The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1881-08-19
"Credit, Where Credit Is Due"

Under the above simple yet expressive
words, in the last issue of the MankatO
FREE Press, we noticed briefly II stub
born case of sickness in West Man
kato under the care of one of our hitherto
most skillful and respected physicians
whose untlring efforts to conquer the
disease were attended with 40 many
acknowledgements that he finally gave up
the case as hopeless. At this point q
near relative of the patient, moved by
that impulse which we all possess to u
greater or less degree, said there was
hope rs long rs there is life, insisted on
calling another physician, who, after
much persuasion reluctantly consented
to take the case in hand, rcmarking as he
did SO that the patient would probably
die and no credit result TO him from tho
venture. Strange to say, after his first
prescription the patient rallied and the
improvement was SO manifest US to
give fresh courage for effort and inspir
ing the hope that the crisis was passed.
She continued to improve rapidly and
to such u degree that in very few days
she was able to sit up he dressed and to
partake of and relish substantial food.
AS II natural consequence the case was
for the time the neighborhOod talk and
wonder, and at the hour of going to
press with u paper was mentioned us
a most remarkable escape from the
portals of death.
In II calling rs the publisher of a
weekly newspaper We thought proper
to speak of it, little dreaming that our
comments were either harsh, ill-advised
or in any respect unsuited to the col
umns of n paper whose steadily increas-
ing circulation and patronage gave us
new courage and assured us that our
efforts tn make the FREE PRESS Il wei
come and agreeable visitor in every
household had become appreciated and
It's permanent prosperity II fixed fact.
Judge OF our surprise, then, when quite
promptly after II paper came from
the press We were called upon by the
physician first spoken of who had gwen
over his patient to die with "A demand
for his bill and u crisp request to stop
his paper. Whenever this disagrecablc
crisis arrives, il is clearly the right of
the patron to command and our duty to
obey. Whether that right is justified
by those broad-gauge and elevated ideas
SO much adorn the true gentle.
man and the exemplary christian, we
leave every candid reader to judge.
Our private opinion is, that men, things,
and happenings, in the city, the town,
State, union and the whole
world even, are appropriate sources from
we have II right to gather matters
for the mental improvement instruction,
elevation ana enjoyment Of our readers.
stop my paper" uttered in the po-
tential mood. is a salutation with which
probably every editor or publisher of a
paper is quite familiar, and we opine
there are o many of the craft who put
on dependency and go into mourning
when this exorcism greets their in
dulgent ears. AS old as the art of
printing, is this narrow method of
to narrow minds, and our cx-
perience will probably now and then
be duplicated upon ourselves and no
doubt upon our respected contempt
raries of the press the wide world over
as long as time endures.
Here, then, is the meat in this cocoa
nut, and this the extent of our offend
ing Because of the publication in our
last paper of a short paragraph, penned
in perfect good faith, without Il scintilla-
tion of malice prepense or aforethought,
wrath, revenge, retaliation in the shape
of a withdrawal of patronage to the ex-
tent of one doliar and fifty cents a gear,
menace our prosperity and threatens to
that extent the permanence and useful
ness OF the Mankato FREE PRESS. Who,
who will take pity On us and step in and
fill this empty, aching void
We are not offended far from it, and
shall abate none of those courtesies and
amenities of life towards our offended
ncighbor and fellow-citizen till his bear
ing cexes t" be reciprocal and freezes
those genial currents which elevate our
being and cast sunshine on mortal ways.