The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-11-27
TIRING OF BLACKMAIL TACTICS.
The Buckeye State Tells Some Pertinent
and Timely Truths.

Blackmailing tactics in an individual
are bad but in paper are worse. For
years the Patriot Of Lisbon has been
following a policy which no decent
paper would countenance. In speaking
Of it's methods the staid old Buckeye
State OF Lisbon, says under the head
ing of "A Public Maligner:"
I'm the name Of public and private
decency cannot an end be put upon
these villainous personal attacks per-
sistently being made upon reputable
private citizens by the Patriot, for no
other reason than that the victims Of
the Patriot publishers malignity re-
fuse to give his paper their patronage,
or that they fail to view public ques-
tions in the same light. His most re-
cent but by no means most villainous
diatribe appeared in the columns of
the Daily Patriot on Wednesday last,
and that that part of the general pub
lie so fortunate as not to be readers OF
the Patriot may be able to form a
proper estimate Of the dastardly ma
lignity Of the publisher, 1t Is here re-
produced in full:
"'Our agent called on the fellow named
Finn, who does business on the side
walk at the south side Of the square.
and requested him to subscribe for the
Daily Patriot. oh no, I take a city
paper was his reply, Well, he had
better go to the city and sell his goods.
He is a second cousin to 'Huckleberry
Finn" and is a Joke on the Cheap John
trade Most of his goods are on the
sidewalk and the air all around smells
'shoddy.'"
1T is difficult to properly class such
actions as this, especially when in
dulged in by paper that systematic
ally whines and whimpers about "co-
ercion' and Intimidation" Such a
policy as that indicated in this ex-
tract is odorous more Of blackmall
than anything else.
"The important question, however
is, Is there no way in which business
men and other private citizens can
secure protection against such malig-
nant abuse? Is a man to be compelled
to submit to the vilest personal abuse
his character and his business attacked
| simply because he does not give his
patronage to a newspaper which 1t IL
| evident he at least does not deem
worthy his patronage? Is 1t not full
time that the reputable, self-respectine
and fair-minded people Of Lisbon rise
and unite In such a protest agains,
such methods as the publisher Of the
Patriot will be compelled to heed? Az
the conditions are at present and have
been for years, no mans reputation Oh
business is safe against the attacks oi
this public maligner unless he gives
the Patriot a full measure Of his pat.
ronage, regardless of whether he con.
siders the paper worthy such patron.
age" -. ~
Such papers as the Patriot disgrace
the newspaper profession and should
be condemned by the press. In Colum
biana county the Patriot Is the one
paper of the county that has no mem.
bership in the Columbiana Count,
Newspaper Association. It's policy Of
maligning reputable citizens has mad,
1t a paper no respectable journal care,
to associate with. and the time is a,
hand when radical steps should b,
taken to compel II to observe the rulei
Of decency in it's columns. The News
Democrat will heartily sanction any
movement that, will aid in removing
such blots on Journalism.