Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1898-10-22
TOWN AND VICINITY.


II bdiliI DoWCI liuCldIIy Will ihOICy
affected no ones pocket but his own there
could be no objection to his paying what
prices he saw fit. But Bailiff Bowen is a
public officer and the money he is so liberal
with comes from the public purse, ETC.
Forum.
1t is to be said in Baillff Bowen's be-
half that he did not come to the JOUR-
NAL for the work on his own motion.
He was told by the Mayor, who knows
thing or two in spite of the fact that
there are few things he doesn't
know, to get the goods from the JOUR-
NAL.
But if the JOURNAL charges too
much for the work 1t does for the
town-where is the Forums auditing
committee? Where is that director of
the Forum company who rs a council
committeeman turns work to the Forum
even when the JOURNAL doesn't charge
any more than the Forum then audits
Forum bills and votes to pass them
Why doesn't he and the councilman
committeeman on light turn JOURNAL
bills down if they be too high?
So far as Bowen is concerned, he is
really and wholly innocent Of favorit-
ism for the JOURNAL, and has not
earned the reckless criticism which the
Forum expends upon him.
The JOURNAL has been charging all
the time the same for its work-the
same before as since the advent of the
Forum, and the town has never been
oppressed with the size of its printing
bills. The JOURNAL never took ad-
vantage of its position as monopolist
and imposed upon the people in any
way, but charged enough for its work
to derive therefrom living income.
Hence, the inhospitaity with which
it has looked upon the incursion of
competition. 1t knew that the wild
hoss horde of half-baked journalists
and wild ass drove of amateur printers
surging through the country are as
chock full of unscientifc notions of the
value of work as they are lacking in
the education and skill to achieve it.
1t hneD and it felt that whenever a
lodgment from those elements was
made here, prices acould be about the first
thing they wouM senseleesly assoH, and
that they would do it directly and IN
directly.
This prophecy has been verified by
the Forum's announcement, in effect,
that JOURNAL work costs 100 per cent.
more than Forum work,
The JOURNAL will give a sample of
its system;
For LOCO posters, 9xl2 inches, it is COM
PEELED to charge 1925; 800 s3 Is; down to
less than 100, 1925.
If the Forum, reckoning from its
price OF $!.35 per 1000 in the same
scale were to treat the short num Der
customer fairly, it would have to set
up and print less than 100 copies for
35 cents. Or it would have to treat
him unfairly by charging nearly as
much for 100 as 1000.
Ia either event, the more work of
that character an Office has the worse
off it is.
the JOURNAL has been here q years
with its plan.
Meanwhile, the Forum scheme has
''boxed the compass" all over known
regions in West Virginia and unknown
regions beyond. achieving collapse
everywhere, and now it has landed in
Frostburg to add at least one more
tiasco to its series of abortive exploits.
But history aside, there is absolutely
no more sense in the Forum's com
petitive policy than in a situation
which would enable one miner to chide
the town for buying its coal of other
miners when he is digging it for %!
cents per ton