A QUESTION OF LATITUDE


Of the school of earnest young writers at whom the word muckraker
had been thrown in opprobrium, and by whom it had been caught up as
a title of honor, Everett was among the younger and less
conspicuous. But, if in his skirmishes with graft and corruption
he had failed to correct the evils he attacked, from the contests
he himself had always emerged with credit. His sincerity and his
methods were above suspicion. No one had caught him in
misstatement, or exaggeration. Even those whom he attacked,
admitted he fought fair. For these reasons, the editors of
magazines, with the fear of libel before their eyes, regarded him
as a "safe" man, the public, feeling that the evils he exposed were
due to its own indifference, with uncomfortable approval, and those
he attacked, with impotent anger. Their anger was impotent
because, in the case of Everett, the weapons used by their class in
"striking back" were denied them. They could not say that for
money he sold sensations, because it was known that a proud and
wealthy parent supplied him with all the money he wanted. Nor in
his private life could they find anything to offset his attacks
upon the misconduct of others. Men had been sent to spy upon him,
and women to lay traps. But the men reported that his evenings
were spent at his club, and, from the women, those who sent them
learned only that Everett "treats a lady just as though she IS a
lady...