The Paducah sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1898-1906, 1903-07-02
JUDGE HARGIS' SIDE
He Tells How Jets Mother Be-
friended Him.
And Says That He Has Done Nothing
He Gould Help-Did Not
Like Marcum.
DECLARES HE Is MUCH ABUSED

made, out MS sthteIueht W bouis-
vile Times correspondent shows at
least that there are two sides to every
question. He says;
II have been the worst abused man
in Breathitt county. The newspapers
have charged me with all kinds OF
crime and the people of the state are
holding me responsible for the out
RACES here. / swear that in all my
life l have never shed the blood OF
any man, and have tried in every
way to avoid trouble. All l asked OF
any one was to be let alone to make
money and rear my family. / have
been perse cuted and bounded, accused
of crime and slsndered, Ny family
has been disgrAced almost and my
children now cannot 60 away to school
because of the unfri endliness shown
toward them by the students when 1t
becomes known that they are the chill
dren Of Jim Hargis.
"I had no desire to see Jim Mar.
cum murdered. II is true that did
not like him, and tried in every way
to induce him to leave this county.
He made an affidavit against me, that
Nose Feltner had said / had tried TO
hire him to kill Marcum. l sued him
for criminal libel, but l only wanted
him to leave here and let me. pursue
my own way. would much rather
have had him live with Judgment
for criminal libel hanging over him
than to have him dead. i heard that
he wanted to sell his property, and l
arranged for my clerk to buy the land.
He had said that il he could sell his
land he would leave. When my clerk
went to buy the land, Maroum said he
had raised the price $3.50. then had
my lawyer buy the land. Then Mar
cum said if he could only sell his cat
tie he would leave. My brother,
Alex, bought the cattle. and when he
went for them, Mrs. Marcum ssid she
had decided not to sell for that price.
Alex went into his pocket and paid
the difference. Maroum went away
for while, but he soon came back. |
never had word with him, and
would never have had a word if he
had lived here a thousand years. AS
long IS he did not bother me, was
glad to see him get along.
He was killed, and the people of
the state said that had helped to
plan his death because we were I'M
friendly. They blamed me for not
going to him when saw he was shot,
but don't believe the people who
blame me would have gone under the |
l would not have gone
without pistol, and if l had gone
with one l would have been suspe cted |
Of having fired the shots. For the
same reason would not let Sheriff Ed |
Callahan 20, but told him to have
Even search the court house.
II have nothing TO say about Mar
cum. He's dead and I feel sorry for |
his family, but he had the worst tenn.
per Of any man ] ever saw. He was a
bright fellow, with an unbsidled
tongue.
II saw my two brothers shot down
in cold blood, foully assassin ated. L
saw my old father driven from home
and his children left penniless. / have
gone through all this, trying to live
peaceably, and make money, but they
wouldn't let me. When they dragged
me into this case by implication, II
was determined to see it through.
Curt Jest's old mother befriended me
ana my small brothers when We were
little and our father had been driven
from home.
"Sha walked twenty miles many
days to bring us food and went with
ont shoes that we might be kept from
starvation. She has . Maynard son,
but she Is q good woman. When he
was accused of the crime she came to
me and cried. She pleaded with me
TO help her. She has no money but q
little farm worth about $1,000. She
said: Jim are You going to lie my
boy be hanged for want of q Id Eyer
afd +" I've done for you? and ph
o. -ould stand by her it
ant I've got, and y.
went into the cas- pr
AN.JNot for him, but TO b
who Vas ous. friand