Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1911-12-06
BRILLIANT JOURNALISM.

crouch. 1t has really become chronic
| Ever since he started his career O
reformation here the other news
papers of the city have endeavored t.
treat him fairly and meet him il
friendly, honest competition. But h,
won't have it.
| He has appeared to make a stud
led effort to involve this paper in {
brawl with him for a year or more
AS early as his issue of Feb. IA, 1911
he commenced to insult the persona
character and standing in the com
munity Of the editor of this paper
with statement absolutely false ir
every particular, and since then al
frequent intervals has allowed his
jealousy of the success of this paper
to get the best of him.
We have paid no attention to any
of these studied attempts to under.
mine the standing of this paper un.
til last week, and in his paper OF
yesterday he comes back at us with
his characteristic venom in a TRADE
as ludicrous as it is false. Practic-
ally every statement made in the
article is rank falsehood, and ev.
erybody who sees the two papers
knows that it is.
- The Public Opinion is trying to do
business on business principles. 1t
has built up the best English news
paper property in northeastern Iowa
in Decorah from nothing, because it
has been on the square, both with
itself and with the people. Because
it has stood for the common people;
because it gives the people what they
want. No business can be made a
success otherwise. We are trying to
attend to our own business, and let
other people conduct their affairs as
they choose, and we find plenty to do
to keep us busy. We have built this
business out of itself, and to the peo-
pie. who are the Judge, are We in
debted for our success.
II we have been hoodwinking the
people of Winneshiek county into
thinking we printed good paper
and what they wanted for the last
seventeen years, we are too good at
the game to be in the newspaper
business.
If we have been giving the paper
away free and sending it to dead
people we must have built the busi-
ness on wind. But that would be
our business if we wanted to.
If we had copied our news last
week or this week for our sixteen
page editions from the Journal We
certainly would have had several
blank pages, but that would be our
business If we did. The Republican
and the Decorah Posten copy items
nearly every issue from the Public
Opinion of the day before. print them
on one page, admit it, and We don't
care If they do. They are welcome
to them. Goodness knows newspaper
nowadays must hustle all the time
to get all the news.
Public Opinion never uses any
boiler plate, except for special edi-
tions, holiday seasons, and in extra
large issues. The Journal uses 1t in
nearly every issue. But what II We
did, that would be our business.
The joke he springs about the
Journal "bona fide" subscription list
is stale one. as we'll as his oft re-
peated insinuations about the Pub
lie Opinion subscription list. We
don't know about the Journal list
and don't care. We don't know
whether they still sell the paper fol
ten cents, or for a meal, or anything
they can get, as was done shor,
time ago. and we don't care. We
do make the statement that to oul
knowledge there is not single sub
scriber on the Public Opinion list
that is dead (as he intimates) OF
that Is not a bona fide subscriber
We don't know for certain about thu
relative size of the two subscription
lists, but we do know that unles!
the Journal has doubled its list with
in the year that we have many, man!
more subscribers than that paper, IL
fact, we think nearly twice as many
We accept the kindly courtesy Q
our brother editor and hand hin
many grateful compliments" as h
suggests. for being the source o
much of the success of Public Opin
ion.
Come off the pike, Biermann. Ge
down to the earth. Get 1t out o
your head that this isn't big world
big enough for all of us. You cal
make the Journal win here II yo'
will devote your time and ability t
doing that one thing, instead Of try
ing to run the other papers too. TAX
tumble to yourself. and We'll a.
say a good word for you. We a.
want to see you succeed, for whe
. your paper is successful. II we ar
not In the same condition 1t Is ou
eovvt