Omaha daily bee., 1922-03-16
All of David City Fell for" ll-Wiued Romeo,
Wonder Wooer, Church Soloist Who Neither
Smoked, Drank Nor Gambled and Hated Jazz
II Could Wiring His
Neck" Cries Nebraska
Girl He Duped.
BY ELLA FLEISHMAh.

woman whose love Is seofHsd, One
/ deserted after a siNswseks' honey
moon. Or whose widowed moth
st's mite has been stolen.
II hate hint | could wiring his
neck" cried Florence johnson OF
David City. Neh.. one Of the 10
known. ekswiyss OF Isaiah Moore.
alias James A. Vaughn, alias How
ard Wilson and a halt dozen more
aliases, now under arrest in lndi-
annapolis,
but the hali-sob IN which her
voice broke heiieh the venom OF her
words. And spoke OF a broken,
heart,
"ile ought TO be put in the pen for
liie-l'll testify myself Il | can add
so years 10 his sentence" added the
trieked woman. She wasted a years
vigil on the undeserying scamp.
Il loved him dearly-loyed him
more after ] married him than did
beiore-he was so good 10 me. 10
my boy and TO mother" she con-
fided.
"But suppose | ought 10 be
thankful. lie might have killed us.
like that beast OF a Landru IN
France. or he might have kidnapped
my boy for spite. Now I'm glad he
went when he did. There might
have been children"
Never Doubted Him.
And she shuddered with the dread
eonjured up at the thought.
Then an ironic sense of humor
rose 10 her rescue.
Il think we discarded wives ought
to form a society for the compare
son OF our experiences with that
bird. Wouldn't il be unique? |
wonder what we would call our
selves?'
And born OF the thought
Il wonder il any OF the others
would be such fools as to stick by
him, in this trouble" she pondered.
"Not mep
1T would be dramatic spectacle
il We could all face him in court. ]
bet he'd pass away then!"
The same feminine impulse to up
braid him for his misdecds; to wither
him with a good woman's scorn for
all the anguish he caused her daugh-
ter. stirs the heart OF her aged
mother, who mortgaged her little
cottage in David City TO provide the
500 with which Vaughn decamped.
"He told US he was going to buy
the Petersen-Pegau bakery in Oma-
ha. We never doubted him. Since
then we've learned that that bakery
is one OF the largest in Omaha
Move to Omaha"
The deserted wife heard never a
word from him since the Saturday
night in May, 1920, when he kissed
her goodby at the little David City
depot as he boarded a train for
Omaha to buy the bakery.
"Ill be back Monday; then we'll
pack and move to Omaha" we're his
farewell words.
But Monday stretched into a
year and longer. in which time the
wife exhausted every means of her
limited income in vain effort to
trace him. Then she brought suit
for divorce.
81 was afraid he'd bob up again
some day under arrest for passing
bogus checks like he did here before
he left So / decided to wash my
hands OF him." she explained.
David City friends who have !
known and respected the Johnson
family for over score of years
were very kind to her after her un
fortunate experience.
Merchants accepted the return OF |
Vaughn's only gift to her--a coat
on which no payment had been made. |
He won her, too, by his kindness to |
her 12-year-old son Neal, by
former marriage. He bought the lad |
an entire new outfit of clothes, even !
to pocket handkerchief, for all OF
which the mother too paid eventually. |
Wearied Of Fighting.
Il wasn't so keen to marry again
after my first unfortunate marriage
said Mrs. Johnson. "But he was so
attractive, had such lovely, refined
manners. And I've been working so
long to support myself and my boy. |
l was tired of fighting the battle
alone I realized l wasn't getting
younger and if l was ever to marry
again, then was the time.
my mother liked him too" con-
tinued the woman's recital. $50 did |
his employer and the best people in |
town-church people included--so |
couldn't see where | was making a |
mistake.
He seemed so happy, too. Said
he never knew what real home life
was before. He used to tell mother |
how much he appreciated and how
cozy everything was in our home,
after living among strangers so long.
Then he made lovely plans for our
future. I was very, very happyP
Vaughn was "tnan without
faults" He neither drank, smoked,
gambled or used bad language.
"He was too goodp piped up Mrs.
Johnson's small sister, of high school
age.
Even the mother-in-law whose
money Vaughn took, has nothing but
highest praise for his manners.
Wouldn't Tolerate Jazz.
''If he was no gentleman, | don't
know what the word is" said the