The “Amador Dispatch” newspaper from Jackson, California—small mining town in the northern part of the state—has two related items in its April 8, 1882 issue. The first is a report from the neighboring “Plymouth Reporter” newspaper concerning a pen knife which was found noting the owner could have it by proving ownership & by paying for the newspaper notice. The other is an editorial note from the competing “Dispatch” which includes: “…why in thunder don’t you give it up to her without putting her to the trouble of proving property, and charging her for such a small notice. We hate to see such petty avariciousness on the part of a high toned editor.”
I guess competing newspapers were not always friendly towards one another.