Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1897-11-24
A REMARKABLE DUEL !!
Two Prescott Editors Meet In An Affidavit Contest in West PfeeOtt Before Justics
 Campbell.
The Public Can Form It's Own Con- elusiOus as to Which is the
 Victorious Party.


 the three propositions made by the JoURNAL-MINER to our contempory asking for its proof of positive as- sertions made, in regard to those Capitol addition lots challenge for a duel was made, The challenge was very promptly accepted by the editor of he JOURNAL MINER who, although being the challenged party, per. mitted the challenger to select the weapons, load them and designate the time and place Of meeting. The weapons selected were aliidavits. both of them being prepared by the editor of our contemporary. They are published below, aud the public can see that in the one prepared for the editor of this paper nothing was omitted, while in the one pre- pared for himself. the editor of our contemporary states nothing defn- ite. Here is what MT. Rogers pre- pared for himself and swore to:
 The undersigned, being duly sworn, states that on or about the 10th day of August last, a prominent and wealthy citizen of Pbenix came into the Courier office; had private talk with the undersigned; said he noted the Courier's opposition to the Capitol bill; that Mir men tioning the name of a we'll known, large owner of lots in the Capitol addition had sent him to offer the undersigned lot, and that he the speakerl hoped the Courier would modify it's utterances on the Capitol bill. When the undersigned refused the lot, he expressed much surprise, stating that other newspaper men had not done so; prior to this a similar offer was made to the under signed, in a general way, by another we'll known Phenician, but the name of the proposed donor Is got given, as the undersigned indignantly re- fused to consider the proposition.
 E. A. ROGERS.
 The one prepared for the editor of this paper, and as sworn to, ap. pears below, the parts enclosed in brackets being inserted by the editor himself before signing the docu- ment:
 Personally appeared J. C. Mar tin, who, being duly sworn, accord ing 10 law, deposes and says: That no person or persons have offered to donate, give, grant or convey any lot or lots in or near Phenix, to your atfiant upon consideration of his not opposing the proposed bond issue of $l00DO0 for the purpose of erecting capitol building in PheniS; that ao person or persons related to your affiant by ties of blood or connected by marriage, have been given or granted any lot or lots in or near Phenix, to my knowledge by any parties interested in the sub division of lots in or near Phenix; that your afliant has neither directly or indirectly been promised any gift or reward or any concession in the way of business or advertising by any person or persons who are con- nected in any way. or Tn any way interested in the sale of lots in and around Phenix for the purpose of influencing saId affiant on the ques- ton of capitol construction that no person or persons who are pa- irons of or advertisers in the JoUR- NAL-MTNER have approached your affiant on the subject of said capitol bond issue for the purpose of in- huencing his attitude thereon, by making any direct or indirect prom ise of any gift OF concession to him and that no person to whom your affiant is indebted has done so.
 "J. c. MARTIN"
 It does not require any very great amount of intelligence for the reader to see the 22-caliber charge the editor of our contemporary pre- pared for himself and tho 45-90 loaded for the editor of thls paper, and yet it will be seen that the parenthetical changes made do not in the least weaken the force of the affidavit as originally prepared, but strengthens them.
 In China, it is said. that when a man commits a capital crime all of his relatives are beheaded. Tho frat parenthetical saving clause inserted in the above was to save the editor from being decapitated for possi- ble crime of some remote relative As his relatives, both by blood and marriage, are quite numerous, and as they have not disclosed their business affairs to him, he, of course, could not swear to a positive cer- tainty that none of them owned any Phenix lots, hence insisted on limit ing this very sweeping assertion to bis own knowledge.
 The JOURNAL MINER has some good patrons in Phenix. They may own lots there and may be interested in the sale of lots, hence parenthesis number 7.
 The third parenthesis seems to be self explanatory, and instead Of weakening the original affidavit, it makes it more pointed on the ques- ton at issue, and avoids any possi- ble misconstruction which might have been originally placed on it.
 It will also be noticed that the affidavit sworn to by the editor of the Courier is vague and indefinite as to the real question at issue, "THAT NO OFFER OF LOTS HAS BEEN MADE BY ANY CAPITOL ADDITION LOT OWNER OR BY ANY AUTHORIZED REPRE- SENTATIVE oF sUcH," and this counter affidavit proposition made was only intended to wiggle out of the three propositions submitted by the JoUR- NAL-MINER.
 The veriest tramp on the street could make such an offer, or the richest man in Phenix could say that some one else, even mentioning his name, would do so and so, and yet, in neither case, would they amount to anything.
 Cur contemporary has been par fioularIv ,,arsistaut i'm fla insinua-