Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 85, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 April 1910 — GREAT MAN IS SLIGHTED BY RENSSELAER NEWSPAPERS. [ARTICLE]

GREAT MAN IS SLIGHTED BY RENSSELAER NEWSPAPERS.

Vain Man with Old and Unpaid Subscription Account Claims Newspapers Ignore His Talents. The ego of mankind is marvelous and sometimes pitiable. It is the same in Rensselaer that it is in other places and is so common that it is seldom mentioned. The Republican is not inclined to comnient on the frailities of mankind and seldon indulges in personalities, but maintains or aims to maintain, a friendly attitude and one of the most pronounced impartiality toward every person. But even at that, our neglect of some people of prominence, unquestioned and undenied is noticeable. This discussion will seem rambling unless we elucidate and thus clearify the atmosphere of mystery. A longlegged speciman of humanity, whose name has ever been known to local fame, and whose possession of ability has been long known by those who know him best, recently entertained a few people in a Rensselaer business' place by claiming ‘that himself and his forefathers had been neglected by Rensselaer newspapers, who had passed up without notice, some very prominent mention of his distinguished ancestry and offended him personally by slighting some of his personal accomplishments. Declaring that some very ordinary people are mentioned, when they make short trips, he raised to his full height, doubled up his right fist, smote his inflated chest and said he had been slighted, ignored and embarrassingly disregarded, thus causing him great humiliation and smothering beneath a bushel, his talents which the Rensselaer newspapers should have published to the world. The tragic strides of this wrought up gentleman, as he warmed with his subject, created the greales; amount of admiration with his auditors, who could scarce restrain themselves during the recital lof his neglect. So grandeloquent did he become that he moved his auditors first to tears and then to emotions approaching pity, as he related the apparently intended slight of his

greatness. When the story was related to the writer, we had difficulty to recall who the individual was, having almost forgotten his existence but after some deliberation we did recall him, and after coming to the printing office, we discovered later evidence of his prior being, in the shape of a bewhiskered account, showing that he had been a subscriber of the “star” kind during a term of ten years, 8 months and 3 days, for which no payment had been made, and that finally, deciding that his self-claimed greatness did not run in the channel of paying his debts, and seeing no immediate prospects of his widely famed lineage contributing to the settlement of the debt so wholly ignored by their offspring, the paper was discontinued to him, and the accounts in this office show that from 10Jan.1897 to 135ept.1907, the paper was sent to this wonderful man without a copper being paid for it. Nevertheless and notwithstanding, no particular effort has ever been made to secure its payment, owing to our dislike to embarrass the debtor, who was always full of promises and looked better than he proved to be.

While this account would not stand in the way of recognition of his talents, our attention has not thus far been attracted by any great “stunt” that this professedly abused man has pulled off, but when he next does something that seems deserving our attention, in order that the public may applaud, we Bhall be glad to proclaim his accomplishments to the people of old Jasper county, thus satisfying his vanity and properly classify ing him with the great men of the age.