"He has accepted it," the owner told his purveyor of information. "But
the real fight is to come."
"Over the policy of the editorial page," opined Ives.
"Yes. This is only a truce."
As a truce Banneker also regarded it. He had no desire to break it. Nor,
after it was established, did Marrineal make any overt attempt to
interfere with his conduct of his column.
After awaiting gage of battle from his employer, in vain, Banneker
decided to leave the issue to chance. Surely he was not surrendering any
principle, since he continued to write as he chose upon whatever topics
he selected. Time enough to fight when there should be urged upon him
either one of the cardinal sins of journalism, the _suppressio veri_ or
the _suggestio falsi_, which he had more than once excoriated in other
papers, to the pious horror of the hush-birds of the craft who had
chattered and cheeped accusations of "fouling one's own nest."
Opportunity was not lacking to Marrineal for objections to a policy
which made powerful enemies for the paper; Banneker, once assured of his
following, had hit out right and left. From being a weak-kneed and
rather apologetic defender of the "common people," The Patriot had
become, logically, under Banneker's vigorous and outspoken policy, a
proponent of the side of labor against capital.
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