Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1904-10-27
NEVER MENTIONED IT.
Herald Secures Good Beat on Choice
News ltem.-Other County Pa.
pres Did Not Comment on
Printing Charges.

Two weeks ago, the HERALD gave
out the fact that Investigation Of the
allowances made to John Q. ROYCE,
editor of the Dispatch, during the
year 1902 for the official publications
which he was required to make under
his contract with the County Com
missionerS for that year exceeded the
contract rate by at least twenty-five
per cent and that there were also II.
regularitieS In his charges during the
two preceding years. This fact Is a
matter Of legitimate news, and ordi.
narily of the kind that news gather.
! ers are glad to secure and to use.
There are ten purported newspapers
In the county besides the HERALD
and yet after the fact above mentioned
was made known, pot one OF them
published 10.
Naturally one Is led to wonder why
the silence. News giving Is the bust.
ness Of newspapers and when they fall
to give the news they fall In their
m lsSiOn.
II the statement In the HERALD to
the effect that Royce had received
more than the contract rate for the
county printing was malicious and
false, then It was llbelous a d would
subject the publisher OF the HERALD
to prosecution both civily and crlmi.
nally, and the publisher being advised
of these facts would scarce have riSked
prosecution Of this nature. II the
statement were not true ID would
have brought forth instant deBlal from
Mr.. Royce and a demand for reparaI
tlon because Of an unjust and unwar.
ranted attack. But Mr.. Royce by his
silence admits the truth Of the HER
AIDS statement.
Now, In the face Of the above facts,
as a matter of news 1t should have
been published by every paper ip the
county. 1t ID not iHjustlce to Mr..
Royce but iustice9t0 the public whose
interests are paramount to those OF
any Individual. The papers In refus.
ing to publish II doubtless had a rea-
son. They realize probably that Mr..
Royce Is postmaster at Phillipsburg,
that be is politician and Congress |
man Reeder's political manager, that
he Is supposed TO have considerable In.
fluence at home and In state affairs,
that to publish such statement even
II credited to the HERALD might
arouse his indignation and destroy
their "pull" with him, thus injurlnR
themselves politically perhaps, lin
short they had no reason for not pub
fishing 1t except that the publishers
were lacking little bit Of sand.
Suppose the HERALD had accused
John Lowe Of pifering a bail OF hay,
every paper In the county would have
taken the matter up and given IL a
column or more II they could fill so
much space with IL. But when man
who occupies prominent position po-
litically and socially,-especially pollt-
ically-a little matter like that Of OBJ
tanning public funds In excess Of the
amounts for which he had contracted
and bonded himself to perform certain
official services, 1t is thought, might
better be overlooked and hushed up.
Perhaps their position is best-for
Yet the fact remains,
Mr.. Royce received more than he was
entitled to and should be called upon
TO rectify his error just as certainly as
The one who received the hay which
did not belong to him.
The HERALD believes that when a
TACT Of this kind is known, II should
be published. 1t is always right To
publish the truth. Public funds are
a. A. = Y