The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-04-21
A MONOMANIACS TALE
MRS. sPRANGERs REPLY TO MRS
FLORA A. pARLING's CHARGES.
She Says Her Former Mother-in-Lav
Is Cranky" on the Subject of Money
Edward Darling Not Poisoned.

LOS GATOS, Cal. April 2o-Dr. Franc,,
X. Spranger and his wife. accused of thu
murder of Edward /. Darling, the former
husband of Mrs. Spranger. by slow poison.
ing, are in the Santa Cruz mountains and
have been almost ever since they were mar
ried in Boston on the 18th of March, With
them are the two children of Darling.
girl and boy. I'VE were greatly shocked
at these charges" Mrs. Spranger said ''but
do you know, have been expecting this
for a long time. Mrs. Darling, the mother
of my first husband, is a monomaniac on
the subject of money and ever since my
husbands death she has made my life
miserable. This persecution has grown al
most unbearable since my marriage TO DIR.
Spranger / want It. understood in the first
place that / am not nearly so wealthy as
1 have been credited with being. To be
frank, we do not consider that she is in her
right mind. The truth is that Mr. Darling
killed himself, though, mind you. / would
never have said anything about this had
not my former husbands mother begun.
During our entire married life he was adj
dicted to the use of stimulants and their
excessive use finally brought on consump-
ton and a general break down from which
nothing could have saved him. Dr. Sprang-
.er was called in, as any other physician
might have been, and did what he could
for my husband, but we all knew that he
could not be saved. The cry about the
poisoned milk at the Ebbitt House in Wash
ington is all nonsense. The milk served us
there was not good and made us all sick.
Mrs. Auams Darling herself ordered her
sons body cremated. / had nothing to do
with it. She had also done all she could
to make my life miserable. once even
6ttck han rv.d
insane asylum, and she also took my six
year-old girl, the one have with me, away
and put the child in a convent"
The following telegram was sent to-day
to John j. l.. Connolly, of Detroit. and
United States District Attorney Birney at
Use Your own judgment and course" The
dispatch was signed "Spranger."
Mr.. Sprangers statement was called forth
by the following dispatch from New York:
Mrs. Flora Adams Darling. writer of war
letters and one of the founders of the
Daughters Of the Revolution. is seeking the
indictment of DIR. Francis Xavier Spranger
and his wife, who was formerly her daugh-
ter-in-law, Mrs. Edwin Irwin Darling, by
the grand jury OF New York county. The
case is in the hands of Assistant District
Attorney Battle, and Is now in such shape
that 1t may be presented to the grand jury
during the coming week. Mrs. Darling's
son, Edward Irwin Darling, died on Feb. b.
1894. at Mount Clemens, Mich, from what
she claims to have been slow poison. Ed
ward Irwin Darling was a musical composer
productions was book entitled Echoes of
the Lake." Among his poetic works was
1.-The Viking" which is to be produced in
lors." and the Gentleman Savage"
The SON met Beatrice Gay Klingle while
in Washington with his mother in 1885. He
N with the girl and thew
married on Sept. Is, of that year. At first
they came to this. city. residing on Parke
music house Of Grinnell Brothers. A short
time after his engagement there he met
dow dow and al, Ai breaking several bones Of his
body. DR.. Spranger, then recent grad
uate Of a Western college, was called In to
alleged now. that during this time the Doc
July T. 1892. the younger Mrs. Darling re-
ceived news of the death of her father In
This LEFT ner an estate valued Tes
estate in Washington and government
bonds. Mr.. and Mrs. Darling went to Wash
the Ebbitt House in that city. While there
the young man became violently Ill after
drinking glass Of milk pr HS ARR nssa
to impure milk Mrs. Darling. the mother.
now claims that the milk contained , poison.
1898, to live with his mother at Mount Glenn
ems. There he was attended by DIR. Loeb
n Under M the s nfuence Of yiolest drugs which
had destroyed the tissue of the body, ana
his death was Sny ed on Feb OF
1894. but, previous to his death, he made a
statement that his wife and DR.. Spranger
he would die from the effects of the drugs
given him. The body was cremated without
post mortem examination, at the request a ssd
his wife. At that ,tipe Mrs. Darling: the
R Hife f hsd { gHisHneo ioSs Win
The district attorney of Detroit, is said to
have announced at that time that should
the wife ever marry the doctor the motive
to the dead mans mother, has now been
established through the public marriage OF
pus Christi Cathedral, at Baltimore. on
March of this year. DIR. SpranEer ana
enjoying their honeymoon.
A Fiction.
WASHINGTON April 2O-The Evening
Star yesterday Published the following card,
signed by William Brney, in reference to
the charges Mrs. Flora Adams Darling has
made against Mrs. Francis Xavier
Spranger of having poisoned her first hus-
1.-THE absence of the accused Lady
on a wedding tour IN California imposes
on me the duty of cautioning the public
to place no confidence in the sensational
statements published in the morning pa
pers. From facts in my possession, OBJ
tanned in long and intimate relation 10
the principal parties as attorney and con-
fidential adviser, my Judgment is that the
are as imaginary as anything
in Rider Haggard's novels
District Attorney Birney, counsel for Mrs.
Frances Spranger. received telegram to-
lay from Mrs. Spranger, requesting him 10
take whatever steps seemed needful and
proper respecting the charges made by Mrs.
Darling. 81 do not see that anything fur
Their than what I have already done 10
said Mr.. Birney this afternoon.
The story is old one, and is utterly
false and malicious 1t is prompted by
Mrs. Darling's hatred for her daughter-in-
Jaw. who refused to give up to her por-
lion of the property inherited by Mrs.
spranger from her fathers relations. DR..
death took place while he was
living with his mother months after he had
separated from his wife. His mother made
these charges at that time, but refused 10
allow a postmortem examination of the
body to be made
Mrs. DarIing's Charges Dfscrcditcd