The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1891-02-05
ACCUSED BY HIS NIECE.
Painful Position of Well Known Young
Man in Hadd0n6eld.

Special to the jersey city Nstcs
HADDoNFIELD, Feb. 5, 1891. Society
hereaDouts is greatly scandalized over
developments which followed the arrest
of Charles Ballinger on complaint made
by his niece. Laura E. Plum, ~ho is not
yet fourteen years old. A warrant was
issued for Mr.. Ballinger's arrest on Satur-
day by Justice Fox. of this place. 1t was
given to Constable Newkirk to serve.
Mr.. Ballinger heard of the Issuance of
the warrant. hunted Newkirk up, and
asked TO be arrested. Justice Fox gave
him hearing Tuesday night and neld
him for trial, but did not demand bail.
Yesterday Ballinger voluntarily went
before Judge Hugg in Camden and had
his bail fixed at 81 900 for his appearance
at court.
The accusation against Mr.. Ballinger / s
assault, but in view of the tender years
OF the prosecutrix 1t is a much more seri-
ious charge, and is really not bailable- In
many respects the case is remarkable.
The Ballingers are well-to do people and
come from old Quaker stock. They are
among the first families of the county.
The father of the accused is Joshua Bal
linger, who is wealthy, highly respectable
and advanced in years. Charles Ballinger
is about twenty-five or twenty-uhree
years of age. de is small sized and
rather handsome man and was married a
year or two ago 10 a Miss Greenle, the
daughter of Charles Greenle, of Haddon-
field. He has been a father since last
summer Fifteen or sixteen years ago
Charles II. Plum married an elder sister
of young Mrs. Ballinger, and the little
girl who accuses her uncle is his Oldest
child.
The offence charged against young Bal
linger, was committed according to the
nh CT IF1IV fnG In hA
evening of that day. the Plums and the
Ballingers were visiting Mr.. and Mrs.
GreeDle, in Haddonfield. Mr. Ballinger
got in mis- buggy TO drive to the store.
Laura Plum went with her uncle. He
went to Fowler,s store, thence to the
post office and invited his little niece to
accompany him on drive down the
Chew's Landing Road.
He stopped at vacant house near what
is known AS Willitt's gravel pit, andt here,
according to her sworn testimony, as
saulted the child. He then drove back to
his mother-in-law's, Mrs. Greenle. The
chiid'S s silence, SO IL was claimed, was Sc
cured through threats until about a
month ago, when she told her grand
mother. Then she told her mother and
the result was the swearing out of the
warrant.
Opinion is divided on the case. Young
Ballinger has always borne good repu-
tation. His wife, the aunt of the girl, is
a young and very pretty woman. Some
of the friends of the accused man say it
is trumped up charge. Not the slight
est motive for trumping up such a charge
has been discovered. Ballinger proposes
to Tight the case in court. He mas en-
ployed Scovel & Harris as his counsel
The aged Quaker father believes in his
sons innocence. He went his bail before
Judge Hugg to-day, and will spend all
the money necessary TO a full and active
defense. Meantime Haddonfeld. which
has not even a saloon within her limits.
and has known few cases of human
frailty, is blushing all over