Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 171, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 July 1915 — SO MUCH FOR SO LITTLE. [ARTICLE]

SO MUCH FOR SO LITTLE.

The Democrat publishes an unsigned communication from some supposed to be person in the country congratulating that paper for having opposed the subsidy and stating that the writer proposed stopping The Republican when his or her or its subscription runs out because The Republican took a different view of the proposition. The soft thing about the communication is not so much, the perron who wrote or is supposed to have written it, but that The Democrat should cheaply undertake to curry favor because it received the letter. The Republican supports or opposes any proposition not with a view to securing or retaining the business of any person who is small enough to expect that everything published in its paper is going to harmonize with every subscriber and we know that there are very few of the class of people left who “stop their paper” every time some article appears that does not conform to the opinion of a reader. The Republican did favor the railroad subsidy and favors it at this time. We did this and would do it again with a full realization that its carrying would create some hardships, temporarily at least, but believing that the benefits would far exceed the costs. We regret that hardships would be caused but this tax was for only 2 per cent of the assessed value of property, which in most cases would be 2 per cent on 10 per cent of valuation or only about an 8 mill actual tax. This would be divided between two years and then would be done forever. At the end of the two years or even before, if the tax was collected and the road built, the road would begin to pay back to Marion township in tax what it ha<i received toward construction and in all future years it would continue to pay and be an aid to every property owner by carrying a part of the expense. If increased property values and convenience in travel and marketing resulted and they certainly would, every person would receive an advanage worth, much more than the subsidy cost them and Rensselaer, situated as it is fifty miles from any city so large or so able to take care of extensive trade would enjoy a big boom in which businessmen, mechanics, laborers and property owners would all share. The Republican did not support the subsidy as vigorously as it has some previous propositions of the same kind. There was every reason to .believe that it would carry without much newspaper encouragement, for a proposition of exactly the same kind and for just the same amount carried by a vote of almost 7 to 1 some two years ago. We believe that Rensselaer never made a greater mistake than it did in turning down this proposition and with due respect to the blankety blank letter published in The Democrat will say that the value of the subscription we are threatened with losing is not sufficient to change our views. The Republican prints the news and such views as we hold deserving and if there are any small enough to withdraw their support because we advocate something they do not favor, we are quite willing to have them cast their lot with The Democrat, which cheaply makes a bid for that kind of patrons. This reminds us of a story told by Horace Greely, the great editor, and we think we may have related it once before some years ago, but as there is a new crop of mushrooms after every rain we will take a chance of repeating it. Greely had vigorously supported a proposition and an irate subscriber called at his office and ordered his papeT stopped. He then met Greely on the street and said: “I do not approve of your stand in this matter and have just been to your office and ordered the paper stopped.” “Oh,” replied Greely, “I wish you had not done that, it is the only way I have of making a living and I want to talk the matter over with you and see if I can not change your views.” “No,” said the man,“ I don’t believe in your views and I have ordered my paper discontinued.” “Oh,” replied Mr. Greely, “you have ordered your paper discontinued, why that is all right, I misunderstood you, I thought you had ordered the publication stopped.” That expresses the matter in a nutshell. The Republican has lost business because it fought the saloons and because it refused to carry any kind of liquor advertising; why, we even lost the printing of the ballots for the election for the railroad subsidy because a republican official allowed himself to be'mushed into giving it to The Democrat because The Republican favored the railroad subsidy and the official was a man who had been supported through two campaigns by The Republican. Such little things do not seriously bother us, but they show the caliber of some men and give us a measuring stick for future use. , . . Business is good, our subscription list is growing and the future is going to give us the support and the business of a lot of people with too much good common sense to fall out with us because we don’t think through their craniums. Last week we saw an article in a great newspaper that we did not coincide with, but we have seen many things in the same paper that we did not like and the paper will continue to be published and we shall continue to read it and be profited because we live in a world that is not bounded by the four narrow walls of selfishness and self-conceit. '