and educated fellow-countrymen, defend ant was familiar, guaranteed to all the people freedom of speech and of the press. By reason of this guarantee, it had long been customary in the United States for the political pillos (rascals) newspaper men and others, members of the party not in power, to abuse without limit the leading public men of the party in power, not excepting our Chief Magistrate himself, but that the Philippine people were too young yet as a people, to indulge themselves in our national vice of yellow journalism. Defendant had probably been misled as to the extent of the liberty of speech and public utterance by the lamentable abuse of it by his prototypes beyond seas, but in the future must take notice. Both Evaristo and his enemies were somewhat disappointed by the decision, — for different reasons — but since then no more ugly telegrams have come over the mountains from Nueva Viscaya, and the constabulary are having no more trouble about horses or men for the public service. Such is the story of The Propaganda of Evaristo Panganiban, the village Hampden of the mountains of Central Luzon. Macon, Ga., November, 1907.
