New-York tribune., 1919-04-07
Mrs. Fuller Chargessquabble
That Divided Town Was
Started by Families That
Livedon Either Side of Her
W ould Welcome Flat
Defendant Will Return to
'FriendIiuess'' of N. Y.
Apartment, She Declares

II tried to be neighborly. I did SO
want to be nice. But | wanted to keep
my home pretty, too"
Mrs. Hildegarde Swinton Fuller,
blond of hair blue of eyes and alto
gether personable and pretty, sobbed
yesterday as she told of the strange
events in the sleepy little New Jersey
town of Mllburn which led up to her
indictment on the charge of being
common scold.
Mrs. Fuller is as far removed in ap-
pearance as possible from the shrewish
hag Of history. whass punishment un-
der the ancient laws consisted in the
use of the gag, the pillory and the
duckine stool. Her nose is tip-tilted,
md it is only in certain frmness Of
mouth That can be seen the steady pur-
pose which was ut the bottom Of the
whole trouble.
Would Welcome Flat
Mrs. Fuller and her husband once
lived in New York apartment wbere
there Is little chance Of knowing even
the neghbor living Oh the same floor
MRS. Fuller would welcome Il Manhattan
Hat" slce more, as Il wonderful haven
Of rest and friondliness, after her ex-
perlence with suburban kindness.
For it was Mrs. tullers neghbors,
she SAID, who brought on the squabble
which ended in the unusual Indictment
The Fullers live IN a corner house. On
one street Mr.. and Mrs. Harry w. Hiss
and their three children live next door
On the other the house is occupied by
Mr.. and Mrs. Ralph w. Foss and two
more children.
A neat little driveway separates the
Fuller and Hiss dwellings, and runs to
the back pCsch Of the Foss house. 1t is
the innocent cause of the most exciting
contest in the history of Millburn and
one of the rarest Of legal proceedings
in the whole state. The driveway has
history.
Lawn TrampIed, She Says
For seventeen years, Mrs. Fuller
said, the drive had been used by the
three families by agreement, although
it was the property of the owner of
the Fuller house. When the Fullers
took possession they knew nothing of
this arrangement. They were soon dis
ilusioned.
Their dreams of sylvan quiet and
rest were rudely broken upon when
veritable parade of conveyances of all
Vintages and descriptions began rum
bling UP the drive to the back door of
the Foss menage. Mrs. Fuller said that
she protested mildly.
Please, won't you tell your delivery
men to use your own drve?" she said
she asked of Mrs. Foss
We'll, such nerve! It's my drive as
much as it's yours. We've always used
it and we always intend to-" Mrs. Foss
Teplied, according to Mrs. Fuller
The children of both the Foss and
Hiss families, Mrs. Fuller continued,
insisted on tramping over her pretty,
dry, ice coal and grocery wagons con-
tinued to stream past in spite of all
her remonstranccs.
Village Drawn In
Finally, in desperation, she said, she
strung 4 wire across the entrance to
the drive, with little placard, an
nouncing it was CLOSED to the public"
Then the storm broke. The wire was
torn down every night and put up
again every morning. Then it was all
lowed to stay up, but decorated with a
vide assortment of defunct birds and
other animals.
The village officials were next drawn
into the fight, Mrs. Fuller said. The
health authorities were summoned be-
cause of rubbish dumped on the lawn
by some mysterious hand. The fire de-
Ipar!!iment and the police were en-
Then last July complaint was en-
eeIeq against Mrs Fuller and the De-
cemoer term of the grand jury re-
turned the indictment few weeks az,
on March Is. ''"' ago.
y ne mcanness Of some peoplc -
%Nept Mrs. Fuller II didnt believe
human nature could he so petty. It
was all such a trivial matter. And
ANYHOW, why can't arrange NV own
property 70 suit myself?" '' '"'
70 Nen, MeH va !, 5 all over I'm going back
~ Ne" York for good. But before
go I'm going to build an iron 'fsu fauoa
around the house" AVN 'e"ce