The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1913-07-22

WOMAN REMAINS FIRM


gard to certain views entertained BY
Mrs. Elisabeth C. Pral in reference to
the property at sls-s2o Avenue Of the
Presidents and the litigation which has
ensued about II, Justice Gould. In whose
court an inquiry into the mental condition
of Mrs. Prall il being conducted before
Q jury, yesterday took hand in directing
q number Of questions to Mrs. Prall him.
self, neither the government nor Mira
Prall's attorney having brought out GER
tain views of Mrs. PraIl which the court
thought should be ELECTED.
Mrs. Prall having testified that she
could get no justice at the hands OF the
courts, judgeA and attorneys. Justice
Gould asked her whether 1t would change
her mind, and IL she would recognise that
she was mistaken II even the United
States Supreme Court. the highest tri-
bunal OF the land. were to sustain the
stand taken in the litigation of the prop
erty by the lower courts Mrs. Prall
promptly answered that It would not
change her mind; that even though the
United States Supreme Court should find
against her she would still insist that she
is right. Justice Gould then asked DR..
HUMPHREYS, who appears as an expert
alienist in behalf Of Mrs. Prall. whether
he now admitted that Mrs. Prall suffered
from delusion on this particular subject.
DR.. Humphries denied that such was the
case, and said II was an error Of judy
ment on her part
Mrs. Prall. when placed on the stand.
made a vehement denial that she had
ever threatened the life OF Mrs. Emma
PraIl Knorr, her sister-in-law. and that
she never intended violence against
Justices Anderson and Wright. She said
Attorney James w. Mcneil, who told
of the threat against Justice Wright.
must have had a delusion himself. She
admitted that she had expressed q de-
sire to box" Justice Wright's ears. I'D
like to give your handsome judges ears
a good boxing for what he has done
to me-" Mrs. Prall said she told the
judges private secretary. This hap
pened after Justice Wright declined to
listen to her one day. In reference to
the threat against Justice Anderson. Mrs.
Frall said she never sought nor threat
ened violence. but did seek Impeachment
and Indictment Of the Justice.
Being cross-examined by Assistant Cor
poration Counsel White, Mrs. Prall in
sisted on her Interpretation Of the deed
executed by her father-in-law. William
E. Prall, which purported to convey the
property to his four children for life
then to his grandchildren in common.
Mrs. Prall expressed her conviction that
certain members of the local bar who had
acted as counsel for her at various times
were in a conspiracy to keep her out Of
her property. She also told of an oc-
casion in the courthouse when Justice
Anderson ordered q deputy marshal to
her from the courtroom. She
that she had told the marshal
to arrest the 5urist in his own court
Early Life Related.
The first witness called was the Rev.
Enoch Schroeder, pastor OF Trinity Lu-
theran Church, who testified that he had
known Mrs. Prall for seven years and
that It was his opinion that she u sane.
After that Mrs. Prall took the stand
and gave the jury . history Of her life
and told Of tho romance leading to her
to William E. Prall, jr. She
said she was a travelling companion to
a wealthy New York woman and was
in Florida when she met Prall, who was
then eighteen years old. Witness said
he threatened to commit suicide three
times and once tried to end his life by
poison before she consented
70 marry him. He wrote fervent love
letters to her and finally went to New
York to meet her and that after con-
ferences with relatives the wedding day
was fixed. Mr.. Prall died March q, 1908,
one month after the death Of his son, |
and since then she has been p litigation
over the estate left BY his father. She T.,
informed the jury that her arrest was
due to a demand that she made on other |
heirs for rent. the demand being neces- |
'ary as a precedent for ejectment pro- |
Speaking OF her studying law, Mrs. |
Prall said she had done SO in order to |
take charge Of her litigation after she |
lad lost confidence in lawyers and had |
no funds. She gave the Jury q |
good conception Of legal knowledge and |
told the facts in the |
case. The case will go to the jury this |