Hi Ralph,
Don't let anyone fool you - flattery will get you lots of places
In Page Layout, using the "handles" for the barlines, you can move the barline dividing the first and second measures to the left (you can't move the very first barline of the first measure).
ShiftBarlines.png
Hope this helps. It may not be exactly what you want (and I've written up the problem), but you may learn a new trick anyway
ttfn,
Sherry