Mexico weekly ledger., 1904-05-05
JOHN D. ORfAR.
slatement to the Ledger.

4 - N%hSAADhA w e4AS ANAtySA
To the Editor Of the Ledger
AT i've last moment before the issue
ioi our weekly, soas not TO carry with
it an answer and on the eve Of the
primary election there appeared iu
your piper of Wednesday evening a
scariI.uS attack upon me over the sig.
nature OF IN c. Oven"
/ Masqaefadlng under an assumed
name tbs little gang that is so BIT
tedy apposing my candidacy for Pros
ecutins Attorney, for fear some Of
their own rascality may be exposed II
am elected, have vented their spleen
ina communication which has the ear
marks Of the united talent Of the
combile from the ponderous chief
attorney 10 the ''sassietyn striplings.
Ny speech at Beagles school house
was made April llth, SO after a fort
night t caucnsing and incubation
this production aud method Of launch
/ ing il, IS ttie result.
| The tact IS: In reply TO my oppQn-l
cnt whu first broached the subject,
alluded IN that speech to the ineticien-
/ cy Of the Prosecuting Attorneys Office
as now administered, and to the in
{. rests Sume have in its continuance
under lhe present influence. / men,
tioned the strong suspicion Of a case
Of perjury in the murder trial Of the
State VS. q. A. Barnes and no effort
made at prosecution And | am
ready, If given an opportunity, to-
prove all ] asserted in that spe 'h
and not one word to retract.
The said Owen did not testify at the
publlc preliminary trial, and his tes-
ltify in the secret chamber of the
grand jury was not known To the
associate counsel for the State. He
took the stand at the trial at Troy
and swore that he unseen by anyone
elSel stood out upon the pavement and
saw Rhodes Clay lire the first two
shots, and when sent for by the sheriff,
| Immediately after leayinglthe stand,
for his recall, he could not be found in
the town Of Troy,
The following affidavit can be cor
roborated by the testimony Of at leaft
six other reputable citizens;
STATE OF MISSOURI,
COUNTY or AUDRAtN. e.
W. II. Turner, OF lawful age, being
first duly sworn deposes and says: My
name Is w. II. Turner. At the pres
ent time l am Treasurer of Audrain
county, Missouri. Shortly after the
murder Of Rhodes Clay by Clarence
Barnes l met NJ. 0. Owen and asked
him If he saw the shooting. lie re-
piled; mo; l was waiting on a Gus
toner at the time, and it was all over
before l got to the front door,
W. fl. TURNER
Subscribed and sworn to before me
this 2Sth day of April, 1904;
[sEALl MAMIE HELM
MY term as Notary Public will ex-
pire July TO- 1904.
! Moreover, | alluded In much severer
terms to the methods Of business of a
certain real estate firm, which is the
backbone OF the opposition to me as
candidate for prosecuting attorney.
In accord with their known habit Of
working under cover, they now dodge
behind anothers name to attack me
before the public.
Even the recommendation attached
to this contribution to your columns
was obtained under false representa-
tation. Many OF the signers were led
to believe it was an ordinary endorse
ment of Owen by his townsmen for
the purpose Of obtaining employment
he stating to some it was to get job
at the Worlds Fair.
The following is signed statement
fof some Of those who were mislead into
Islgning a recommendation for the
plant tool of the combine;
We, the undersigned, whose names
appear ON an endorsement Of M. @.
Owen in a polticalarticle published in
the Mexico LEDGER hereby that
we signed this recommendation upJn
his representation that he was seek
ing employment and wanted us TO help
him In that way, and not TO be used
as part OF a newspaper article Of
abuse against any candidate for Office.
Fred A. Morris Cecil NJ. Baskett
| W. A. Morris NJ Il, Crawford, NJ d.
A number Of Others including A. d.
Jackson, Ex-Mayor W. X. Potts, f. A..
Saunebeck, a. Hughes, George Lee,
w. d. Lee and Jos. Barth say the idea
conveyed by Owen to them was that
the paper signed was that it was to
help him get position.
lam assured four. .fifths Of the sign
ers would never have signed it for any
other purpose.
At this time | only wish to say to
the voters that this trick OF attacking
a candidate just on the eve Of election
day, has been resorted to before, but,
to the honor of Audrain County's
citizenship, has in every instance not
only failed of its purpose but met
with most emphatic rebuke.
Let the Democratic voters Of Au-
drain County who stand for honest
ways and fair play say II they shall
prevail in this instance.
d&w1t JNo. ID. OREAR.
Columbia Fete May 18th.