The Washington herald., 1920-03-28
WILL YACATE
HER MANSION
Mrs. Bergdoll, Mother Of
Draft Dodger, Calls Phila-
delphia Terrible Place

Declaring Phtiadelpnia II ter
rible city to live in,'' Mrs. Emma c..
Bergdoll says she is disposing Of
all of her property except her for
mer residence. Twenty-ninth street,
below Girard avenue. says a Phila-
delphia dispatch.
She will live again soon in the
Twenty-ninth street dwelling. She
gives as her reason for wanting to
move from the Bergdoll mansion.
Fifty-second street and wynnefield
avenue. that she is being tharassed
to DEATH" 1t was in this palatial
home her son. Grover Cleveland
Bergdoll, recently was arrested for
lodging the draft.
Alienists engaged to prove Grover
Is crazy may not be allowed to tes-
tify. This became known, at Fort
Jay. Governors Island, N. Y, where
he is awaiting court-martial for de-
sertion.
The army lunacy board. appointed
to investigate his counsers claim
that he Is feeble minded and should
not be tried, will meet in a few
days to decide whether 1t is au-
thorized to hear expert testimony.
Re-Examination of Prisoner.
In case II is not, the board will
complete its work with a re-exami-
nation of the prisoner, according to
Col. Elmer A. Dean. chairman. The
other members are Col. B. F. Duva.l
and Maj. A. p. Bakery an alienist
The Bergdoll alienists are DR.. NJ.
s. Gregory and DR.. Smith Ely Jel-
life. of New York.
To the witnesses summoned. il is
believed, will be added owen d,
Sherley, proprietor of hotel at
Hagerstown. Md. and his wife, said
to have identified Bergdoll from a
photograph as having stayed at
their hotel during part OF the time
he was lodging the Federal au-
thorities.
Mrs. BergdolI Also q Dodger.
Mrs. Bergdoll Is alleged to be a
dodger herself when 1t comes to
paying city taxes, although she de-
MED it. Judgments have been en-
tered against her on two lots she
owns for delinquent taxes.
Records further show for the last
ten years she has been SO slow in
paying taxes on her properties the
city solicitor was required to sue
her repeatedly before she peeled off
a few greenbacks from her roll to
settle obligations.
At present, Mrs. Bergdoll owes
the city treasury $11.02 in taxes on
the lots and 1916 in school taxes.
The latter delinquency dates back
from 1917, and with costs will be
increased by at least S1.50 when
finally settled.
She failed to pay the s3.76 tax on
a lot at Twenty-sixth street and
Susquehanna avenue, one of many
properties she acquired at the death
of her husband, a millionaire brew
er.
The city taxes she owes even ante
date the trifiing school tax. 1t was
in 1909 she passed up two separate
taxes of S5.51 each on the lot at
Catherine and Taney streets, in the
Thirtieth ward. This tax is a nui-
sance tax, and was levied because
she failed to keep the sidewalk in
repair. Judgment was entered in
Common Pleas Court No. 3 last jan
uary z against the Thirtieth ward
lot.
She Denies the Charges.
Mrs. Bergdoll denied she failed to
pay the taxes on the lot at Twenty
sixth street and Susquehanna ave-
nue. and said she had tax receipts
to prove this.
She declares she knows nothing of
the nuisance taxeS levied at Cath
crime and Taney streets. This prop
erty." said Mrs. Bergdoll. was
transferred to me in payment of a
debt. A house stood on it. I tried
to get somebody to make repairs,
but nobody would do the work for
me. 1t finally got into such bad
condition 1t had to be torn down.
The way am being treated is aw-
full"
Mrs Bergdoll intimated the house
at Catherine and Taney streets was
wilfully defaced. She added she
would look up the taxes in both
cases and pay them.
Since the arrest of Grover. the
wynnefield avenue mansion has been
almost deserted. Mrs. Bergdoll is in
New York most of the time, to be
near her son.
The Twenty-ninth street house is
unpretentious 1t is a brick struc-