The age-herald., 1901-10-02
MIR. EBoRN's STATEMENT.
Explains Difficulty He Had On Monday
 Afternoon.

To the Editor of the Age-Herald.
 The difficulty referred to in your paper with the party was not as represented over "debt to him" About year ago this man ordered, without my knowledge or consent, a barrel of egg plants sent to me from Florida. This man and MT. Kennedy were in charge of my truck farm, and MT. Kennedy attended to all of the selling of the produce on the place. and was expected to sell them. Being perishable freight, although being shipped without order or notice, paid the freight and turned the plants over to MT. Ken nedy to sell. and after deducting the charges for selling, of which I did not receive a cent. the balance barely covered the freight charges
 Whether the plants brought their value or not, 1 did not have personal charge of the selling, and did not feel disposed to loose in addition to use of wagon and team, the freight money had paid out.
 The account of sales rendered me was about s1.65 and after taking off the charges for selling, left scarcely enough to cover the freight money I had paid, there being little or no demand for them at that time. As the plants were shipped directly to me by MT. Harmon, I was directly responsible to him. and not the man who provoAed the dimculty, and I had no right. if there had been any bal ance, to pay any one but Mn Harmon direct. The man called at our office with a bill for the above mentioned barrel of plants, and although he must have known from MT. Kennedy what the plants really sold for, (which, according to the &C., count rendered me at the time, was about $l. 65), yet he brings this other mans bill without an order of instructions from the owner to settle with him, and has bill made out of about g, which, with the freight paid, would amount to $S, or more, or over four times the gross amount re- ported by the salesman.
 Although, according to the account of sales rendered me, after deducting the freight there was practically nothing left yet told the man if he would get MT Kennedy to render a statement of what he received and delivered to me, which he could easily do. as everything sold was kept on the books that I would loose the freight I had paid out, and send the Florida man the gross amount turned over to me.
 This, however. did not satisfy this self appointed collector, and as he tried to be grossly insulting in the face of my offer to actually stand the freight loss on something I had not ordered from him or any one else, it is not surprising that any convenient, festive article, should be used to teach him the error of his way
 The blow which came near costing me my life was given after I thought the trouble over, and when was defenseless and expected the man (who was on the street when he threw the missle) would be taken charge of before further trouble occurred.
 Those who know me best are aware that 1 am not street brawier, and the cause must have been an aggrevating one, as those who saw the mans actions hanging around our office and his con duct after entering 1t, will testify.
 We regret that the Age-Herald should headline, Come to blows about a debt" without first finding out the facts. I de- sire to state that I threw no missile at an unsuspecting antagonist, after the trouble was drought to be over, and that every blow I gave was at arms length. face to face and fully warranted and ex- pected.
 Regretting the necessity for the above statement of authentic facts, I am, re- spectfully, B. F. EBORN.
 Birmingham, October l. s+s