Show I I REPLY BYMR COOK I Ion I 1 His Version of the Attack He Made on Judge Higgins Nephl Uiuh Nov 3 1000 Editor TrlbuneAs a matter of fairness fair-ness I beg to be permitted to reply briefly to the article from Cedar which appared in this mornings Tribune concerning me In the beginning cf this campaign HiggIns called me Into his omce and told me ho wanted me to get out and work for his election I as he dldnt think he had much show I I and if elected It would have to be through the strenuous efforts of his 1 friends I replied that I would vote for him but as to getting out and making a fight for him J would be Inconsistent Inconsist-ent and entirely out of the question as long as I wns holding a nonpartlsa1 once and that he certanly knew It would be improper I reminded him how I was appointed under a competitive compe-titive examination where none of us were asked about our politics and that no other stenographer in the State was in politics and that no other Judge required re-quired It of him While Illgglns seemed angry at me forgot violating the ethics of my professIon I heard nothing further fur-ther of It until I learned from Beaver that some o my enemies there before they would work for Higgins required him when he was there last term oc court to promise them that In COHG he was elected he would not reoppolnt me Upon hearing of this I went Immediately Im-mediately to his house and asked him If It were true and the only reply that he would make me was that I had given good satisfaction as f stenographer stenog-rapher and that our relations had been pleasant but that I had not seen fit to work fo him when i had It In my power to do him 1 great deal pf good and he felt now that he was under no obligations to make me any promise After acting so undcrhandedly with me I wrote several Icttcra to my friends one of which appeared In The Tribune and I now roafllrm everything i In that letter and am willing to put it j In the form of an affidavit and will promise If required to get other affidavits affi-davits corroborative of the same tnetf 1 spoke to several of the leading law yams of the Slate about Illgglns wanting want-Ing me to get out and work for him and asking their advice about It and I everyone of them told me I did right In keeping out of It and they were all 1 I surprised to think as one prominent lawyer said that Illgglng should make such a break as Jle had np right to ask me In my position lo get out nnd work for any one that he certainly know I was ImproperJlsspoctfully W L COOK Official District Stenographer Court Fifth Judicial |