Des Moines courier. ([Ottumwa] Iowa) 1848-1854, 1850-04-26

would diminish five thousand, perhaps
more, and ours increase that number
II is tide in our affairs, depend upon il,
that we should take at the flood If you
do not positively object, will FIRE a
4 Paixhan gun upon them next week,
and then prepare my batteries for regu-
lar fight
Just as you ike returned the plan,
partner. There is no doubt Of its doing
us good
None in The least. This false step
of our neighbour is lucky thing for ls. :
In The hope of building up his own
establishment by running his neighbor's.
Turnham opened upon the rival newspa
per with his Paxinhan gun. as he called
it, and then waited lnxioIsly for the re-
turn fire. A week went b.; and, at
length. wet from the press, and To his
Imagination. smoking with wrath, came
the paper he was ANXIOUS TO see. He
opened it with eager hands, and starting
at the FIRST editorial column. ran his eyes
over the whole inside page, in search Of
the relolnder he expected. Bat, to his
.nortiiica ion and disappointment, not the
slightest allusiou was made to the violent
attack he had made. But, il his. search,
one paragraph, more Conspicuous than
the rest, attracted his attention. Ii was
| this: - ~ "
ENLARGEMENT. The publishers of
this paper have determined to enlarge
and greatly improve it. They have or.
dered an entire new font of types, aud
will add a csulumn to each page, and in
crease the length of the pages several in
fches, so as to give at least third more
|oi reading matter. Their large and rap.
! idly increas,ng subscription list enables
/ them TO do this. In advance Of every
other paper in the country, it is their in.
ten.ion To keep in advance, spite of all
competion. TO this they stand pledged
to the pnblic and prepared to redeem
| their pledge o. ## la ara.@ a. a
! rurnham read this over twice, and
! then laid aside the paper in very quie,
and deliberate manner. He had heen
completely ouigeneraled and he felt il.
Instead OF breaking down his neighhor
and building up himself, his movemen,
| was likely To result in the establishment
of his neigiihor on broad basis, and
the complete oversh Allowing of his own
concern, that wouli be in danger of
growing feeble for want of sunshine.
! He took il for granted, that the determi-
nation to enlarge and improve was the
mode taken to answer his attack; aud he
w.s right. IL was the reaction upon
his own selfish attempt to ruin neigh
bor in order In huild up himself.
Ashamed, after having written SO
warmly against the rival estabIlshment.
and after promising to refer to the sub
ject again. To drop The mltter, Tnrnham
concocted still more bItter article, in
The hope of provoking a reply 70
! this, he received the elfeclual and silen.
cing rrjuiuder of an enlargement and
Improvement The appearance of his
neighbour, SD superior To his own. com
pleiely disheartened furnham. Ii was
PLAIN. that unless a paper OF equal pre-
tensions were published, IL would be no
use 10 struggle for an existence. The
/ list they had, by no means justified IN
creased expense. The profits were yet
o.hy in prospect. But il became qaes
tlon between an enlargement aud absn-
donment. and they chose the former.
MOI six months had elapsed from the
Time Turnham entered the business of
newspaper publishing, before he was
heartily sick of it, and determined to sell
out his interest for the sum pald for it,
which was three thousand dollars-more
than double what he now considered it
worth. He had young friend. just of
age, who had been smilen with a love
oi The muses., and who imagined himself
to possess literary abilities of no com
mon order. This person received at hls
majority, some six or seven thousand
dollars. the income from which partly
conirbuled to his support while he pros
ecuted the study of law.
Upon this young man, whose name
was Wheeler, Turnham fixed as the
scapegodt who was 10 hear the evil of his
false step. For month or Two, he man
aged, whenever he met him, to turn the
conversation To the subject of newspapers
and periodicals, and The fortunes thar
were daily made by publishers. Ills
own fortune he considered as made: for
the paper OF of which he was part ow-
ner, was increasing in patronage almost
beyond precedent. He affirmed that ten
thousand dollars would moi tempt him to
sell his interest. n
In This way, he kept the young mans
thoughts in one channel, aud filled him
with desire to exchange the slowly re-
warded profession he had adopted, Tor
one that promised such golden harvests.
Al length. he vaguely limited that, ii he
were not in SO gooo business, he would
be tempted 10 join friend in opening an
office rs an exchange broker. An allu-
sion to this was more distinctly made
soon afterwards--so distinctly, that the
friend could not help reInarking thereon.
| Finally, by gradual approaches on the
subject, and by system OF false repre-
sentalions, ing eniously made. Tnrnham
created an eager desire in the mind OF
Wheeler to buy out his halt interest IN
the paper, and actually To make propo-