Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 95, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 July 1904 — Is Wiseman Always Wist? [ARTICLE]

Is Wiseman Always Wist?

James Wiseman, owner of a store st Aix, six crseven miles porth, and owner end chief, navigator of a butter wagon which circulates through tbesurrouading rural regions, was on trial Monday afternoon, before Squire John H- Thornton. From the nature of the charge and evidence it would eeem that Wiseman’s wisdom does not always justify bis name. The complaining witness was a Mrs. Liaeila Mohler, wife of John Mohler, who lives some where in the vicinity of Gifford. She testified that on June 30th, Wiseman and his store on wheels arrived at her place and that he negotiated a sate of 10 cents worth of hominy, to be paid for in eggs. Also that he went into the house and expatiated eloquently on. the excellence and beauty of a table cloth he wished to sell her. She declined to make any further purchases and stepped partly up a stairway, to reach a basket of eggs, wherewith to pay for the hominy, and according to her evidence, he followed her up the stairs, and bugged her strenuously, and breathed an ardent ta’e of love ia her unwilling ears; but making no more offensive advances. It was urther in evidence that when he made his next rounds, a week later, she declined having any further business dealings, except that she asked him to take back the hominy, which was alleged no longer to be in the flower of its youth, but which he declined to Mr. Wiseman, in his testimony, denied all the material statements in Mrs. Mohler’s evidence, and declared he did not even go into her house at all, on the occasion of the alleged hugging The Squire brought in a verdict of guilty of assault, and assessed a fine of $1 and costs, in all about S2O. Mr, Wiseman at once took an appeal to the circuit court.