Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1918-01-25
FINES PETE HEN
FOR ASSAULT
Continued from Page /

Helm. Here, according TO Peter Hem
he is bartender and has been SO for
six months. Brody and his companions
had two drinks of whiskey and a bot
tie of beer each, in Is minutes, but
Brody was not drunk. He was laugh
ing loudly las | always do he said
when Helm came in about 1 O'Clock and
told the negro to cut it out - There
were 30 or 60 people inlthe place at the
time. The negro replied Il don't owe
you nothin', do ~ and Helm told him
to shut up Unbuttoning his coat
BrOdy walked to the bar and said, If
you want anything of me, come on
Hit Him With Whipstock
Whereupon Helm hit him over the
head with the butt end of a Whipstock
twice, cutting a small cash but never
PLEASING the darkey. Then Brody
peeled his coat, handed it to Peterson
and dove for the exit through the
screen,
Helm beat him to it and in the front
Of the saloon they met Brody, who
testified to weighing 30, and Helm
with a scale report or 200, clinched
The negro scratched Helms neck and
tore his shirt. But two punches in
the face sent the black terror to his
knees with some blood on his face He
was helped up and came to Ladysmith
and swore out the warrant.
This is the composite story of the
testimony There were some diver
gances but they are immaterial Mr.
McGill contended that the attitude of
Brody, when he approached the bar,
constituted assault and that the queS-
ton was whether a tough niger or
Helm was to run the saloon.
The witnesses for Brody were first
himself. He was not a good one. His
attitude was that of the members of
his race always when on the stand He
said he could laugh SO that he could
be heard mile He was born in
Michigan and had been in Rusk coun-
ty 4 years. He admitted getting
drunk and always drinking when he
could get it.
But Dead Line is There
Hogan Heglund, who lives south of
Ladysmith, and works in a camp north
of Ingram, and John Mitchell also of
Ladysmith, testified to events leading
up to and after Pete Helm went over
the top to meet Brody's offensive
Peter Helm, who told his story and
that he never had fight in his life
before, Andrew Nelson and Charles
Shankey testified for the defense.
Neither Attorneys McGill nor
Thomas made argument
But it is safe bet that the colored
population of Rusk county represent
ed by Ira Brody will not go to the sa-
loon of the Tony Liquor Company for
some time, or cross the dead line in
the vicinity.
Brody and the Hill Murder
Brody will be remembered as one
who figured i'll the case of the death
Of Mrs. George HILL of the town of
Grow, who was found by her husband,
shot to death in the front yard Of their
home. Hill, q col0red man, had at one
time harbored Rrody, and later the
negro acquired a piece of property
nearby and went there to live 1t was
four years ago this winter. Hill had
gone away from home and when he got
back his wife, also colored, was dead.
with a charge of buckshot in her
breast. The gun had been fired so
closely that the Wadding was imbed-
ded in the flesh. Brody was arrested
on a warrant sworn out by Hill and
after grilling by District Attorney
kirwan was permitted to go No one
was ever found afterward connected
with the crime which III d measure so
far as the courts are concerned remains
a mystery.
Hill, broken-hearted, lived until
about is months ago, when he too
died and probably ended forever any
effort to discover the man who com
mitted the murder.