Rensselaer Republican, Volume 25, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 February 1893 — GOT IT OUT. [ARTICLE]

GOT IT OUT.

Tlie House legislative special Roby committee, after visiting the race course, to see aud “be seen” brought in a majority report highly eulogistic of that institution. The House adopted the report and will now probably pass a bill requiring the Roby sports to keep their races going on Sundays, so that young people of the vicinity can have a place to go on Sundays, away from the temptations of the sinful world. Roby is a nicer place than the average Sunday school, according to the Indiana House of Representatives.

If our esteemed contempararies who are so zealously advocated the lowest bidder plan for public advertising are right in their contention that all there'is in the question is whether that method would not be cheaper for the people than the present system, theu they are not consistent in not advocating the abolishment of public advertising entirely. If it would be a good thing for the people to take the public advertising out of the papers which have a general circulation in all parts of the county, to put it into other papers which have a general circulation in only a fourth part of the county for the sake of saving a little money; then it certainly follows that it would be a still better thiug to save all the money paid for public printing, by abolishing it entirely. As a mere matter of right and equity, too, the latter plan would be far the best. By the present method all the people pay for the public advertising and all of them get the benefit. By the lowest bidder method all would pay the cost and only a few get the benefit All the bluffing and blowing of Gov. Lewelling of Kansas, his calling out the militia, with their can none and gatling guns, his ferocious threats to remove the Republicans from the state house at the point of the bayonet, all resulted in his ignominious back* down and all because the people of thejstate knew in their hearts, that the Populists were in the wrong and the Republicans in the right, in the controversy. The bloodless victory of the Republicans in Kansas last week was a harder blow to the forces of anarbhy, communism and revolution than was the hanging of the Haymarket anarchists in Chicago, a few years ago.

We presume that it would be hard to Bud in the whole state of ludiaua, half a dozen non-county seat papers so well fitted as a medium for county advertising as the Good I and Herald, either in intrinsic excellence as a local news paper, or in magnitude of circulation, in proportion to the population of The town antT county where published. Yet we do not believe that the Herald will say, in all candor, that its Circulation in the county where printed is not practically confined to three townships, or that its columns, however bright and newsy they may be, contain much local matter that is of interest to residents of the county generally. In fact we have m doubt bnt that, with the exception of Goodland itself, and Grant township, the papers have a much larger circulation in Benton and Jasper counties than it has in Newton county. Such being the facts of the case, can any truthful or intelligent person say that the Herald is a suitable medium for the public advertising of Newton county? We think not.

About the sickest piece of Mugwump slobber thatever was known, was committed last week by Judge E. C. Fields, of Crown Point,a man who heretofore has been deservedly respected for his good sense. He gave to the Indianapolis Sentinel a story of how one day (luring the Republican convention in 1888, Fields, Wm. Penn Nixon, editor of the Inter Ocean, Hon. W. H. Calkins of this state and some others, called on Judge Gresham, late at night, and asked him to authorize the publication in the Inter Ocean of an editorial endorsing the Republican position on the tariff, and offering him the presidency if he would comply with their request; even as Mark Antony offered Ceasar the kingly crown. Gresham, according to Fields, appeared in his night gown “looking like the embodiment of purity;” and a lot of other sixteen-year-old-girl gush, and waved away the presidency with words to the effect that he would rather go without the presidency to the end of his days than endorse the protective tariff. Unfortunately for Judge Fields’ romantic. yarn, Mr. Nixon has published what is, undoubtedly, the real truth of the story. Nixon and Calkins called on Gresham, and Fields’ remained below and did not see him at all. He appeared in his ordinary costume, the nightgown being all in Field’s imagination, and instead of waving away the presidency with the stern virtue of a Roman Senator in his toga, he merely refused to authorize the editorial as a matter of policy, thinking it would do him more harm than good; and beleiving besides that he was already beaten for the nomination. If Judge Fields was that kind of a man, the explanation of his ridiculous story would be found in ask ing “where was he at;” but as that ib not his reputation, a rational explanation of it is hard to conceive.

There is at least one proposition we can make in regard to the lately much discussed subject of public advertising with which all our readers will agree; and that is that we have already devoted to it all the attention its int erest and importance will warrant. Still we are not willing to take final leave of the subject until we point out the unfairness of dur opponents in their comparison of legal advertising with ordinary commercial display advertising, with their accompanying assertions that the former ought not to pay much more for the space occupied than the latter. Now legal advertising is almost always set in solid nonpariel type; a column of which will contain as much matter as two and a half columns of tbe usual long primer leaded matter, of country newspapers; and in labor of setting owing to its small size, and the necessity of absolute accuracy in legal advertising, the one column of legal advertising is fully equal to four oolnmns of the ordinary

reading matter of the papers, in point of labor required. As compared with ordinary display advertising, set as it usually is in large type, and mnch of it standing for many weeks and months, it is no exaggeration to say that a column of legal advertising represents as much labor, on an average, as ten columns of the display advertising. But according to the reformers the column of legal ought to pay at the most no more than double what a column of display pays. If these “reformers” wanted to compare matters fairly, they would compare the prices for legal advertising with the prices the newspapers charge for business reading notices, or “locals” as they are often called -Reading notices are what the legal advertisments are usually anyhow, and with other reading notices, they should be compared. If this were done, it would be found that if a given legal notice, like a ditch notice for instance, were set in nonpariel, run the usual three times, and charged for at the regular legal rates, it would amount to no more than would the same matter, set in the ordinary type of business reading notices and charged for even at the low rate of 5 cents per line the first week and 4 cents per line each subsequent week,—and there are very few papers which do not charge more than the rates just quoted for business advertising of that nature.

Messrs. Wasson and Spitler were appointed a coimjrittee to investigate and settle a claim of George E. Marshall for legal printing [relating to the Washington street improvement, t Marshall presented a bill for $39.35, which was so slearly an overcharge of the excessive rate already fixed by law, that the board appointed the committee. The claim was cut down to $35.35, a reduction of $4, and was settled on that basis.

The above is from the Pilot's report of the proceedings of the Town Board. In itself it amounts to but little and would not be noticed were it not a sample of many other flings that have been passed over with contempt. It is one of the curses of journalism, as it is of every business or profession, that it has in its ranks such envious, and narrow-minded individuals as this young man Clark, who, simply because some other man is a business competitor, seeks constantly to slander, vilify and disparage him, and to turn every incident of the other man’s business, political or social life into some appearance of evil. Such men are found in every profession, and nra despised wherever known, but in no other profession than journalism do their despicable characteristics become so prominent and offensive.

That this young man, who has sold himself, boots, body and breeches, personal honor and political principles, to become the ready tool and lackey of an anonymous gang of political traitors, and moral blackmailers, should Constantly slander his former employer, and a man who, from the day he entered our employ till the present moment never did him a single injurious or unkind act, is not strange. As the tool of the anonymous cravens who have charge of the editorial columns of his paper, he even slanders his own father, one of the best men in Jasper county, in slandering the men who hold public office, as his father does, and has, more of less constantly, for many years.

Any newspaper man with the least sense of journalistic or personal honor in his composition, will accord to a brother newspaper man at least as fair treatment in matters of business or society as he does to other men. At the very meeting for instance of the town Board to which the Pilot refers in the above paragraph, Mr. A. Parkison, a universally esteemed citizen, presented a claim several times as large as The Republican’s claim, which was wholly disallowed, yet the Pilot makes no mention of that fact, nor, still less, does it seek to convey the impression, as in the case

of our bill, that Mr. Parkiaon wm a eking for something he did not think belonged to him. Still another case was that of Mr. John H. Jessen, who presented a claim for an alleged balance which will be scaled to a much larger degree than was our own bill for printing, bnt Mr. Jessen is one of the PUnTs special friends and champions, and no-hint that any elaim of his has not been allowed at the full amount, need ever be looked for in the columns of that paper. As for our claim, the trifling reduction of which is paraded in the above qpoted paragraph, we charged only legal rates for the space occupied, and occupied only the space needed to properly display the important parts of the notices, and for one of considerable length we made no charge for at all, nor for copies of the notices for posting and mailing, but the Board objected to paying for the head lines and display lines, and we struck the amount from our claim. We think the whole amount was justly our due and that the Board acted with unnecessary picayunishness in refusing to allow it as presented; especially as only two or three months ago we paid more than SIBO on the street improvement, for which the notices were published, and of which sum of SIBO we are satisfied that at least SSO we never should have had to pay had the board looked after the public business they had in charge a s carefully as they would look after private affairs, or even as care fully as they scrutinized Tn e Republican’s bill for printing. We may also add that this SIBO which the writer paid on the street improvement is probably a larger sum than the whole Pilot gang will pay to the town of Rensselaer, for aDy purpose, during the next twenty years. They pay no taxes in Rensselaer, yet they bulldoze and blackmail onr merchants into supporting their pestiferous sheet; and y6t, we will venture to say that nine out of ten of the Pilot owners when they want to buy groceries or clothing in any quantity, and not ofi credit, send away to some “Farmers’ Supply House,” or some similar establishment, for the goods.

Our farming interests are always the bases of public weal. Here the national wealth originates, and as the State owes so much to the farming community, it is simply common sense to furnish to the farmers, as far as practicable, excellent highways. —Major Gen. 0. O. Howard, in Memorial to Congress on Road Exhibit at World's Columbian Exposition.

Ten different makes of Sewing m a chines, At Steward’s. Bargains in HATS, Wednesdays and Saturdays, at Mrs. Lecklider’s. Thirteen-stop, full walnut case or. gan, $35. C. B. Stewabd. Everything fresh and new and first class, and at lowest living prices, at Warner & Sliead’s the new goocery store. Rand, McNally & Co., IG6 Adams St., Chicago, 111., desire a local manager to take the management of the sale of their new Universal Atlas. Any one desiring a pleasant and profitable position would do well to write ihem. 21-10 w.

Any person wishing to invest or borrow money Call and see me, at my office, up-stairs in the WilliamStockton building, opposite public square. B. F. Ferguson. Wanted —Ladies to assist me in selling the Famous Gloria Water for the complexion. Terms liberal. Address. Mrs. Mary H. Watson Pleasant Ridge, Indiana. Manager branch office. Austin and Hopkins have perfected arrangement by which they can make you farm loans at 6 per cent, and these loans can be paid off at any time and stop interest. We can give you more money at less expense than any firm in town. Austin and Hopkins have perfected arrangements by which they can make you farm loans at 6 per cent, and these loans can be paid off at any time and stop interest. We have the money on hands and make these loans without delay. We can give you more money at less expense than any firm in town.

A Msn Pips fisa Oat While Bystanders Give Him the Laugh. An observer saw a carious method used the other day in a small town in Central Illinois to take the foul air out of a well. The well was to be cleaned, but the man that took the job was afraid to go down until he had ascertained the quality of.the air at the bottom. He let down a lighted candle, and when it decended to about six feet of the bottom it went out as suddenly as though extinguished by a whiff of air. That was all he wanted to know He was then sure that the well had poisonaus gas ! in it, and took a small umbrella, tied a string to the handle and lowered it open into the well. Having let it go nearly to the bottom he drew it up, carried it a few feet from the well and upset it. He repeated this operation twenty or thirty times, with all the bystanders laughing at him, then again lowered the light, which burned clear and bright even at the bottom. He then condescended to explain that the gas in the well was carbonic acid gas, which is heavier than air, and therefore could be brought up in an umbrella just as though it was so much water. It was a simpl e tr ick, but perfectly effective.