The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-04-18
IA QUEER ASSAULT
Greenvil1e Residents IN
clined to Disbe1ieye
Druggist Willard.
PERHAPS A CASE OF WHITE CAPS
He Had Been in Trouble Before
Why Did He Carry a
Whip ?

The peculiar circumstances attending thu
assault upon Druggist Clayton A. Willard Of
Greenville by three men, on Friday evening
last, have furnished the residents of Green
vile with much food for gossip. Rumor has
it that Mr.. Willard knows more about the
matter than he cares to tell.
When Willard first related the story be
gave it as his opinion that the three men
were burglars and that their object was rob
berry, but when a JERSEY Cry NEWS re-
porter interviewed him he changed his opin-
ion, and said that the men were drunk and
did not know what they were doing.
WILLARD CAN'T HEAR.
81 was awakened at about midnight on
Friday" said Willard, "by the violent ring
ing of the night bell. hurriedly dressed
myself and went to the hall door don't
know why 1 didn't go to the store
door, as I always do. I suppose I
was sleepy and was not thinking OF
to the hall door, and found a young man
standing there. He was of a medium height,
and had a shaven face. Before ! could ask
him what he wanted he shot out his right
arm and struck me in the lert eye with his
fist. struck him across the face with 8
COW1lu0 Wulp, WHICH CdTTl6u, duQ uo yel0Q
with pain. As 4 struck him two other men
came running from the other side of the
street Seeing that 1 would be unable to
resist three men went back into the hall
and locked the door, The men attempted to
reach me by breaking down the outside door
and the vestibule door"
'sWhy did you take whip with you when
you went to the door?" asked the reporter,
but Mr.. Willard did not venture reply. He
feigned not to hear the question and at
tempted to turn the reporters attention from
the whip by inviting him to examine the
broken hall doors. The reporter accepted
the invitation and after examining the doors
asked Mr.. Willard what happened after the
doors were broken down. But the druggist
either forgot or failed to hear the question.
"Where were you when the toughs entered
the hallP asked the reporter but Willard
again failed to find an answer.
'Oh this is nothing for the newspapers
said he, 1.-THE men were simply drunk and I
suppose they would have treated any other
druggist in the same manner"
A VISITOR AT MIT2ENIUS'.
At about quarter past twelve o'clock the
same night a man rang Druggist Mitzenius
of Ocean and Danforth avenues out of bed
and purchased court plaster: Mr.. Mitzenius'
description of this man tallies exactly with
that given by Mr.. Willard of the man who
struck him. it is believed that the man was
cut by Wizards whip and wanted court
plaster for the wound. The man made no
attempt to assault Druggist Mitzenius.
Some time ago Druggist Willard was
charged with popping the question to q
young lady who resides on Astor place. Mrs.
Willard, his wife, heard of the matter and
made things a trihe uncomfortable for
chubby" The matter was thoroughly aired
in the courts at the time, and THE JERSEY
CITY NEWS printed a full report Of
the case. Willard had reason to sus-
pect that the clerk, who was
then employed by him, and whose name was
Patton, had hand in this discovery of his
relations with the aforesaid young lady, and
one evening when he met Patton In a saloon
on Ocean avenue he threatened to shoot
him, in fact, pointed a revolver at him.
Patton had Willard arrested, but the drug
gist escaped punishment
The residents of Greenville are inclined to
believe that the clerk was one of the three
men who assaulted Willard. They would
also like to know why Willard armed him
self with whip.
'He must have expected rumpus," say
thau