The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1869-12-16
In a Fix.

We have about one thousand
Weekly subscribers on our books,
whose subscription is past due, that
is to say their old subscription has
expired, and the day we send them
the COURIER one number beyond the
expiration of their time, they owe us
$3.50 at our lowest advance rates.
Now we know personally most of
these men, many of whom have been
taking the COURIER over twenty
years, and thoy are almost all of them
good rs old wheat, and would be NOR
tally offended if we should stop their
paper when their time expires, as is
the custom with nearly all the news
papers in the land.
Pursuing an ancient newspaper
custom, we ordered our mailing clerk
recently to afiix q red cross to the pa
pers ofall delinquents, even if they
only owed us for one number, and in
doing this very common thing among
newspaper men, we have offended a
few Of our friends who have written
us spiteiul letters.
Now men and brethren let us rca.
son together.
The white paper on which the
Weekly is printed, costs US at least
one dollar per annum. Then there
is all the expense Of house rent, COM
position, ink, fuel, lights, taxes, insu-
| rance. and brain work added to it, so
that you can readily see that we have
at Sl,5O per annum no margin of
profit sufficient TO send the COURIER
out on credit.
Ii we hired man to 60 out in the
by-ways to hunt you up, TO collect
these small amounts, small to each
one of you Individually, but which
are large and important to US in the
aggregate, you can readily enough
see that it would cost US more than it
would come to.
The only satisfactory way for us
to escape from the dilemma of dun
ming you occasionally, isforyou when
you know your subscription is due,
to make it convenient to drop in and
pay up, and then everything will be
lovely all around.
Another thing. The books OF the
COURIER have passed through some
four firms during the past four years,
to the present proprietors who are in
all probability to remain their per-
manent owners for the future.
1t isquits likely that in these trans
fers few accounts for subscription
may be wrong, and that our mailing
clerk has suggested the takiL g up of
the cross to men who didn't owe US.
OF course these errors were unin.
territorial on our part, and are capable
OF satisfactory explanation to every
aggrieyed subscriber, upon calling on
US whom in the city.
We feel a personal regard for every
subscriber on our books, and should
like to have them call and see us
when coming to town any way, and
ifapythingiis wrong we will right it,
and start for the future with a clear
account and fair sailing.
One word more and we are done.
The COURIER has got beyond the
me Wing and puking period of infan-
cy it asks nothing for charity; it
don't plead impecuniosity; it only
asks for Justice, and it knows very
well that it is AS indispensable to
you, as your patronage is to it, and il
there be any OF our subscribers, who
take it,.oradvertise in it, because they
think it special favor to us, ard a
sort of an irksome duty they owe
their county organ, and patronize us
for these considerations alone, we
should be pleased to receive what
they owe us, and are ready to cash
their chips if we owe them anything,
and dissolve the partnership.
"Now let US have peace"