Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1907-11-20
An Effort at Sarcasm.

The Index disEkes to engage in
newspaper controversy over the ex-
tremely bad railroad service that fsur-
6fths Of the people Of Barber county are
getting; this paper recognizes that such
an important matter, affecting as it does
the business Of the city and county more
than any other agency, calls for harmon
ious action among the newspapers instead
Of fusilade Of epithets, but the publish
ers Of this paper are only human and
when they are accused Of using their col
umns for the purpose Of injuring the city
and the community they propose to fight
back. The next friend to the next
friend Of the President who is also the
postmaster Of this town, ably assisted by
his second next friend, the seIf-appointed
guardian Of the colored race, threw me
harpoon into the Index again last week
making all manner Of wild accusations.
They start out by declaring that the bad
railroad service Of last week was the re-
suit Of an accident and followed that finn
sey excuse by suggesting that the Index
should take charge Of the railroads be-
tween New York and San francisco and
run them exactly right and on tune. The
one spasm is on a par with the other
neither amounts to more than infant sar-
casm and couldn't provoke smile above
the kindergarten. If the old scrap-iron
engine that went dead" on the track
here last week was mere accident, the
company was long time in discovering
it. 1t would require three figures to ex-
press the number Of times that the old
thing refused to go but still the company
persisted in imposing it on this part Of the
county. The fact is that the entire rur
from Atica to Belvidere has always been
an accident" Whenever the company
finds anything IN the scrap heap, with OF
without wheels, that it can't use any.
where else. it is cock sure to shove it of
on this branch. As to our running the
railroads between the coasts, we are mol
strong on light humor and we have nc
desire to meet siIliness with silliness. bu
we may say in all seriousness that one
does not need to be able to operate the
railroads Of the country to know that ou
present service is without justification. es.
pecially since the people here assisted tc
build the roads. We know that cite.
having competing lines have the SAINT;
Fe service quadrupled and we also know
that trains tie up here and are idle where
as they made runs before during the hour.
that they are now idle. We again re
peat that it is not our intention to mjur
the county, but to improve it. Whel
we say that our service is bad-wors
than it has ever been, we only express
fact that every man IN Barber county ha
repeatedly corroborated. even to tn
| Cresset force from the editor-in-chie
down to the devil" In pnvate conver
sation the facts that the Index has repeat
edly published, the Cresset people ADM
are true, yet IN their editorial expression
they take the opposite stand. If that pa
per could be induced to take stand or
the peoples side IN this matter. we ar
optimistic enough to believe that the com
bmed work Of both papers could induc'
the Santa Fe to give the town and thl
end Of the county good service. Will
the light holds out to burn" ETC., we ar
still hoping that our contemporary WI
get night.