Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-05-15

stock and business to eastern parties
| who were unused to business ways in
the west and soon the business went
| into a receivers hands.
Some time after, the office was
| bought from the receiver by the re-
cent former owner and brother, who
profiting by experiences OF the past.
had the business conducted in much
more conservative manner. This firm
assumed liabilities of about twenty
| five thousand dollars but had no COM
petition for several years and reduced
its Indebtedness materially and was
sailing along in beautiful shape, when
Thomas Diller. for years school
teacher but who for some years had
owned an interest in the weekly
opposition to the Daily Gazette which
had had the field alone most of the
time for a dozen years.
Mr. OILERS career as an editor and
publisher has been very spectacular
one. Ambitious politically, he had al
ready secured the Sterling postmaster.
ship two years before he started his
daily. Although doing well with his
weekly paper, which, together with the
postoffice, made nice, fat thing for
him, he wished for wider influence than
his weekly edition gave him, and is
said to have been spurred into starting
daily also by advice from another
man from the south his assistant, the
late J. +. Barrett Anyway, here were
now two daily papers, each of which
desired to be the cock of the walk, and
then nice newspaper war commenced
which ragged more or less fiercely for
two years, the Gazette remaining on
the defensive for long time until
forced to take the aggressive. One re-
suit of this competition is that the
people of this locality have had the
best papers in the United States pub
lished in a town the size of Sterling
Money has been spent like water on
both papers, the pace here being fiercer
than in many towns three times the
size The public has no idea what it |
costs in money and nerve force to keep
up such game. While there was more |
or less animOsity in times past, during
the last few years the competition has
been of a more friendly character, but
the financial expense has not been re-
duced
The bankruptcy proceedings entered
into by the editor of the Standard
shows that he has thrown up the
sponge. he having apparently burned II
up in the business an Indebtedness of
over 100000, in addition to over $685.
300 postoffice salary.
During part of this time another II
gentleman is said to have used UP II
$4,000 running a weekly paper in II
Sterling, and he sold out to a man who
discontinued the paper. And in town
not a hundred miles away is a paper
which has been under many 1differerft
ownerships in the past dozen years,
each set of owners dropping from two
to five thousand dollars, it is said.
Also, during this time, the two pro |!
prietors of the Gazette of 20 years age
have retired from the paper, which is
now published by a stock company Il
But the business management is the II
same as when the 1000 Indebtedness
was tackled 20 years ago, and maybe
the memory of the early load helped tC |
keep the business in more conservative II
than might otherwise have II
been the case. However, some people Il
with the Gazette during the L
past 25 years have also seen some
strenuous times. One former propri /
etor had his household effects sold on
The streets of Sterling to satisfy debt,
two other former part proprietors each
found it convenient to dispose of
farm, and one at present con
nected with the paper says he has not
eaten pie for the past is years.
No fascination equals that of clear
Drained. tender-hearted, lovable wo
man. Just as there is no picture like
a beautiful girl. HOLSTERS Rocky |
Moutain Tea makes lovable women
beautiful girls. 35 cents. T. H. Tho
l. -