New-York tribune., 1922-09-20
Secret Purchaser Bought
dwelling ON FarmWherc
the Bodies of Mrs, Mills
and Rector Were Found
olice Examine 1t
AS Trysting Place
Sold Furnished, Never
Occupied; Mills Puzzles
Officials During Inquiry
From a stof Correspondent

NEW BRUNSWICK, n. j., Sept. 10.
The century-old house on the Phillips
farm was searched to-day by state
troopers for evidence TO support q
theory that this deserted homestead
was the trysting place of the Rev. Ed
ward Wheeler Hall and his choir
leader, Mrs. Eleanor Mills. The crab
apple tree beneath which their bodies
were found last Saturday morning is
about hundred yards from the house.
What the troopers found has not
been revealed by Prosecutor Joseph
Stricker, but several facts were learned
which seem to indicate that the pastor
of the Protestant Episcopal Church of
ST. John the Evin.;elist was in po-
sition to know Snat the un3nhabited
bat nevertheless completely furnished
dwelling vas an iaeSl place for rem
devious.
Purchasers Name Secret
The 148-acre farm was bought from
Asa Phillips, farmer, last July, and
the stipulation was made that all the
furniture and linen be left in the
place, so that it would be ready at
any time for immediate occupancy.
The purchase was made by Joseph II.
Porter, acting as a trustee for some
as yet unidentified purchaser, Mr..
Porter is an officer of the National
Bank of New Jersey and is the trustee
Of the $150,000 estate of Willie Stevens,
brother of the widow of the murdered
minister.
Newspaper men who sought to in
terview Mr.. Porter last Sunday in con-
nection with his trusteeship for mid
dle-aged Willie Stevens were told that
Mr.. Porter had departed for vacation
on Saturday. That was the day the
bodies of the rector and the choir
leader wera discovered on the old
Phillips farm. The information that
Mr.. Porter had gone away was given
Hall and other members of her family.
Mr.. Poter's name came up when MI.
Florance cautioned reporters not to
take seriously any remarks made by
the incompetent Willie To-day news
paper men tried again to see Mr..
Porter at his home in Highland Park,
suburb of New Brunswick on the
west littoral Of the Raritan. They
were met at the door by Mrs. Porter.
Mr. Porter, she said, was i'll.
Answer Is Refused
"Will you ask Mr.. Porter to tell who
owns the Phillips farm which he bought
last July?" she was asked.
81 won't disturb him." declared Mrs.
Porter. Il don't know anything about
his business affairs and don't know who
owns the farm now, but | know he does
not"
Asa d. Phillips, who sold the farm
to Mr. Porter, now is living on a farm
~ 4l,o+ 10
Milestone, a small New Jersey village,
His home is about four and q half
miles southwest of the old place from
which he moved last November. With
him live his son, William, and the lat
ter's wife. Telling about the negotia-
tions of the sale William Phillips said
yesterday:
81 told Sam Levin last year that we
wanted to sell the farm. He is real
estate man, with an Office in the Ma
tional Bank of New Jersey Building, IN
New Brunswick. told him we wanted
100000 In November Levin told me
he had buyer.
Never Knew Principal
"Then Joseph H. Porter was revealed
as the buyer. He took an option on
the place, in which it was stipulated
that the furnishings of the house were
to be left intact. We moved out in
November, leaving curtains, rugs, beds,
everything just as though some one
were to move in the next day Abont
two and half months ago, in July,
the deal was closed. Alfred S. Marsh,
of the Middlesex Title Guarantee and
Trust Company, acted as lawyer for
both sides. We knew that Mr.. Porter
was buying the property as trustee,
but we have never known who the
principal was.
"The house had some fine old furni-
ture in it and there is a splendid ma
hogany staircase from the large flrss
floor living room to the sleeping apart
ments up s,airs. We bought the place
from the Derussy family, which had
owned the land for 200 years. The
house is about 100 years old. I'm
pretty certain no one has lived there
since we moved out and l don't think
there has been q caretaker on the
place"
The ownership of the farm assumed
even more significance late tonight,
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