 In April 1916, Fisher returned along with partner J. E. Shelton, forming The Guard Printing Company. Fisher continued to publish the Capital Journal in Salem until 1921. In 1924, after Fisher died, Paul R. Kelty purchased the Guard and published it with his son, before selling it in 1927. The paper was purchased in 1927 by publisher Alton F. Baker, Sr., whose father had published The Plain Dealer. Three years later, Baker bought the Morning Register and merged the two papers. Reporter William Tugman was recruited from The Plain Dealer to be the managing editor of the new paper.
