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

and when he loses that his useful
ness as an editor Is ended.
XVIII.
While there were two newspapers
operating in the county seat and
both of them struggling for existence
there was constant rivalry to Sc
cure what is known as the city bust
ness and the county business. A
favorite method was for the winning
party to give the business to the
newspaper that helped elect it. If
a publisher thinks there are some
unworthy candidates on both tickets
it becomes necessary for him to
choose between endorsing one ticket
as a whole regardless of the poor
timber in it.; or give offense by criti-
cising them, or remain silent and
say as little as possible. If one news
paper is conscientious and takes
such course and the other is I'M
scrupulous he will roast the silent
editor and represent him as being
spineless and lacking the courage to
take sides. Then when the election
is over the noisy one will get the
business on the theory that it had
the courage to flight the battles of
the party" no matter how corrupt
such action was. In one city cam
paign one of the editors formed a
combination to make himself mayor
and have enough of his chums on
the council to govern the rest. Some
of the men of the town who study
such matters closely charged that
he was forming ring for no good
purpose and prevented his nomina-
ton.
A sheriff has control of consider
able printing of legal notices and
there was rivalry between editors to
secure it. If the sheriff was disposed
to make any shady transactions and
either newspaper showed a DISPOSE
tion to expose him, he could give the
patronage of his office to the other
one and thus impose a fine on the
one that displeased him. If both
papers sought to please him he could
divide the patronage between them,
giving the most to the one that
found occasion to say the most COM
plimentary things about his admin
istration to show what a great Of
fetal he was. The one that was the
most INSCRIPTIONS would secure the
most business, and If one editor was
low enough to deceive the sheriff in
to believing that the other editor was
against him and was only waiting
for a chance to injure him politically,
he would by that means get all Of
the business. In such circumstances
the injured man might have pretty
good idea of what was going on,
but he would be powerless to get at
the exact facts and apply remedy.
The same condition applies to a
number of other county officers, and
If they are at all crafty and are
worked upon by crafty publisher
the publisher who does business in
the open and says what he thinks has
little chance to a share in the public
printing.
A city council was making consid-
cradle Improvements and some &C.
ment walks were being laid in what
was expected to be the business dis
trict. BY some blunder on the part
of the city engineer the walks on
Taylor street opposite the City Hall
were made wide at one end and mar
row at the other, (you can see it
yet, tho it has been spliced) and in
distance of four blocks the differ
ent sections of the walk were laid
on several different lines not con-
forming to the survey of that side
of the street. There was row over
it in council and committee was
appointed to investigate and make
a report on it. The city engineer
appeared before the council to
answer their questions and he made
some insolent remarks about the
council, and they took it all in
silence. When the committee had
finished its investigation, one Of the
editors, anxious for scoop, dropped
in and asked what their report would
be. He was shown their statements,
placing all the responsibility for the
losses on the city engineer. The
editor incorporated that in the re-
port, of the council meeting, but the
committee in the meantime changed
its mind and destroyed the report.
A strong combination was working
to protect the city engineer, and con-
siderable "inflooence" was brought
to bear, but all of the transactions
were conducted in such a quiet way
that the editor was unable to pro-
duce the evidence that the committee
had even passed upon the matter.
The committee threw him down"
and kept him "throwed." The re-
port he publisher was true, but he
ao..ldr,& 1,raua IL Tho city had To