The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1906-10-16
BROUWER DENIES ALL
Has Ready Answer to Every
Charge Against Him.
UNsHAKEN IN HIS TESTIMONY
Dramatically Denies that lie Gave
Wife Poison or that He Had Con-
tempIated DivOrce-Describes Last
Illness. and says Nurse Erred In
Testimony About Commissions.

Toms River. n. J., Oct. 15.-'As God is
my Judge, I never gave my wife arsenic
1 loved her too We'll to have harmed her -
Shaking with emotion, his face indicat-
ing the ordeal through which he has pass
cd. Dr. Frank L. Brouwer. on trial for
the murder of his wife, capped the climax
OF a ffteen-minute testimony in his own
behalf Just before court adjourned to-day
by swearing. with uplifted right hand, in
the presence of judge and jury, that the
allegations against him were utterly false
Brouwer had proven a good witness for
himself, answering the fierce interroga-
tons Of the prosecutor Of the county as
rapidly as they were fired at him, ana
ever maintaining that he did everything
possible for his wife up TO the time OF her
death. At times he waxed dramatic. and
as he recited the history of his career
from boyhood 10 the present time' MS
story was told in a manner that impressed
both spectators and jUrymen. lie told OF
his boyhoOd, his labor to secure funds
sufficient to pay for his education. the
meeting with his wife, the happy days of
courtship. followed by the usual small
snarls and chickering's of married lie, but
through il all he maintained that he acted
as a true husband.
With tears streaming down his cheeks.
he denied the statement that his wife
had ever charged him with being I'M
faithful to her, and gave the lie 10 the
members OF the family who had sworn
that he had threatened 10 kill.
hat hA hean
struck his wife was declared by Brou-
wer to be utterly false. He charged that
Hyer had only told part of the truth
regarding the incident in order TO make
his testimony appear important. Accord
ing TO BrOuwer the quarrel between HIM
self and his wife was due TO the latter's
publishing their younger child be-
cause ne would not go to sleep. He had
taken the child away from her. and she,
becoming greatly angeTed, asserted that
he had hurt her, which was not so.
Tells of Wifc's Last Illness.
Brouwer described fully his wife's last
illness, and the treatment given her by
himself and other physicians. He told
OF her eating soup. corn, potatoes. cot
tage cheese, bread, butter, watermelon.
onion sandwiches, and drinking beer
and declared that these had caused symp-
toms resembling ptomaine poisoning, and
that he had treated her for her ailment,
giving her castor oil. He declared that
the medical witnesses who have testified
that muscular contraction was in evil
dence in the patient. running from the
feet TO the head, were in error. Muscu-
lar commissions were plainly manifest. he
admitted. but their course was down
ward not upward.
The last seven days Of Mrs. BrOuwers
sickness were variable ones. the witness
said; one day She would be better and
the next worse. on Sunday, September II
the day before she died, she grew very
weak. but he did not believe that death
was immenent at that time.
Carmichael brought his examination TO
q close with series of questions framed
10 bring a categorical denial TO each of
the accusation against his client
Did you ever at any time administer
arsenic TO your wife,
las God is my witness. no" replied the
witness half rising from his chair and
speaking each word with staccato
emphasis. As the attorney put the same
questions for Strychninc and ground
glass. the doctor answered the same way
IN the negative.
Attorney Johnson. who has done most
of the cross-examining for the prOsecu-
ton, began to interrogate DR.. Brouwer.
Said Mrs. BrOusver Was Not Jealous.
Was your wife jealous of your atten-
tons TO other women he asked.
why, no; she was curious as any
woman might be and wanted to know
who came to my Office, and why. But
! never gave her cause for Jealousy"
Don't you know" snapped Attorney
Johnston. that your wife was jealous
of Miss AIcClenahan2"
20, 1 do not replied the witness.
The examiner mentioned the name of
one Miss Kearns, whom the prosecution
in this case have yainly sought to find
Us a witness. and asked questions con-
corning the doctors friendship with her.
lie refused TO admit any relationship be-
tween them that might have given Mrs.
Brouwer cause for jealousy.
Johnston asked the witness If he had
ever told Miss Hyer that he would get a
divorce from his wife. Upon receiving
an answer in the negative, the examiner
wanted to know If It wasn't fact that
Mrs. BrOuwer had threatened divorce
herself. Witness said that was beyond
bis knowledge.
Taking up the details of Dr. Brouwer's
administration 10 his sick wife and the
symptoms displayed by her at every stage
OF her mortal Illness, Johnston endeavOred
10 force the witness into a confusion of
testimony and Tefutation Of the evidence
already put in by the defense. In some
points he was successful.
He stated that the peptonized milk he
prepared for his wife, and which Miss
Dudley suspected as being a conveyance
for strychnine, was bitter because 1t had
begun to sour. because of the lack Of ice,
and the peDtin had changed to peptone, a
bitter substance, by the action Of decom-
position.
Prosecution Gained Little.
Johnston asked DIT. Brouwer wherein he
thought that the symptoms manifested by
Mrs. Brouwer in her commissions had been
misrepresented by the nurses on the wit
ness stand. The physician replied that
the nurses had erred, 81 that they had
stated that the seizures were first in the
legs and feet Twitching of the facial
muscles and chickering's Of the eyebails
were the first symptoms displayed in the
commissions, he said.
But all the symptoms We're those of
tetanic convulsions induced by strychnine
aud characteristic of strychnine, were
they not?
Yes, they were symptoms of a tetanic
character" admitted the witness.
The net results OF the eross-examina-
lion seemed 10 be that the prosecution
failed to make any stronger their theory
of the motive that they say prompted the
big doctor TO murder his wife, but sue
ceeded in this important point: That the
accused physician, who was closest in at
tendance upon his wife Of any OF the
ether physicians or the nurses, could not
say definitely what was the cause of
death The counsel for the defense have
built their case on the hypothesis that
Mrs. RoHMor did thn nas..It %