The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1917-08-20

| XVI.
| Automobiles were coming into use
and a Blackfoot publisher put on a
popular lady contest, agreeing to
give an automobile to the winner,
the conditions being that the one Sc
curing the most subscriptions to the
newspaper should win. That was
before the days of Henry Ford and
| his tin lizzy, and car cost from
81, 900 up. It was unusual to give
away so large and valuable a prize,
and people who studied those things
said it could not be done by a news
paper doing so small business. One
Merchant said it could be done the
way this publisher was going to do
it, but he would never reveal what
the plan or trick was. 1t was said
that he and the publisher were about
equally tricky, and those who studied
the matter waited to see how it
ended. The contest was considered
! close. On the last day it was esti-
mated that there was not more than
$500 difference between the leaders.
One of them who had been on init
mate terms with the publisher walk
ed in at the last moment and tend
cred a check for $3.50 on subscrip-
ton. 1t was accepted, and after the
count she was declared the winner.
The contest manager was receiving
all moneys and keeping 40 per cent
for his share. When he turned the
money over to the publisher he held
out 40 per cent or $14O of that
check, but the publisher objected and
said to just let the check go as it
was to be returned to the one who
wrote it. The manager refused to
do this and the publisher accused
him of having watered the votes
anyway, and demanded the return of
the check to him without holding out
the commission. The manager stat
ed that it was true he had watered
the voting for while to make it ap-
pear that all the girls were running
about even, but that In the end he
had watered each one in an equal
amount with all the others so that
each one now stood in her true rela-
ton to all the others according to
the money she had turned in. He
called that square dealing in the end
altho it was a deception to keep the
girls working when they were &C
tually far behind. The publisher
showed fight and the manager drew
very large gun on him and backed
out of the door, taking all commits
sions with him. The automobile
never came to town and the winner
when asked about it said she had
sold it. The merchant who had
said it could be done if done that
way" was still smiling, but saying
nothing. The day after the contest
closed, the editor was drowning his
$14O worth of chargin with booze.
XVII.
A new project in the county was
being settled up and in the process.
of obtaining title to the lands, each
settler had to have his land notice
published in some newspaper OF gen.
eral circulation nearest to the land.
A paper of general circulation &C
cording to the definition recognized
by the government is one that pub
fishes 275 copies or more at each
regular issue, and there was an
opening for such a newspaper in one
of the settlements on the tract.
Somebody can generally found"
newspaper in such settlement, and
when the cream of the land notices
is gone he can use his own pleasure
about continuing the publication, but
a town or village out west is gen.
orally ambitious to become county
seat or a metropolis and the citizens
of the place usually sustain it. When
the land notices cease to nourish it
the publisher usually puts 1t up to
the real estate man or the banker
or the leading store or all of them
to keep the paper going, and who
ever needs it most to carry out their
designs in the development of the
place puts up the money. The pub
lie can generally tell who is backing
it by observing who has the largest
regular advertisement in the paper,
and noticing also whose business in
terests are set forth oftenest in the
reading matter. The interests DOM
mating the paper in such instances
are not necessarily corrupt nor adj
verse to the peoples interest, but
a publisher operating under such
conditions sometimes developes into
a loafer. He knows the community
will give him living, and the more
he hustles the less they will need to
give him. The less he hustles the
more they have to put up to keep
him going. It is a pretty good man
who can stay around and run a
paper under those conditions and
maintain his ambition and integrity.
If he gets to relying on their help
he loses his spirit Of independence