The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-09-26
COSTLY BELIEF IN SPIRITS.
NeW York World


Mrs. Alicia Vanderbilt La Rau, an
aunt of William K. Vanderbilt, ST.,
when the case of Dodge VS.. La Bau is
called in the supreme court to answer
to Arthur p. Dodge's claim for $40. 900,
viii tell how her belief in spirits has
cost her 100000.
Mrs. La Bau is an old lady who lives
in a beautiful house at IA Riverside
drive, with numerous servants She has
been a believer in Spiritualism for thir-
ty years and used to have in her ret
inue Miss Jeanette DanfOrth, a beau
tiful young woman, who was a medium
This medium, she now charges, acted
in collision with Dodge to get her
money, of which she has an abund
ance.
Her father, Commodore Vanderbilt,
left her $500. 900, and she, with her bro
ther, the elder Cornelius, who after
ward committed suicide, contested the
will w H. Vanderbilt. the Oldest
brother and chief heir, gave each sew
eral millions as a compromise.
In 1878 Mrs. La Bau, then the widow
of Nicholas La Bau, married a man
named Berger, but left him afterward
Her daughter is Mrs. c. Morgan
Browne She is the aunt of William
X Vanderbilt, ST., as well as of Mrs.
H Mckay TwOmbly, Mrs. Eliot F.
Shepard and Mrs. William b. Sloane.
Dodge in his complaint asserts that
on May II, 1897, he sold a quarter in
terest in his many patents to Mrs. La
Bau for S10G. 600, on which she paid him
$4,000, and shows an agreement TO that
effect. Now he wants the rest.
Mrs. La Bau says in her answer that
Dodge hired a medium to tell her to
buy stock in his Kinetic Power COM
pany. First she tells how she gave UP
some of her property to him, $40, 900 in
bonds-twenty-f1ve of the Albany
Railway company'S 5 per cent gold
bonds and fifteen of the Lehigh & New
York per cents, each worth $1,000
apiece.
Ct lent them to him merely as collat-
eral to establish his credit" she says,
land never authorized the plaintiff to
sell them
But Mrs La Bau did hand Dodge
over a lot of money, she swears, which
more than cOunterbalances Dodge's
claim. She says she did so because he
told her that $4,000 shares in his COM
pany. which was to operate cars by
/ the STORED steam method" had been
! bought by wealthy business men, and
4 that the Kinetic Power company was
| capitalized at S2,000000 and afterwards
/ increased to $4,000, Goo
| Then she goes on to tell of Jeanette
| DanforthS weird influence The girl
| had attended her as a medium and ito
/ treat her for rheumatism and admins
|
| Of Dodge's part Mrs. La Bau says:
! HE conspired and plotted with said
| Jeanette Danforth, and by paying
money 70 her and by other means
| fraudulently procured her to make
| statements to the defendant purport-
! ing to come from certain spirits in the
| spirit world to the effect that the
| plaintiffs said system and cOntrivanceS
were of enormous value"
| This is Mrs La Bau's defense tC
Dodge's suit for $40. coo. and she also
wants back her bonds and her money
| for which her lawyers, Huntington &
Rheinlander, of 4S Wall street, have SCI
up a counter claim after going into the
spirit side of the case
Joseph Martin of 3O2 Broadway i,
Dodge's lawyer. He had a hard time
serving Mrs. La Bau. First a clerl
| went, who didn't get in Then Martin
| went. with no better luck Mrs. Ii
Bau refused to see him or accept serv
ice. or to name attorneys who would
act for her. So the summons wa
nailed on the mahogany door of tn
Riverside drive mansion and Justic
BischOff granted an order of substi
tuted service.
THE, Kinetic Power company is al
right and making money said Nj
Martin. ct is running its motors OF
the Chicago L, and in Detroit and dow
at Patchogue. Mr. Dodge is travelin;
in Egypt now, looking after his foreign
rights"
las to my religious belief" said Mrs
La Bau. when asked about Spiritual
ism. II have never denied and nov
have no intention of denying that 70
the last thirty years I have believed il
the spiritualism of Our Master