Evening star., 1922-10-23
STATE OFFICIALS
TAKE CHARGE Of
MURDER INQUIRY
Overthrow of Local Authority
Seen as Recognition of
Failure.
GRAND JURY ACTION
STILL BEING WAITED
Assistant Essex County Prosecutor
Expected to Take Charge
at Once.
BY DAN RING.
stS- Correspondent of The Star

stSs- Correspondent Of The Star.
NEW BRUNSWICK. n. J., October %
Attorney General McCran Of New Jer-
sey. has stepped into the Hall-Mills case
and has assigned Wilbur A Mott, as
sistant prosecutor, Of Essex county, 10
command nrestigation of the murder
mystery.
This ness hit New Brunswick with
explosive 'orce today. following a week
OF promised action. 1t means that the
| state has superseded the county in an
effort to Gear up the case.
Prosecutor Beekman was seen ir
somervill% county seat Of Sunmerset
county. tbs morning. He did not reply
when asked il the grand jury meeting
| this morning would take up the case,
but inference drawn by developments
was that 1t would not.
Arriva of the special prosecutor is
expected hourly. His home is in New
ark. and the time to make the trip To-
! New BrI nswick is less than an hour
Mystery Uafathomed.
Actor of the state is an Indication
| of the failure Of the local authorities.
Saturday afternoon and Saturday
night. Well-defined rumors had It
| that the grand jury of Somerset
| county would be asked to pass upon
| two indictments. Prosecutor Azariah
Beekman had a lengthy session with
the grand jury on Friday. Regarding
| that session nothing was said beyond
tho point that the jury would recon
fnIo
again this morning. Beekman ana
| George N. Totten, county detective,
were in conference for almost an
hour preceding the meeting, but no
announcement OF definite action was
/ forthcoming.
F., Here in New Brunswick II is fel,
| by one set s1 investigators that at
least enough evidence has been ac-
| cumulated to Justify the request for
Indictment r. IT was up to the
state trooper5 a person close to
them said: Wed lock up some peopI.
in a minute. We cannot act. we are
assisting the prosecutor
Assistant Assigned Mott.
Detective James Mason of the
Newark prosecutors Office, who has
| a statewide reputation in murder
cases, has been assigned to the case
| as assistant Of Mott and is now on
| his way here to pick up the knotted
and tangled strands of the mystery.
Mott was prosecutor Of Essex coun-
| ty for many years, but more recently
| occupied the office of assistant prose
| cutor. serving as aide at present TO
Prosecutor J. Henry Harrison.
During Motifs term of ofiice he has
been active in the investigation OF
every big murder in Essex county and
has been almost uniformly successful.
He gained his reputation in a number
of murder cases he cleared up and
obtained preliminary experience as a
prosecutor by serving as a Newari;
police judge for several years beforc
his appointment as prosecutor.
Witnesses in Conflict.
Prosecutor Joseph Stricken of Mid
dlesex county, who has been Eradu-
ally dropping out of the inquiry. said
statements attributed to Mrs. Henry
+. Stevens. wife of the brother OF
Mrs. Hall, relative to his fishing OF
Thursday night. September IA (when
the murder took place., confiicted
with what Henry Stevens swore to in
the prosecutors office. Henry Stevens
said he fished until about 1890
o'clock and then retired. But Mrs.
Stevens. according to the Times, said
| that her husband was out in a boat.
Lavalette. where the Stevens family
resides, to check up on various points
Of this statement. Stevens has been
questioned a number of times. He
was said to have furnished an aiibi
satisfactory in every way.
A week ago last Saturday Prose
cutors Beekman and Stricken visited
Justice Parker of the state supreme
court with the request that he ask
the attorney general Of the state 70
take charge. Then, according to re-
ports, some new evidence gave
promise. and the prosecutors asked
postponement Of state action, 1t is be-
iieved, for a week.
Newspaper men have been told time
and again through underground
sources that something big was In
the wind, and that action in tn.
| murder could not long be delayed
During the week the widow of DR..
Edward Wheeler Hall and her two
brothers. Henry and Willy, were
brought to the courthouse. and quizzed
| for hours. There are believed 10 be n
eyewitnesses.