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

[Mullins, Bill]

 From Hein Online
66 St. John's L. Rev. 636 (1992-1993)
Forgive Us Our Press Passes; Sherman, Michael T.

"One sage military man once said, "Don't argue with the man who buys ink
by the barrel, you can't win."10

  10 Steve Neal, Rumsfield's [sic] Not So Secret Weapon, Chi. Trib.,
Aug. 15, 1985, at C23
     (quoting Retired Colonel William I. Greener, USAF, Assistant
Secretary of Defense and
     Pentagon spokesperson). The credit for this phrase is subject to
question. See Lucy Killea,
     Sometimes Police Need Protection, Too, L.A. TIMEs, Aug. 12, 1990,
at B2 (crediting Mark
     Twain); Taxing the Cable TV Companies, L.A. TIams, June 3, 1990, at
B12 (crediting Will
     Rogers). Although its origin may be in doubt, the phrase clearly
refers to newspaper editors.
     John Morrissey, R & T Shareholder Sues Over $800,000 Donation, Bus.
DATELINE, Feb. 24,
     1986, sec. 1 at 1.