Jasper County Democrat, Volume 14, Number 76, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 January 1912 — STILL SNIVELING ABOUT IT. [ARTICLE]

STILL SNIVELING ABOUT IT.

Republican’s Case of Sour Grapes v Is Laughing Stock of the Community. The Rensselaer Republican, which has always manifested an undue interests in the business affairs oil l The Democrat, even to the extent of;.trying have it excluded froim the mails in every voting contest this paper has conducted, and never seems to profit by Its experience, for Uncle Sam has each time told the complainers to “go ’way back and sit down,” that our contests were perfectly legitimate and came within the very strict rules of the postoffice department; that even a few years-ago', when The Democrat installed a $3,500 linotype and sent the son of the editor away to take a course at a lintoype school, had the brass to ask through its columns where we got the money to do all this; that complained to the postoffice department about a supplement mailed out with The Democrat by a local business firm—because The Democrat got the job instead of the Republican—and which had been sent out by the wholesale firm furnishing it In scores of cities, like Logansport anil towps of like size, but had never run up against so small specimens of humanity as those conducting the „ Republican until they struck Rensselaer, is still deeply conCernejl about The Democrat’s recent piano contest. They have even went to the expense of telegraphing to lowa, to the firm from whicn we bought the piano, they say, asking for the lowest price on a piano of the samo name as the instrument given away by us, as follows: <- •

“Quote us by wire lowest price of Banner piano, mahogany finish, to be used in newspaper subscription contest,” and received this reply: “$145.00 cash and special mention three times during contest.” It therefore assumes that The Democrat’s piano was worth but $145, which is double the price the Republican first placed on the Inst i urn ent. But, the massive brain of the heavy editorial writer of the Republican seems to have slipped a cog in its later estimate. It asked for tne lowest price on a Banner piano, not specifying what No. of piano was wanted. The piano people, taking Jnto consideration the telegram and looking up the character and circulation of the paper asking for the information, of course assumed that It wanted one of their cheapest pianos, and quoted price accordingly on an instrument such as is generally used by the cheap-skate papers of limited circulation which can not stand the expense of giving away a real piano. w There is probably not a piano manufactured that is not made in different grades, and the Banner is no exception to this rule. We wanted the best, and so specified,! and we have no reason to believe' that we did not get it. We could have got a much cheaper instrument of the same make, but did not want to give away one that was not all fight in every way and fully guaranteed. '

The efforts of the Republican to belittle this piano and spoil 1 the sale of it, for Hurley, lays that paper open to an action for damages and will also, no d,p.ubt, be resented by her friends in' a business way. It is the most despicable thing that It has ever been oar experience to see in the quarter of a century we t have been engaged in the newspaper business.