Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-25
QUESTION SANITY
OF MILLIONAIRE
Wife Charges Rich Husband with
Wild Conduct at Their
Pasadena Home
MAN SLEEPS WITH HATCHET
Woestman Agrees to Pass Month
in Sanitarium and Trou-
bIeS Are Patched
MAN SLEEPS WITH HATCHET

commission, which met yesterday In
the courthouse, with Judge Cole OF I'M
perial presiding, ended In the very
human way of the man giving into his
wife's wishes and leaving with her,
having given his promise to pass
month in a private sanitarium and
then again submit to an examination
into his sanity.
They were Mr.. and Mrs. Edward #.
Woestman of Hill and San Pasqual
streets, South Pasadena, their troubles
arising in their $4,000 home, which is
situated there and which was the cause
of the alleged dipsomaniacal acts or
the man.
When the wife finally reached the
limit of her endurance she caused a
warrant to be issued for his arrest on
the charge of insanity, and he re-
manned for several days in the far from
aristocratic insane ward of the county
hospital, receiving exactly the same
treatment as do the many other in
mates of that establishment.
The wife, who swore to the COM
plant under the name of Henrietta
c. Woestner, alleged in the inforrna-
ton that he slept with a hatchet,
emitted loud and continual yells at
night, falsely accused her and COM
mitted many other acts by which she
had been forced to believe him un-
balanced mentally
Woestman declared his wife merely
was attempting to railroad" him to
the insane asylum In order to obtain
possession of his property and engaged
Milsap & Sparks, attorneys, to repre-
sent him. Mrs. Woestman engaged
Judge Gibbs, formerly OF the superior
court as her counsel
WIFE THREW VASE
Before the, case was taken up
Woestman appeared with other alleged
laff Tor "a
was a long but deep cut, which mis-
attorneys said had been inflicted by
Mrs Woestman striking him with
pitcher. She admitted having done it,.
but not with a pitcher-it was vase
which she used to defend herself with
when he tried to strike her in the face,
she said.
Attorneys argued lengthily over
their case, the mans representatives
declaring they had no witnesses pres
ent and objecting to action other than
that customary in ordinary cases be-
ing taken. They finally agreed to
hear Mrs .Woestman'S side of the
case, however, and she was placed
upon the stand to tell her story.
After declaring that throughout the
nineteen years of her married lie her
husband had been more or less of
drinker, she said that in the last eight
or nine months he had grown much
worse in that respect and was angry
nearly all the time.
He seldom or never ate at home,
she said, declaring that his stomach
was out Of order and usually leaving
the house early in the morning and re-
turning late at night.
HE accused me of wanting to get his
money from him, and showed many
acts of jealousy. When he would come
home late at night he would pound on
my bedroom door with a hatchet, and
once he drove me out Of the house. He
said he was going to buy pistol and
use it. He slept little at nights, but
moaned and groaned and even
"Only last week he struck me in the
face. and would have done so again If
had not thrown a vase at him. That
is what made the cut on his left temple.
sMAsHEs TELEPHONE
"He put the telephone out Of order,
and when he heard my niece and my
self trying to use the instrument he put
his head out of door nearby and ad-
mitted he had done it. He offered no
explanation for his action, but was
willing to fix It,
HE accused me OF 'joy-riding,' and
took the plugs out Of the automobile.
He has spent large sums of money
lately, as much as $1,000 at one time. 1
thing he has been specializing
On cross nTS. w O6SlI1du
admitted that she had made visit to
the county hospital to suggest to her
husband that he go to a sanitarium and
turn over his property to her.
my lawyer told me that would
become the guardian of him and the
estate IL he really were insane" she
said.
she also said It was true that for
more than a year she had been at
tempting to persuade him to turn over
to her a valuable Colorado ranch.
.'Mr. Woestman inherited his proper
ty, did he not" asked the attorney.
, HE did," was the answer.
"And 1t was not in any sense COM
munity property
''Yet you tried to get it?"
"I did"
In answer to question concerning
her husbands income, Mrs. WoeStman
was uncertain, but knew he received
not less than $1400> every month from
st. Louis.
CARRIED KNIFE AND GUN
Questioned about his liking for in
toxicants, she asserted that there prob
ably was not more than one day in the
last three months when he was sober.
Her husbands attorneys asked If 1t
were not ture that when he conducted
a grocery store all of her relatives ran
up bills and never paid them. She SAID
only a sister had received that privi-
lege.
nurse employed for few days to care
for Mr.. Woestman, told of giving him
doses Of morphine to quiet him. She
also told at length of seeing him carry
ing a hunting knife about with him,
the weapon later being abstracted from
his clothing by his two sons, is and -
years old.
]. G. r. Henry, deputy constable,
who served the insanity complaint
upon Mr.. Woestman, said the million
aire drew a pistol on him and threat
ened to kill him.
Mr.. Woestman was then placed upon
the stand. Though only 45 years old
his hair is quite gray and there are
deep lines about his face.
He admitted drawing a weapon when
he was approached by the constable,
but said he pointed 1t at the ground
and not at the officer. He made odd
statements Of requiring the weapon for