Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-05-18
FILES AN ACCOUNTING
Attorney E. G. Niles Responds
to Order of Court.
MRS. HUGHES ESTATE
A STATEMENT OF BUSINESS AND
PERSONAL RELATIONS.
Declares That All the Money Handled
for Mrs. Hughes Has Been
Receipted For.
MRS. HUGHES ESTATE

In accordance with the order of the DIS
trict Supreme Court. passed some time ago.
Attorney Edwin G.. Niles late Saturday al
ternoon filed in the office of the auditor Oh
the court an accounting of his disposition
of the estate of Mrs Louise Beauchamp
Hughes. The accounting is accompanied
by a statement wherein all the details or
the business and personal relations which
existed between the attorney and his
former client. The two documents COM
bined cover more than 100 typewriter
pages. and purport to set forth, In an ex-
haustive manner. everything connected
with the estate of Mrs. Hughes. The &C
counting is filed as a result of the suit
brought against Mr.. Niles by the United
States Trust Company of New York.
Mr. Niles states:
This account is rendered at the command
of this honorable court, the defendant re-
serving all his rights In both to an appeal
and to all courts of appeal his rights of any
description, already granted in this cause
now before the Court of Appeals, and all
and every right which he may have. and
says that his contention is. that this &C
count should not be rendered to the auditor,
as IL has been rendered once to Mrs. Louise
Beauchamp Hughes when she was sane
and knew exactly what she was doing. The
copies of the receipts releases and vouchers
which did accompany the items in the ac-
count are now in the possession of Mrs
Louise Beauchamp Hughes. her committee
or their attorneys. and this defendant de-
mands that they be produced at this hear
ing. and all of them.
Some time in 1888 or 1889 l met Mrs.
Hughes at one of the hotels in Saratoga or
at the Park Avenue Hotel. New York. This
was in the summer. 1t was while l was at
school and before my graduation. Later,
in about 1896. Mrs. Hughes sent for me
4 \ f,1t,- lA,- &l~oxx
stopping at the Raleigh Hotel, Washington,
ID. c. / drew a will for her and she
ecuted 1t. / then acted as her attorney for
about two years. or until some time in
1898. During all this time 1t was my Gus
tom. at her invitation. to take dinner at
her residence, accompany her to the theater
or church. and to attend to any little bust
ness she desired. Some time in that year
was superseded as her attorney. In Novem-
Der, 1901 Mrs Hughes sent to my office and
came to my office personally and requested
me to attend to her legal matters for her.
Messrs. Darlington and Sholes were dis
charged as her attorneys and / saw no
great reason why l should not attend to
her business -"
Mr.. Niles then makes long statement of
the difficulties with the former ATTORNEYS
and follows with a detailed statement of
the various examinations of Mrs Hughes
by prominent physicians. all of whom, he
states, pronounced her to be of sound and
disposing mind.
Mr.. Niles tells of the difficulties he en-
countered in having his clients money
placed in bank from which it could be
checked out by her. Copies of the bills in
all the litigation which was conducted by
Mr.. Niles as Mrs. Hughes attorney are
given in full in the. statement. together
with copies of the receipts for all moneys
drawn from bank by Mrs. Hughes Mr..
Niles as her counsel. and also the agree
ment between Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Niles
All of the money which Mr.. Niles claimed
to have handled. $4,000. is accounted for
by vouchers and receipts. Mr.. Niles claims
that he received as fees and gifts S13,1SO.
Itemized Statement.
y large portion of the statement is taken
up with an itemzed account of the various
articles received by Mr. Niles from Mrs
Hughes and of their disposition. With
regard to the gifts of Mrs Hughes to Mr.
and Mrs. Niles. a signed deed of gift from
Mrs. Hughes Is shown for each article
In addition to the gifts to Mr. and Mrs
Niles. Mrs Hughes made large donation
to the Georgetown University. a state
ment regarding which appears in the ac-
count filed by Mr.. Niles. Mr. Niles also
filed copies of letters received by Mrs
Hughes from friends here and elsewhere
in which statements are made as to her
health. etc. by which Mr. Niles hopes to
show his clients mental and physical con-
dtion at various times during the period
he had charge of her business
Mrs. Hughes Insanity.
With regard to Mrs. Hughes condition
while In New York last summer Mr.. Niles
states:
about the Both of June Mrs Hughes be-
came very violent and insane in the city
of New York. owing to the death of her
pet dog. whom she imagined was her
daughter and she wanted to Jump out of
the windows of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
Knowing that Mrs. Butterfield of Cold
har Il
sonally and consulted with Mrs. Butter
field and told her all the facts of the case
l told Mrs. Butterfield that 1 must place
myself under her advice and suggested
that she send for her family physician,
which she did summoning DIR. John Hol-
land of Cold Spring. DR. Holland went to
New York to see Mrs. Hughes. and advised
that she come to the country for a few
days. I then asked Mrs. Butterfield TO call
In her family attorney. who is Judge South
ard of the county of Putnam a man of
very high standing. DIR. Holland is chair
man of the physicians of this county and a
man of absolute prominence. They took
absolute charge of the case and did what
they thought was the best for Mrs. Hughes
Sent to Sanitarium.
Il searched all over the country to get
the best sanitarium possible. and I decided
upon DIR. Kellog's. magnificent sanitarium
located the Hudson. | relied entirely
upon his advice from a medical standpoint
and the attorneys from a legal standpoint
The results we'll known One of the
reasons which prompted me to go to Mrs
Butterheld was that Mrs. Hughes was con-
stantly throwing away her money and /
saw the end coming when she would have
no money for anything. When | asked her
for money to pay the hotel bills she either
did not have II or did not produce it, I had
to advance the money for all the expenses
from that time on"
The statement is brought to close with
an account OF the money advanced by Mr.
Niles TO Mrs. Hughes, amounting to
81 962 l3.
Cathedral School Commencement.
The commencement EXERCISES of the Ma