The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1915-12-31
Former Clerk Tells Present
Official He Isn't Worth
Calling Clerk.
QUESTION OF FEES
STARTS ARGUMENT
Common Pleas Clerk, Confined
To Bed, Charges Row
Made Him Ill.

the court house to rumpuS he had
with Tom J. Juden, former clerk of
that court, postmaster elect and Dem
ocratic politician.
The wrangie which was started and
carried on by Juden according to Mich
OILS statement, was over court fees in
a case wherein the money was to be
divided between the two men.
Juden accused Nichols of cutting"
the fec that Juden was to receive,
Nichols asserted, and in the course Of
their argument, Juden declared:
I've might jast as we'll have no
clerk at all in here as YOU"
Clerk Nichols resented this asper-
sion upon his conduct of the office and
according to the physician who attend
ed him at his home Thursday, his co..
lapse was directly due to the intense
anger that was stirred up in the argu-
mcnt with Juden.
Mr. Nichols, who is a former chief
Of police and well-knOwn throughout
the state, was found alone in his office
IN dazcd condition by Miss Zeba
Chiles, deputy clerk of the court, when
she returned to the office after the
court had adjourned for the noon hour
Thursday.
Mr. Nichols had been suffering for
some time with a severe cold and i
slight attack Of the grip. This super
induced by his passion made him help
less.
He was conscious when Miss ChiicS
entered the room, but did not speak.
She became alarmed and after sum
'moning aid from court attaches, had
Mr.. Nichols taken to his home III an
automobile. At his home he was re-
vivcd, hut on the doctors orders, he
was put 10 bed for complete rest.
Mr.. Nichols is about 20 years old.
! Yesterday as he lay in bed, he told
Of tn circumstances that led 10 the
argument with Judcn. Judcn pre-
ceded Mr.. Nichols in the office OF clerk
Of the court and the fees that are
charged in many cases to be paid to
the clerk Of the court, have been col
lcctcd for Mr.. Juden since Mr.. Nichols
has become the incumbent
In some of the cases. part Of the
money paid 80 the court 3s clerks fees
has belonged to Juden and part to
Nichols.
A couple Of days ago, Attorney Lee
l.. Bowman entered Nichols Office and
handed him check for $3.50 to cover
the clerks fees in the case of Mrs.
/ Emma c. Conrad. the estate of whose
husband had lust been closed and adj
f. iuSted
The administration papers were
taken out when Juden was clerk and at
the time that he left Office, he handed
! Nichols bill for $14.13 which he as
serted was for fees that We're due to
/ him in the work he had done upon it.
When the estate was settled in the
court, the attorneys and court, Nichols
said, found that one Of the fees which
Juden had charged in his bill was i'm
proper.
! Nichols said that Judcn had charged
d continuance improperly and that he
had charged for an appraisemcnt un-
necessarily when an inventory had
! been made and the fee charged in the
/ bill already.
This cut the part of the fee belong
ing to Juden down to $1,000, Nichols
stated. Nichols share of the check
! for $3.50 was to be 50.
When Juden went into Nichols Office
Thursday morning, and NicohIs told
him about the settlement Of the fees
in the case, Juden declared he would
not stand for" the cut that was made 1
in his part of the fec. He pointed /
TO the record that he had given Mich /
OILS at the expiration of his office, SCI
ting forth that his share was to be /.
$14.14
Nichols said he showed Judcn the /
court record made on the fee and the /
marks of the court in scratching /
part of Juden's entries. /
Juden insisted that Nichols was try
ing TO "cut fees under him. Nichols .
said, and it was at this iuucture that /
Juden made the assertion that the
court might Just as well have no
clerk at all as Nichols"
Nichols already had made out a
check in favor Of Mr.. Juden for his
5000 and he offered the money to
'Juden Juden declined.
you take that check or you get out