Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1902-05-15
STURGEON LEADER MAN.
Asked to Give a Receipt for
Fifteen Cents "in Full"

your way to unkindly speak of and
injurc me personally, but also to
wilfully misstate facts. | refer to
the following item:
I'VE are delighted to know that
Nivion was defeated. He is an old
hog. He actually saved Il six mile
ride i'll Sturgeon by using n telc
| phone line and then actually re-
fused to pay fifteen cents for the
message. lie said he had been
sponging on the Mexico Telephone
Co. for ten years-talked when he
wanted to and never paid cent.
Now wouldn't such Il man make Il
great county of1iccrY'
AS to the above | desire to say
that the circumstances to which
you refer rs to my using II tclc-
phone at your town are us follows:
y. ii. Whitney, secretary of the
Audrain County Democratic Com
mittee, on Monday, April t, re-
Quested me to deliver the poll books
and ballots for Sailing township to
the judges in the various school
districts. This did, often riding
over territory | had been over be-
fore to do Sc, and leaving some un-
canvassed. The speaking closed
at Pisgah Friday night. Saturday
morning | rode into Sturgeon, and
left my horse at the livery barn.
| met r. l.. Barnes, member of
the committee from Sailing, and told
him | had the poll books for CIV.
Battcrton, u judge in Canada dis
trlct, and wanted to leave them
some place III Sturgeon for him.
Mr.. Barnes went with me to j G.
Owlngs' restaurant and we left
them there. Mr.. Ownings rang
up Mr.. Battcrton aud told
him | had left the books and bal
lots there for him and to call and
get them. | then thanked Mr.
Owings for his courtesy and left
with Mr.. Barnes. Nothing was
said about charging for the mes
sage nor did | think of such thing
| left on the 6 n. m. train, re-
turning Sunday night to Sturgeon.
Monday morning | met Mr.. Owings.
He stated that you, Mr.. Editor,
had gotten after him for not charg-
ing me for the using of the telc-
phone. told him ! had not cX-
pectcd to be charged fot it for such
was not the custom in Mexico, but
if anything was due, | would pay
it, and ran my hand in my pocket
to get the money. He said not to
pay it,that he would see you in re
gard to it, that the phone had only
recently been placed III his house,
and he didn't know what was Gus
tomary. | left telling him ifany-
thing was charged, would pay
it. | thought no more of the
matter until my attention was
called to the insulting and mali
clOus article III your paper. had
no personal interest whatever in
the message and would have glad
" paid it had known You de-
mandcd it. | telcphoncd to Mr..
Owlngs Saturday, May 3. He
said | didn't refuse to pay for
the message. During my resi-
dencc of thirty-threc years in Au-
drain county, Mr.. Editor, You are
the first man that ever preferred
the charge against me for refusing
to pay that which ! owe or to beat
anyone out of what was due them
VIM. Nivion.
The above appeared in the Stur-
geon Leader last week. In addi-
ton Mr.. Vivion hands us the fol-
lowing:
EDITOR MESSAGE: The Sturgeon
Leader only publishes part Of the
letter ! wrote that paper. WAS
afraid to send the article direct to
the Leader, since had gotten Il
glimpse of his soul thru the dirty
attack on me in his paper. There
fore ! sent the letter to j. II.
NInscOtt IN Sturgeon requesting
him to see Mr.. Gray in regard to
its publications. Mr.. Winsrott
wrote me that Mr., Gray said he
would publish the letter. When
| received copy Of the Leader !
found Mr., Gray had garblrd my
letter and only published such as
suited his fancy. | have a copy of
the letter, the part Mr.. Gray