Our Past Is Present August 13, 2018

August 13, 2018

            This is “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.

            Today’s program is about how a person got shot over a bill that was owed and was taken from a newspaper article published in 1909. 

            “The preliminary hearing of Dr. R.L. Ready, charged with shooting James Carter when the two were wrangling over a bill at Ready’s office was held at the court house by Justice of the Peace Chase.  The testimony of the two men, Carter and Ready, did not vary on material points to any great degree.  Apparently the two came to blows while disputing a bill.  Each claimed to have acted in self-defense and when they fought their way from the Ready reception room into his operating room, Ready went down and managed to get hold of a derringer pistol from a drawer in his cabinet.  He fired and shot Carter striking Carter through the chest. 

            After hearing the evidence from physicians as to the nature of the wounds, Justice Chase bound Dr. Ready over to district court and charged him with felonious assault. His bond was set at $1,000.  Carter, who had been working in Parsons, Kansas, returned there.” 

            This all happened as a result of a disagreement about a bill.  We all need to choose our battles and decide ahead of time if it is really worth risking getting injured over a discrepancy.

Well… that is today’s story on “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.