Jasper County Democrat, Volume 4, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 February 1902 — OUR CLAIM WAS CORRECT. [ARTICLE]

OUR CLAIM WAS CORRECT.

The Democrat Wine Case Against the Commissioners In the White Circuit Court. The case of F. E. Babcock vs. the board of Commissioners of Jasper county was tried in the White Circuit Court last Tuesday and resulted in favor or the plaintiff, who fully established the validity of the claim upon which he sued and, was given a judgement by Judge Palmer for the full amount of the same. It will be remembered that in August last The Democrat published the notice of Auditor’s annual estsmates for 1902. The same publication was made in the Journal, the law requiring that it be made in both a democratic and a republican paper. The notice at the rates fixed by law for publications of this character, amounted to a little over $12.00; we filed a claim—as did Mr. Clark of the Journal—for an even sl2. The Cow" Puncher —who did not get to publish the notice — went before the commissioners and asked them to cut our claim. On bis say so alone, without attempting to secure any other opinion, the claim was cut to $9. Of course it would not do to cut our claim to $9 and allow Clark’s for sl2 for the same identical publication, but Clark—well they could make it up to him some other time. Accordingly his claim was also cut to a like amount. We knew that our claim was a just one—as every other claim for county work ever presented by us has been—and becoming tired of the petty meanness in continued cutting of the few bills for public printing which fell our way, and the howls raised that we were a rascal and presented false and "padded” claims against the county, determined to take the matter into court and establish the fact that our claims were just. Of course “Honest Abe” and his cohorts never thought for a moment we would go into court for $3, but would lie under the imputation that we were a thief and a rascal. But a principle was involved which was worth many times $3 to us, and we were compelled to sue the county to get our rights. This action, of course, had to be begun in Jasper county, but our experience with Jasper county “justice” had not been such as to cause us to have a very exalted opinion of this slippery commodity, so we took a change of venue from the court and the county, and the case was sent to White. Here the commissioners retained E. B. Sellers to assist C. W. Hanley in attempting to beat us out of our money. Evidently Mr. Sellers made a few inquiries among printers about the claim and dropped the case in disgnst, as he did not appear in it a trial. He presumably learned that it was simply a case of cussedness on the part of the commissioners and would not be a party to any such disreputable methods of defrauding a printer of his honest dues. E. I*. Honan of this city, and C. C. Spencer of Monticello, represented the plaintiff. The case was tried before Judge Palmer, a republican, without a jury. The plaintiff’s witnesses were Victor L. Ricketts, publisher of the Delphi Journal, republican; Ed F. Newton, publisher of the Monticello Herald, republican; J. B. Van Buskirk, ex-publisher of the Monticello Herald, republican, and at present deputy postmaster, and A. B. Clark, one of the publishers of the White County Democrat, all practical printers of many years experience. The defendant’s witnesses were Leslie Clark, Geo. E. Marshall, and the Cow-Puncher of the Barnacle. Following are the figures of each of the witnesses of the number of “squares” and “eras” in the notice published by us: I'LAINTIKF'H witnkkhkh. Victor L. Ricketts, 18 years experience as a printer ami publisher- 12 rquarca and 25 emi. Ed F. Newton, 10 years experience—l 2 squares and 21 ems. J. B. Van Buskirk, 25 years experience—--12 squares and 6 ems A. li. Clark, 37 years experience—l 2 squares 21 ems. * DxrxN pant’s WITH BBS km. Leslie Clark—ll squares and 71 ems. O. K. Marshall (not a practical printer)—ll squares and 218 ems.

"The Cow-Puncher" (57 years a “printer,** but who knows less now than when he be— Ban)—11 squares aud 6 em*. After introduction of the evidence of the above printers and would-be printers the case was submitted to the court, and we wish every fair-minded man in Jasper county could have heard the lecture he gave in rendering his decision. He said that when the case was begun he had expected to hear of a whole lot of "padding,” fraud, etc., in the notice; that he had heard of much such talk through the papers about printers resorting to these methods; but on the contrary every-one, friends and enemies, had sworn that there were over eleven squares, and as the statute regulating the price of such printing (SI.OO per square for first insertion and 50 cents for each subsequent insertion) said nothing about fractional squares, and he did not believe it contemplated any fraction of a square, he would render judgment for plaintiff in the sum of sl2, the full amount claimed. He also intimated very broadly that it was an outrage that a man was compelled to go into court to get his does from a county for so small an amount as was involved and on so plain a proposition as shown in this case. We felt very much like adding that it was also a disgrace that a man was compelled to go to another county to secure justice. “The Mills of God grind slowly But they grind exceedingly fine.”