Jasper County Democrat, Volume 18, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 May 1915 — “We Print Anything for Anybody.” [ARTICLE]

“We Print Anything for Anybody.”

The above quotation is the slogan of the Rensselaer Republican, which appears frequently in the columns of that paper, and appears in big letters on the side of the building it occupies. Those who have followed the meandering policy of that paper for the past several years will not attempt to dispute the truth of its slogan. There are not many newspapers that would have the affrontery to openly proclaim any such slogan. Most newspapers desire to keep their columns clean and truthful and advocate only what they believe to be to the best interests of all. They do not ‘‘print anything for anybody.” The Republican also says that it does not deceive its readers, in referring to the proposed subsidy election in Newton tp., or those held in other townships, and yet The Democrat is reliably informed that a letter recently appearing in that sheet proporting to have been signed by the township assessor of Newton tp.. Mr. Parks, was not written by Mr. Parks at all and neither did he sign it. He has openly stated to different parties in Newton tp., we are Informed, that he merely had a talk on the street with one of the editors of the Republican and was asked and gave permission to the editor to state that some of the alleged “back-sliders” in Newton tp., were not back-sliders at all but had stated at the time they signed the petition for the election, that they would vote against the subsidy; and that the article over his signature was not written by him and that it misrepresented what he had said in many ways.

A gentleman from Newton tp., called up The Democrat by phone yesterday morning and told us of this, said that Mr. Parks had so informed him and that he had told others the same thing. Of course, if this statement is true—and we believe that the gentleman who called us is honest and truthful —it was not misrepresenting the matter at all to' publish an alleged letter bearing Mr. Parks’ signature which Parks had never written, signed nor seen. Certainly not. ■ The Republican would have one believe that every opponent of the failroad subsidy scheme is a knocker, a kicker, a skunk and a rattlesnake, ahd yet such men as Judge Hanley and many other prominent citizens and business men of Rensselaer, who have in the past always supported these subsidy fakes, now openly state that they will never vote a subsidy to any bunch of promoters again. They have made this statement to scores of people besides the writer and you do not have to take The Democrat’s word for it. In our opinion—and it is as good as that of the editors of the Republican, ...in fact in looking back over the things it has advocated in the past which have been opposed by The Democrat, we believe our opinion will not suffer by comparison—it is the most foolish thing that the voters of Newton township could possibly do to give $16,000 to any bunch of railroad promoters no matter where they hail from. There is not a taxpayer in New-

ton township who lias not already a railroad within I or 5 miles Of him, i orhaps none so far away as. 5 miles,, possibly not over 1, and the building ■ of a road across that iownsfikp would not benefit them one single- penny. It would not advance the value of their land a nickle. It would not help them in any way to market their produce-and would not benefit them in freight rates.. We always hear a whole lot of talk when these subsidy hunters come around about their hauling freight. Yet we will venture to say that not a solitary man anywhere within the sound of our voice, no matter how many 8 thousands of miles he has ridden on electric railroads, has ever seen a grain elevator, a freight depot, or cattle yards along their line. They have never seen a freight car upon an electric line except it .was hauling material such as ties, rails, etc., for use of the line. Like the milk sickness, however, the electric line just a little farther on PVer in some other state, they will tell you, does haul freight, but the writer has ridden thousands of miles on such lines in Indiana. Ohio and other states, and has never seen ■ any of these things. He has also talked with other people from different sections who say the same thing. Admitting, for the sake of argument, that it would advance the value of your lands—which it will not—unless you desired to sell out, of what advantage would it be to you to'have your lands advance $lO 'to $25 or even SSO per acre, as the Republican would attempt to make you believe they would? If they actually were increased in value, would you not to have to pay much more taxes than you are now paying? The whole subsidy proposition is a fake from start to finish an.d the argument; advanced to secure your vote in favor of a subsidy, is too thin to even consider for a moment.