The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1892-09-14
WHOLE NUMBER 1856

in said paper to such gullible people
as never do any thinking for themselves,
though its absurdity is very apparent
to any one who remembers that in 1890
Decatur gave majority of 30 for local
option and at the recent election re-
versed that vote by 81 against it. In
Paw Paw, where the senior manager
of this highly infuentiat sheet is located
and presumably radiates considerable
of this boasted "influence," the vote two
years ago gave 1S9 majority for prohibi
ton, while the last election showed
"A ma ajority of 1l2 against it. Truly,
this Is "a sad commentary on
the waning influence of that
paper and the journalistic Napoleon
at its head" besides being
fine illustration of its inclination To
warp facts and figures to suit its own
needs. This tendency is further shown
in an attempt to account for the light
vote polled by saying that the election
was planned "when the farmers were
busiest with their fall work" Will the
Republican, please tell us what kind of
work is SO rushing the farmer at this
season that he could not spare even "a
half day? We have not been able TO
find any farmers among our acquaint-
ance who were SO hardly pressed, though
we do know that a good many voters
among all classes stayed away from the
polls because they would not vote for a
continuance Of the law yet did not care
enough to cast their vote against it.
1t is wonderful to note the unanimity
with which most of the smaller news
paper fry of the county are working to
show that the NORTHERNER's ''reputa-
ton is ruined, its influence lost, and its
prestige gone forever;" but this only
makes prominent that sad failing of hu-
man nature which renders people so
eager to profit by another's downfall,
should one chance to happen. Ordina-
rily we consider our private affairs the
business of no one else, but some of
these papers and their adherents have
so fondly hoped to weaken the NORTH
ERNER's influence by circulating false
reports of its rapidly decreasing sub
scriptiOn list, asserting that 80 names
were taken off in single week, that 20
names were withdrawn in single day,
and other similar fabrications, that we
are tempted to deviate from our regular
rule and make the following statement,
which can be verified from our day book
by any one who desires: Since the APP
pearance of our first article on local
option this summer, we have removed
from our list 40 names i'm all, % of them
being in no way due to the temperance
discussion, since all but one were sub
scribers only to a certain date and at
the time of subscription were marked
to stop at its expiration, while that one
we removed because he owed us S17.70
back subscription and we were tired of
taking our pay entirely in promises
Furthermore, within the period men,
toned we have added 20 new names to
our list to take the place of the II who
could not tolerate paper that held
any views differing from their own, and
during last week alone took in $50 for
renewal of subscription. Thus the air
escapes from another glitt tering bubble
set afloat by those who have nothing
better to do than to manufacture their
facts, and the NORTHERNER will still
continue to do business at the old stand,
despite that imaginary "long list of
names of old subscribers which have
been scratched from the books"