The Great Worth County Newspaper Feud of 1913

The Worth County Times of November 6th, 1913 published a nasty attack editorial against the Worth Tribune rebutting allegations that the county was somehow misusing public funds and misleading the public about assessed valuations to drive up taxes.

Some things have not changed in over 100 years of politics. Certain Democrats think that Democratic politicians are all good and that Republicans are all bad and that your decision to vote Republican somehow reflects on your character. For certain Republicans, Republican politicians are all good and Democratic politicians all bad, and that your decision to vote Democratic somehow reflects on your character.

In November 1913, all of the Worth County officeholders except for the Surveyor were Democrats. Naturally, the folks at the Worth County Times, a staunch Democratic paper, thought things were being done by the book and everything was fine. The Worth Tribune, a Republican paper, naturally believed that the folks at the Courthouse were wasting everybody’s time and taxpayer dollars and that the actual figures were somehow different than what was being presented by the county.

In a piece entitled, “Juggling Figures – Making Them Lie” that made the front page of the Worth County Times, the editor of the Times wrote, in part:

It is said that “figures won’t lie.” If left within their legitimate sphere, they won’t lie. But when manipulated by scheming, designing, and dishonest men, they may be distorted until they represent the most colossal lies. To the point, in last week’s Worth Tribune, appeared another thrilling chapter of the serial story running in that paper for the past five months entitled, “The County Court.” The story has been used until it is badly frayed on the edges and is generally worn threadbare. For the benefit of the deceived public, we will once more lay bare the deception that is being practiced on them.

The piece goes on to compare and contrast the Tribune’s figures with the county records. 

On another interesting comparison today, while inflation has been a headache these past two years, it has been a constant throughout the last 140+ years. The article gives a comparison of the cost of doing business between 1882 and 1912 for the county. For instance, the care of the insane went from $362 to $2,742 from 1882 to 1912. Support for the poor went from $373 to $1,798. Roads went from $1.121 to $6,583. Today, in 2022, the cost is many times that figure. The cost for bridges went from $891 to $4,872. The cost for juries went from $653 to $1,317. The cost for schools went from $13,639 to $35,456. By way of comparison, a preliminary budget for the school for the current school year presented in April showed projected expenditures of $4,120,471.

Naturally, the folks at the Worth Tribune had a totally different story to tell, and as reported in the November 2022 Worth County Chronicle, the proprietor of the Worth Tribune moved to Grant City to compete directly with the Times and the Star. By 1922, the Worth County Tribune would acquire the Star, and by 1929, the Times and the Tribune would merge.