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An Editor's Reasons

An Editor's Reasons image
Parent Issue
Day
25
Month
November
Year
1880
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

The pioneer editor of Michigan wer! truthful lot of nion, as can be proven by a incident called to mind tlie other day i uODiiection with the name of Mark Wi liams, who gave tip his lifefbr a better on not long ago. Mark had a paper n Clin ton county. It was a wee lítele sheet wit a hundred eulworibere, printed the handies way, and the office benig so poorly sup plied that several different fonts had to b used to aet up the reading matter. On dny the paper carne out with a feart'ul attac on a state official at Lnnsing. He wa rulled a robber, liar, thief, and variou other epithets, and no pains were sparee to skin hun and then haDg his hide ou th fence. About a week from that date, Mark sa smoking beech leaves and tobáceo iuixe( in equal parts, when a strauger entereu He was a broad-shouldered nian, with aw tul li-is and a wicked oye, and he got down to business by asking : "Are you Mark Williams?" "Well, y e-s, I suppose so," was tli hesitatÍDg reply. nfl you run tbia papel ?" "Well, kiuder run it, I suppose." "Yery well, I am Mr. , of LíB sing, the man whom you abused sosavagely in your columns last week. "No!" "Yes, I am, and propose to give you th worst mauling a western slandcrer ever re ceivod !" "Say, are you really Mr. ?" askec Mark. "I am, of' oourse I am, and whüe I am taking off niy coat you may give me you reasons tur publishing that slanderous ar ticle." "I had two reasons, sir." "What aro they?" '"Well, in the firt place, I thought'you were a little ruut of a nian, about four fee high and about dead with the asthma, am in the next place I thougbt the roads were so infernal bad that you could never ge over han!" The strmigbfForward eonfession shoulc have saved Mark, but it didn't. The ña tor made a dive for him, look out a hand ful of hair, and when thc editor jumpoc through thc only window in liis office ho va lullowed and chasod into an oíd slanh ing, whcic he liad to remaní liiiMen un t i midniglit. That incident shaped his future poliey, as lie one day explained: "The üditorinl pen is :m all fired big lever, but I have tunda ii a rulu for thc lal tliiity ycai -i not to abu.-o a man miles I think I can iick him in a rough and tumbía fiulit .¦uiiiul an editorial room.

Article

Subjects
Ann Arbor Courier
Old News