chastened for
arrogating to itself things not to be rendered unto Caesar and the
tankmen had deservedly perished for their sacrilege. The letter aroused
fury--the followers of Brother Paul either didnt read the _Intelligencer_
or were satisfied their leader needed no championing, if they did--and
other letters poured in calling for various expressions of popular
disapproval, from simple boycott up through tarring and feathering to
plain and elaborated--with gasoline and castration--lynching. The grass
was a hot topic.

With its acute perception of the popular taste Le ffacase's paper
printed not only most of the communications--the unprintable ones were
circulated among the staff till they wore out or disappeared
mysteriously in the Gents Room--but maps showing the daily progress of
the weed, guesses as to the duration of the plague by local prophets,
learned articles by scientists, opinions of statesmen, views of
prominent entertainers, in fact anything having any remote connection
with the topic of the day. The paper even went further and offered a
reward of ten thousand dollars to anyone advancing a suggestion leading
to the destruction of the intruder. Its circulation jumped at the
expense of less perspicacious rivals and the incoming mail, already many
times normal, swelled to staggering proportions.

The contest was taken with deadly seriousness, for the livelihood of
many of the paper's readers was suddenly threatened by its subject and
from a new quarter. In the same issue as the offered reward there
appeared an interview with the accredited head of the organized
motionpicture producers. This retiring gentleman was rumored to be
completely illiterate, an unquestionable slander, for he had written
checks to support every cause dedicated to keeping wages where they
belonged and seeing the wage earners didnt waste the money so
benevolently supplied by their employers.

I got the details of the interview from the interviewer himself. The
magnate--he had no objection to the description--had been irritable and
minced no words. The grass was bad alike for production and boxoffice,
taking everyone's mind off the prime business of making and viewing
motionpictures. It was injuring The Industry and he couldnt conceal the
fact that The Industry, speaking through his mouth and with his
vocabulary, was annoyed.

"Unless this disgraceful episode ends within ten days," he had said
sternly, "the Motion Picture Industry wil