Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1878-10-31
ANOTHER OLD FRIEND.
TREY WHO KNOW PAGE BEST,
KNOW HIM WORST!
A BAPTIST MINISTER on PAGE !

Editors Tra,.scrtpt:
Did not deem it due to myself and
to the cause If truth and right, I would
not ask you to give the following room
in your paper. But, rs it Is, will you al.
low me the privilege Of talking a few
minutes with your many readers. I
think Mower county and the tenth dis
'rict ought to have new Page. The old
one Is too much soiIed ard too musty To
be longer preserved, but ought to be
thrown out with the rest of the rubbish
where It would coutaminate no one. The
Bible declares 1.-THE memory Of the wick.
ed shall rot" 1t Is by no means pleas
ant to me-indeed it harrows up the i'll
feelings Of my nature, to recall and r..
cord acts of meanress and supreme sell
t1shness, especially so when done by one
high in position, and who ought to be too
honorable and dignifled to stoop to acts
of injustice and dishonesty. 1t really
seems degrading to our common human
ity. II VIC cannot trust those who sit in
the seat of justice and hold the balance
in their hands, then may we exclaim,
"rruth is fallen in the street, and equity
cannot enter" Some Of your readers,
and especially those who are the firm
friends of Page, (for the worst of men
have their trien0s; even Satan has his al
lies,) may be ready to ask, why, if 80 un-
pleasant to yourself, do you mention this
matter at all? Why call up the name of
a man who has rendered himself so con-
temptible in your esteem. l have al
ready given you the main motive: justice
to myself and family, and the cause Of
truth. Page has sought to injure my re.
putaticn for honesty by charging me
and mine with taking from him things
to which we had no right. He had the
brazen audacity and bullying impotence
to tell me we were the greatest thieves he
ever saw, and If he had not watched us
We would have torn down half his house
and taken it away. Told my son also, lie
had a great mind to slap HIM IN the
mouth, and simply because we claimed
our own, and did not quail before his
furious rage. Oh, dignity, whittier hast
thou fled. when tie presiding judge Of
the tenth district, 50 far torgets his place
and position as 10 stOOp tO use the langu.
age and do the deeds Of the veriest rough
that wallow in the gutter or that stag
ers along the street,! Would l vote for
such a man TO sit in the Senate Of the
nation? Yes, when reason has left the
throne, not before.
I wish to give plain, simple state
ment OF facts, and then leave it with your
readers to decide US to who is the thief,
and with whom is the right. Page may
say it is base lie, just as he did at LIE
Roy of what Mrs Elder wrote. But his
saying 50 vii! not make it so. But
neglected to slate another reason for my
giving the statements l am about to make
1t is this: wrote to Sherman Page that,
If he persisted In the course he was pur-
suing, would most surely sue him or
publish to the world statement OF his
dolngs. The latter l intend to do.
ought to say right here, perhaps, that one
year ago last July, came from Ricevil!e,
Iowa, to Austin, Mimi, very much out
of health; and by the kind invitation of
our daughter and husband, we made
their house our home. Early last spring
when MIR. Elder left Austin for Moor.
he ad, he said to me: there are five acres
OF corn ground, and two and half acres
OF garden which you can use as you
wis. l accepted his offer. My son
hauled between 40 and so loads of ma
nure upon the ground before ploughing.
The garden was also duly cared tor. and
good crops were raised. AT the time
Page bought, he told Mr.. F. A. Elder
that he did not want the wheat but would
like the corn. Mr.. Elder says Page of
tered TO give me fifty dollars $500 for the
field corn. We both considered that a
liberal offer. But, as he maze it himself,
and l, not knowing anything how corn
sold by the acre in Minnesota, supp 'sed
1T al right 1t was Sd entered in the ar
ticles OF agreement, and, seeiEg it there,
/ r. n ~ o1,
few days before leaving, I mentioned il
to Page, and to my utter surprise, he de
clarcd that he had never made any offer.
I immediately wrote Mr. El:er VIVA,
Page had said about buying the coru.
He replied if P"ge denied that, he said
| that which he knew to be black false
hood. Page also agreed that l should
| have the disposal OF all the garden. II
he wanted anything from it he would pay
me whatever others were paying. And
when l was about leaving, I asked HIM #
lie did not wish to buy the potatoes on
the east and north sides of the corn. He
repl cd that it lie should conclude to
take them, he Scould get them of Mr..
Pierce with whom I left the disposal Of
all that part Of the garden lying east of
line passing through the straw berry bed.
Az "'oA~ AuSoS 1 ACl aye . Std(ClOcuI
60 for truth. I made so1Ae inquiry for
purchaser of corn; but as had only a
few days to wind up matters, found no
one ready to buy anything and pay cash
down. Page, knowing his vantage
ground, finally offered me fifty dollars
TOR the field corn, sweet corn, ~
acrc) and the COW. When he paid me,
he enumerated the three articles above,
nothing else. You can easily imagine
my utter surprise therefore, when, short.
ly after our arrival here, Mr.. Pierce wrote
lie as follows: page has forbidden my
taking anything except the beans, and y
few rows OF pop corn. Says If take any.
thing else, he (Page) will stop me alto
gether, unless ask his permission" So
Mr.. Pierce, to avoid trouble, would 60 t.,
Page for leave.
Now, how in the name of common
sense Page could act the part he has, is
to me an unsolved riddle. Did he think
that l, 400 miles away, would not dare to
publish bis doingsl But fear Sherman
Page no more than I would any other
man he may wrap himself IN his
courtly attire, but it is hard to disguise
ones true character. 1t is SAID, "Mur-
der will out" ''There is no high road to
crime"