Never pick a fight...buys ink by the barrel;

[Mullins, Bill]

precursors?? Variants??

Ohio | Elyria | The Chronicle Telegram | 1977-06-22 p. G-8 col 3.
"'Perks' for Newsmen not Justified Either" by Aldo Beckman Chicago
Tribune

"Of course, it's wrong, because those perquisites have grown like Topsy,
partly because of a hesitation by elected officials to say "no" to
anyone who buys their ink by the barrel."


Ohio | Elyria | The Chronicle Telegram | 1979-07-24 p. B-16 col 5
"Carter team behind in last of the eighth" by Jon Margolis Chicago
Tribune
"But good politicians follow an old rule:  "Never pick a fight with the
people who buy their paper by the carload.  You lose every time." "


Via Google, I see the original quote attributed to Mark Twain, Oscar
Wilde, Pogo Possum, H. L. Mencken, Congressman Robert Levering, Will
Rogers, Winston Churchill, Bill Clinton