The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1880-10-16
A QUESTION FOR mILLIGAN TO ANSWER

viii Mr.. Mlllgan the Democratic candi
date for sheriff for La Sale county, condc
scend to tell the people of the county what he
h did with the witness fees he collected while
sheriff of La Sale county?
In certain cause which was tried IN the
Circuit Court, while he was sheriff, a large
number of our citizens were summoned as wit
nesses, and Milligan collected the costs in the
case and never made n return Of the witness
! fees, and SAID witnesses have never received
said fees, notwithstanding they have made re
peated application for the same The Circuit
! Clerk informs the witnesses that Miligan col
lected the fees but has tailed to account for
them.
In order to refresh Mr. Milllgans memory
we will inform him that the case in question
was Strawn, Moore q Cook rs. Cogswell bet.
ter known as the old Mill suit. Millgan col.
lected the costs and only one witness has ever
received his fees, and he dunned Mr.. Milligan
until he paid him, remarklng, that inasmuch
as he the witness) was poor man he would
pay him"
win the popular Democratic candidate for
sheriff deny these facts ,-.NarSeiA6s Register.
The Ottawa RepuJHcaa, in copying the
above sneaking charge against Mr. NIilligan,
remarks that 1.-The charge Is avery serious one,
but so specific that, If false, 1t can be retuted
with little trouble" Exactly; and as the
charge is false, we shall proceed to take that
little trouble" to "refute" It. 1t is law
that in all civil cases like that above alluded
to, the witnesses before they are entitled to any
fees must formally give their names to the
clerk and claim them. In the case OF Strawn
&c, cS. Cogswell there were numerous witness
es, some of whom did claim their fees and 9TH
ers neglected to do So When the costs were
settled by Mr. Strawn, against whom the case
went, he presented to Sheriff Milligan receipts
from, as he supposed, all the witnesses who
had claimed and were therefore entitled to fees
II there were any such with whom Mr.. Strawn
failed to settle this is the first intmation Mr.
Mllligan ever had OF it. If the gentleman
who gave the Harseilies Register the above In
formation was one OF the witnesses, or knows
of one, who claimed his fees in the case named
and never got his pay, Mr.. Milligan Will be
greatly obliged If he will have the manliness
to say so over his own signature, and not ma
lign him in this undetermined and sneaking
way. OF course Mr. Milligan, like every man
who has ever been sheriff of La Sale county
knows, that there is hardly court held at the
end of which number of witnesses do not
come in demanding fees which they neglected
to claim as the law requires, and as the sheriff
has no money or authority to pay them they go
away curslng him for their own negligence or
stupidity Very likely the man who makes
the above complaint against Mr.. Miligan is
one of that class of fools.
p. S.-SinCe the above was written the Mar.
settles Register of this week comes to hand re.
peatlng the story about Mr.. Mlligan collect.
ing and Withholding the witness fees IN the
case, and giving names off
and amounts due such witnesses. Mr.. Mill.
gan beng out of town, and not having time
to look the matter up ourselves, we sent an at
torney to examine the records IN the case IN
the circuit clerks office, and he reports to us
that he found that judgment had been entered
against the parties for $49633 costs; also that
Mr.. Milligan had collected those costs and
paid the money over to the attorneys in the
case the arrangement being that the attorneys
should pay the witnesses. So of course Mr.
Milligan is all right on the record and the
whole thing is evidently trumped up, dirty
talsehood. We have not time, however, TO go
into the business in full tonight but promise to
look it up thoroughly in our next, and know
ing now that there is not ascntilla of proof in
he case to damage Mr.. Mllligan, promise to
make 1t hot for the authors of this malicious
SANDER before we get through with it.
a new witness appears on the stand to prove
iarteld's corrupt connection with the DeGol-
yer case IN the person OF Mr.. Paige, a Wash
ngtOn city attorney and member of the firm