The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1911-09-28
EASI0N AGOG OVER
C0klNG TRIAL
Trial Of Miss Harriet De Witt
For Writing Things That
y Wrecked Homes and Al
most Broke Up q
Congregation.

MISS HARRIET De Witt, the spinSter
daughter of a retired truck farmer of
Easton. Pa, was placed on trial in
the Federal Court here yesterday on
the rather indefinite charge OF mis-
using the mails, the postal authorities
expected to clear up the mystery sur
rounding system OF anonymous let
ter-writirg that has terrorized the
churchgoing folk of Easton for the
past six years. In that period homes
nave been wrecked, friends have be-
come enemies and lovers have been
separated-all as a result of a series
OF slanderous epistles written in the
same treacherous hand and couched
I'm the same venomous language.
Whether the examination OF Miss
De Witt reveals her as the writer of
the pen-printed. venom barbed letters |
that have disturbed the peace and |
quiet OF Easton for the past six years, |
or vindicate the assertions of herself |
and her friends that she is innocent. |
they Will unfold to her eager towns |
folk the history OF her life-a his |
tory that, by some trick Of fate. |
seems TO be curiously in harmony
with the rise and elimination of me
letter-writing.
Miss De Witt is a single woman
living with her parents. Her father
is = retired truck farmer OF Easton.
Her movements ever since the series
of letters began to make their ap-
pearaace in Easton society have been
veileG in mystery, even her intimate
neighbors being unaware of her eX-
istence. Before the letter-writing be-
gan she is said to have been a mem
Der of the Christ Evangelical Luthe-
ran Church, of which the Rev. Elmer
z. Snyder, then young bachelor di-
vine, is pastor.
Attacked Young Preacher First.
1t was while the Rev. Snyder was
attending the social pleasures of his
church that the first letters made
their appearance. They were ad
dressed to members of the young di-
vines flock and contained charges so
unspeakable that the resulting furore
almost resulted in his expulsion.
Later, when he was engaged to marry
a young lady from the West. another
batch OF letters disturbed the peace
of the church over which he had held
sway. From this time on, il is said, !
little was seen of Miss De Witt.
From time to time other letters |
have made their appearance, gradu- |
ally widening their scope till their |
circulation included the members of |
families IN every part of the town. In
fact, so profuse did the letter-writing 4
become that ii is thought that at least II
four or more authors have fallen vic /,
Tins to the disease. 4;
BaffIed Postal Detectives.
The postal inspectors have been at ls
work on this strange epidemic for \
several years, their only clews being {
letters placed in their hands by the Ii
Rev Mr.. Snyder. Time and again '
nave they set out upon a promising
trail. only to be confronted with fail Ii
ure- They have, at different times. ii
had under suspicion several memb ers a
Of the Rev. Mr.. Snyder's flock, but in /
each case the suspected persons were Ia
able to prove beyond doubt their in
nocence-in one case acknowledging Id
an inability to read or write; in an Ia
other proving an alibi, and in still Is
another responding to the suspicion I'd
with a removal from town. But still
the letters found their way into Eas- Ii
ton homes-sometimes after a lapse "
Of months and sometimes appearing ID
4 score at a time. lc
Arrest of Miss Dc Witt. =
Gradually suspicion. through fire. IL
1uent references TO intimate portions n
of Pastor Snyder's house and back s
Yard, became restricted 10 the region c
Immediately surrounding the vicar 4
Age The tenants of the surrounding r
1ouses were put under secret surVeil- .
ance, marked stamps were kept for I
among them. and samples 4
)f handwriting obtained. BY these
means the postal inspectors built up
heir evidence bit by bit, till at last 10
hey felt that their case was strong
enough TO warrant an arrest. The
lext morning all Easton rung with |,
he news that the mysterious recluse, Il
Harriet De Witt, was under arrest ac-
FUSED with misuse of the United States !
nails .
At the hearing. on September 1st. E
he evidence was found sufficiently ?
strong to warrant her detention for
rial in the Federal Court on Septem- p
Der 18th, though she herself added :
her denunciaticn of the arrest to that
of many friends of the family, and
though II was generally conceded
mat the governments case, as far as :
II was liVulged at the preliminary =
nearing, showed few signs of strength. :
AS the correspondent says it was
nne stag from large herd that I
jumped through plate glass window /
into department store in Springfield, u
the story is improbable. Nobody ever
heard of stag party breaking up to -
form a bargain charlottesville Cou- 5
rier Journal. o
American ships will be favored in Il
oils at the canal They don't count
veil, that's another story.-Florida
Il
General Leonard Wood wouldn't let p
| young lieutenant resign from the 8
army in order to get married. OIL
course, the young fellow is mad as a b
lornet now, but in years to come he [
nay have occasion to rise up and call I
he general hero.-Wilmington IN. t
- Dispatch. o
In the year 500 b. c. they had an I
observatory for studying the stars in [
Alexandria, Egypt" and star-gazers Q
have been loafing and killing time ever I
since, while somebody else was put 7
ting up their running expenses
Advertiser.
|
|