Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1895-11-26
Incidents in the Public and Minis.
terial Career of Rev. ]. H.
Roggess.

|
terial Career of Rev. ]. H.
Roggess.
One of the highest and most sacred
duties of those entrusted with official
duties and trusts, whether in church
or state. is to protect and preserve all
persons under their charge and enti-
tied to protection from church or
state, from the wiles, deceit and fraud
OF corrupt and designing luen. In the
recent events which brought blush
OF shame to every home in Cresco it
is proper to ask: Ibid the deacons
and trustees. of the Congregations
church exercise the care and caution
that careful and prudent men should
use before having extended a call to
Rev. }. H. Bcggess?"
In answer to this question the fol
lowing facts are submitted to can
did and truth-loving people: In 1887
Mr. Boggess was pastor of the Con
gregational church at Shenandoah,
Page county, Iowa. His habits and
intercourse there We're of such ma
ture as to result in law suit, in
which he appeared as plaintiff against
one OF the trustees of the church, a
Mr.. L. h. Read. president of the first
national bank, in which suit he asked
$4,000 damages, the jury giving him
a verdict for $500. A motion was
made for new trial on the ground
of newly discovered evidence and
that the verdict was contrary to evil
dence. From this judgment, Mr.. Read
appealed to the supreme court, and
from the order Of the court setting
aside the verdict, Mr.. Boggess APP
pealed. The only question decided
by the supreme court was upon the
order of the district court granting a
new trial, which order was affirmed,
the case being reported in the SO
Iowa reports, page 54S.
We now come to the second trial of
the case which began at Clarinda,
Page county, Iowa, January 81, 1892,
and continued without interruption
for more than two weeks, the testi-
lnony and entire proceedings from
start to finish being published in the
Shenandoah Sentinel, which we have
carefully read throughout.
In the progress of this trial eighty
i've witnesses appeared in person in
court, and several who were absent,
by dispositions, and all testified to the
immoral character of Mr. Borgess.,
ana many OF them to his known asso-
4 !.
| ter. Three testified positively to his
criminal intimacy with a Mrs. G. b
Smith in her room in the Park hotel
at Shenandoah, two of whom had
looked over the transom and seen
them in bed together, and one, Col.
+. NJ. Park, testified to having looked
over the transom when they were
locked in the room together and in
the act of criminal sexual intercourse.
An Intellectual and unsuccessful effort
was made to inpeach the witnesses
who testified against the character of
MIR. Borgess., who in his own testi
mony had contradicted the evidence
given by nearly one hundred Witness
es. These witnesses We're the men
and women of town of $500, in
whose midst was a college of high
character, and with class of people
IN morals and culture in keeping with
that school of learning.
The court in its charge to the jury
gave the points in the claim of the
plaintiff, alleging that on or about
the 9Th of July 1889, contrivipg and
intending to iDjure the plaintiff and
to defame his good name, published
OF and concerning the plaintiff in the
Shenandoah Post, u newspaper of
general circulation published in said
city of Shenandoah, the certain arti-
Gle which has been introduced in evil
dence before you. The petition all
legged that the article was, and is
false, scandalous and libelous and
charged and was intended to charge
plaintiff with lying, dishonesty in
money dealings, and with lewdness
and with whirewashing his character.
That said charges were false and were
published with actual malice to the
plaintiff and to the damage of plaintiff
in the sum of $4,000, for which he
asks judgment. 10 the petition thus
avering defendant in his answer says:
!. That he admits the writing and
publication of the letter or article in
question, and denies all the other al
legations of the petition.
2. And as a justification for the
publication in question, defendant
says that all the allegations made
therein were true, that said article
charges and only meant to charge
plaintiff with lying, dishonesty in
financial matters, with lewdness, and
| that these statements in said article
are true.
These are the issues the court said
in its charge to the jury it was to pass
upon and decide.
The jury was out about twenty
four hours bringing to court the fol-
lowing verdict and answers to inter
rogations: WAS Boggess guilty of
lewdness? No. WAS he guilty of
lying" Yes. sWas he guilty of dis
honesty in money matters?" Yes.
WAS he guilty of whitewashing
his character?" No.
| We find judgment for the plaintiff
and assess the damages at $500.
This entire mass OF testimony was
accessible to the trustrees of the Con-
gregational church in Cresco, and in-
stead of being ignored should have
been made public to the church and
society, to the end that it might pass
upon the evidence and the man.
A Congregationalist clergyman of
Alamakee county furnishes this rec
ord from the Year Book:
~. ii. Boggess, ordained at TT.
Atkinson, Wis, September II, 1888;
commenced at Shenandoah, Iowa, in
1887, aud published as ordained in
1875, though his name does not SO APP
pear in the year book.
4 In 1881 he reported as beginning