Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-02
ReciteS Instances of Brutality
on Witness Stand.
VIOLENT SCENES IN HOME
Her Sister Once Thrown Out of
House, Says Defendant.
SPREAD EAGLE INCIDENT"
Her Husband Got Straps and
Threatened to Operate Upon Her.
Many Blows and Insults.

MEDIA, Pa, January 2-Mrs NJ. Flor
ence Erb. who. with her sister. Mrs. Cath
arine Beisel. is charged with the muir
der of Mrs. Erb's husband took the wit
ness stand today and told sensational
story of extreme cruelty on the part of
her husband as one of the causes leading
up to the shooting of Capt. Erb by Mrs.
Beisel during a violent family quarrel
Mrs. Erb appeared nervous, but she
told her story in straightforward man.
ner
Mrs. Erb said she went to Red Gables.
The Erb country home. in May, 1905, with
a housekeeper and two maids. Trouble
between her and the captain. she said.
started on the first night they were there.
He cursed and swore. she said. and told
her she did not know how to run a
house. Her husband she said. refused to
sit at table with her brother, who had
come to the house to install bathtub,
saying he would not eat with common
plumbers"
Knocked Over a Chair.
I'VE quarreled.' she said. He struck
NE with the back of his hand and knocked
me over a chair. The next day l had
to call a physician to treat me-
Another time he quarreled about the
food. / became afraid and ran into the
tower of the house to sleep there. He
found me and grabbed me by the hair
and dragged me down the steps to his
room. where he kept me all night and
treated me cruelty.
In December. 1906. he put me out Of
he house. AS / was standing on the
porch thinking what to do he came out
and seized me by the throat and threw
me to the floor. An ornament in my
hair was broken and my head was hurt
II was unconscious. When the house.
Keeper came out and found me there
Capt Erb told her I had tainted. AS
result of my injury 1 had to go to a
Sanitarium"
Tell us about the spread eagle in
cident." said her counsel
One evening the captain found fault
with some article Of food on the table,"
said the woman. HE blamed it on me.
I tried to tell him 1t was not my fault
But he swore at me and I ran to my
room.
He followed and yelled at me: You
must leave this house at once or I'll
blow your brains out He got his re-
volver and put it away again,
Had His Revolver.
Il was SO afraid he would shoot me
that when he left the house little later
! went to his room and took it and hid it.
''he demanded the revolver. 1 told him l
hid It, He chased me around the table
in the dining room, trying to hit me.
and when he couldn't catch up he spit In
my face.
Later he followed me to the library.
AS took the revolver from behind some
books ne caught me and grabbed for the
pistol. AS we struggled for the weapon
ne deliberately bent me over davenport,
put his knee on my stomach. and pressed
till I cried for mercy and let go Of the
revolver.
"One of the maids came in and said,
Please. Mr.. Erb; let her 60. Finally he
did release me. 1 was helped to my
room.
That night he came to my room and
told me / must go. In the morning he
forced the maids to pack my clothes and
with jeers and laughter made me leave
the house, weak and faint as l was from
the injury received when he knelt on my
stomach"
After telling Of her movements. she
said she went to the Erb town house In
Philadelphia.
ut was there" she said, that the col
ored man, Poulson. climbed into my room
through window one night to open the
door when 1 would not let the captain in"
Spread Eagle Incident.
She then went on to tell Of the so-called
spread eagle incident. After first insult
ing her in the presence of the housekeep-
err by calling her names and saying she
came from the Point Breeze dumps"
he told her he was going to spread eagle
her.
Getting some straps he threw me on
sofa." she said. I'm going to begin now,
he shouted. L am going to make 1t hot
for you
HE didn't even do 1t. but swung his fist
under my chin and drove my teeth
through my tongue. He kept me on the
sofa until $ o'clock in the morning
threatening to spread eagle me.
Finally he decided not to do SO. The
strain was awful. The next day had to
go to Hot Springs for treatment"
Continuing her narrowing tale Of al
widow told of numerous instances when
Erb swore at her. struck her and tore her
clothes. Then she related story OF the
captains treatment of her sister, who had
come to her defense in the numerous fam
lily Quarrels.
Threw Sister Out of House.
One summer afternoon he picked my
sister up and threw her out Of the
house. she said. Later he tried to force
her through swinging door. In his
frenzy lie began choking her.
"'FN choke the life out of YOU he
said. I'll fix you. I'll put that other eye
on the bum. so that you can get another
glass one he cried.
n was surely killing her So grabbed
.'lp whisky bottle off the table and hit
him on the back of the head. He dropped
Mrs. BeiSel and We ran for our lives