Jasper County Democrat, Volume 6, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 April 1903 — ABE WON'T BE GOOD. [ARTICLE]

ABE WON'T BE GOOD.

Hl* Latest Coup d’etat la To Have The Demoorat Mart Arreetecj far Libel. Onoe more The Democrat editor is obarged with criminal libel, this time the complaining party being Abraham Halleck, president of the board of oounty commissioners, who have made it a practice to violate what they know to be all rules of eqity and keep what public printing they can from The Democrat and cut about every bill for printing that they could not keep from us, forcing us to go into a court of justice to collectjour pay. That our bills have been reasonable and proper is evidenced by the fact that every time we have gone into court to collect them, unbiased judges and juries have given us judgments for every cent of our claims. No better evidence of the correctness of our bills and the unwarranted action of the commissioners could be asked than this. Mr. Halleck has evidently been the prime mover in this vioious and uncalled for state of affairs, and it has extended over practioally the whole time The Democrat has been published by us. In some cases, rather than have a lawsuit with the county, we have accepted the out, but finally, to protect our own standing and prevent the impression going over the county that we were dishonest and our claims were false, padded and unjust, we were compelled to appeal to the courts, at great expense and trouble. In each and every case the justice of our claims was proved beyond the shadow of a doubt. Beaten on every hand and finding, no doubt, that public sentiment Was at last being thoroughly aroused against the further useless expenditure of public money in this manner, Mr. Halleck files an action against us lor criminal libel—a state case—and the matter will come up for hearing in due time.* 8 The particular publication which is complained of as being libelous is an article which appeared in The Democrat last week regarding there being several judgments hanging over Mr. Halleck, that he was financially irresponsible, and the intimation, so the complaint indicates, that he was the whole thing on the board of commissioners. We hold that if any statement in said publication was or is untrue, that it was not of a libelous nature, which, of course, remains for the courts to decide. The Democrat man gave bond for his appearance in the sam of SIOO, and the usual motions, etc., will come op later. In the meantime The Democrat is being issued as usual from its old stand at the same old price of SI.OO per year, postpaid, and our ability and facilities fordoing job printing at reasonable prices has not diminished in the slightest.