Jasper County Democrat, Volume 18, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 July 1915 — “We Print Anything for Anybody"— Slogan of the Republican. [ARTICLE]

“We Print Anything for Anybody"— Slogan of the Republican.

The Republican still thinks that the taxpayers of Rensselaer and Marion tp., made a great mistake by not giving $61,000 to promoter O. L. Brown and his so-called Lafayette & Northwestern Railroad. The Republican also says that it lost the job of printing of the ballots for this election because of its support of the subsidy and because “a Republican official allowed himself to be mushed into giving it to The Democrat.” It is true that for the first time in all the subsidy elections that have been held in this county The Democrat was awarded the work of printing the ballots for this last

[election, by the board of county election commissioners. But as this board is composed of one Democrat, one Progressive and one Republican, perhaps the Republican official was not “mushed" into giving the work to The Democrat, as the Republican states, as a majority rules where the work shall •go. However, we only charged $5 for this printing, perhaps about one-half what the Republican would have Charged had it got a crack at the work. The Republican also says that it has. lost some money because of its advocacy of certain things and because it has refused to Carry certain advertising. A well known and reputable citizen of Rensselaer informed the writer, however, that one Of the editors of the Republican had told him on the night of the election that the “Republican had been well paid for all it had said in favor of the subsidy,” so it probably lost nothing directly because of its advocacy of taking $61,000 from the taxpayers and giving it to a bunch of promoters whose standing is somewhat questionable in view of recent developements, as it received the publication of the notice of the election, which amounts to much more than the ballot printing. The Democrat has likewise been approached by the various railroad promoters who have infested Jasper county in the years gone by and informed that if it would support their

proposition it “would be paid liberally” for such support. We have perhaps lost hundreds of dollars by refusing to support such propositions; but the editorial policy of The Democrat is not for sale, as we deem it the duty of a newspaper to protect its readers in a financial way as much as it can, although in doing so it may be keeping dollars from going into its own locker.

The Democrat has no regrets for the position it has taken on all such questions that have come up, and it expects to continue the same policy in the future that it has followed in the past in this respect. It is not always pleasant to be denominated a “kicker” and a “knocker” and classed with rattlesnakes and scorpions by those who would sell one’s birth right for a mess of pottage, but The Democrat is glad to see ttfat a change in sentiment has taken place in Rensselaer in regard to gold brick deals and the late election here showed that 69 more voters were with The Democrat than were with the Republican on the proposition.