Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1900-01-24
PRIMA FACIE EVIDENCE.

In many counties of the state there is
an annual squabble over The public
printing as awarded by the Board of
Supervisors. This bit of patronage is
made many times more account of than
the sum at stake justifies, except as it
rs in a way regarded as evidence of the
circulation" of newspapers. On the
latter account it is basis for gross
fraud by reckless publishers who have
no reputation to lose by false affidavits
to fictitious lists that they palm off as
circulation. This year this business
hits in this county, and Mr. Anundsen
of the Posten is the victim. 1t is not
the dollars involved that he cares for
as much as the fact in issue. The latter
caused him to make this utterance in
last Fridays Posten:
In its last meeting the Board of Supervisors
designated the official papers and their choice
fell upon the Public Opinion, claiming 1854
subscribers, the DEBORAH Republican, with
1z63 subscribers, and the Ossian Bee with
something less than 400. In an article, headed.
-'ahead of them alp, the Public Opinion, COM
menting on this, gravely remarks: Neither
the Poster nor the Journal filed lists, the
number of their subscribers in the county be-
ing much less than other DEBORAH papers,"
The publisher of Decorah-Posten was asked
over the telephone whether or not he would
submit sworn statement of circulation and
bid for the county printing, but he answered
other papers and that therefore he would not
submit lists nor make a bid.
The Decorah-Posten has l,l45 subscribers in
Winneshiek county and there is nota shadow
Ofdoubt bat that the Posten ranks next to the
DEBORAH Republican in point of circulation
within the county.
The statement in the last paragraph
is no doubt the exact truth. The law
calls for bona fide circulation; not a
fictitious one, made up in December for
n II,
February to the actual basis. There is
the best of evidence that the braggart
whom the Posten takes to task played
this game in last February and cut off
galley full-say 200 or 300 of names
Nor is there any doubt whatever that if
the names of persons to whom the
paper has been sent without orders
whonever subscribed for it-never have
paid cent for it-aud do not expect to
pay-were also erased, the remainder
would show the smallest bona fide
therefore valuable) subscription list of
the four papers published in DEBORAH.
Why shouldn't it be SO? An opinion
less paper that rehashes most of its
locals from other papers naturally does
not command a very large actual
clientage. DEBORAH Republican.
The above article is but another
evidence of the peevish, inbred spleen
and hatred of the Republican, posed as
the great moral family weekly, toward
the PUBLIC OPINION. The very day
on which this paper moved o DEBORAH
from Cresco the editors of that sheet
were doing their utmost to prevent such
action. They openly told about town
that a single issue would not be printed
in DEBORAH. After they were compelled
to swallow this falsehood, they indus
triously peddled the information that
they had determined to give us three
months in which to die, and that at
the end Of that time this paper would
be defunct, advising all to abstain from
subscribing for the PUBLIC OPINION,
and from advertising in it, From that |
day to this they seem to have forgotten
all other purposes than the humiliation
of our business. They have absolutely
refused to mention the name of our
paper in their columns, for which they
have our profuse thanks. After sue
cessive efforts they succeeded in form
ing combine of the three DEBORAH
papers to run us out of town, and boast
ed that they would accomplish it. They
have stopped to dirty, disreputable
asethods at every turn to accomplish
that end, and this last is but drop in
the bucket of mire, the stencil of which
permeates the very atmosphere of their
surroundings.
Have we DO right i'm DEBORAH? is
not the privilege to provide for ones
self and family by entering upon what
ever profession or business he deems
best an inherent one? We now deeply
regret that we did not with bowed head
and Bonded knee beg Mr.. Bailey's per-
mission to enter his domain; but that
time is past. We came to DEBORAH
little over four years ago determined to
succeed in the newspaper business if
hard work and honest treatment Of all
would bring success.
A large majority of the people well
OOAhCu Nct SoNC VS. tiC aociotdhCC We
needed in the way of business, and we
have advanced even beyond our antic-
pations.
The people of Winneshiek county
lad become tired of that ring who had
bulldozed, bled and led them to the
slaughter for thirty years. We could
fill columns with recital of the scaly
deeds of the clique which has hereto
fore dominated in politics and in many
lines of business in this county. We
might tell of their reputation of honest
debts, of how they disposed of the
peoples good money through the de-
funct national bank, of how they con-
Quoted the postoffice and why they
gave it up, aye, scores of disreputable
schemes that their willy brains have
connected and completed, but we have
partly RETAINED from doing so.
The G. NJ. w. says that the Poster
rs the victim of our affidavit, which
they insinuate is false one. The re-
cords at the court house will show that ,