Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-05-04
FREEMAN WILL HEARING
CONTINUES IN COURT TODAY
CONTINUED from page -

William Breen, of Metuchen, tes-
tilted that he went to work for the
Freeman Coal Company in 1907 as a
chauffeur. In 1917 he went to
France with the United States troops
and returning in 1919 resumed his
work continuing until January, 1922,
when he had some difference with
Freeman. Upon his return from
France, Breen said. DR.. Freeman
gave him about $1,000 which rep
resented half of what Breen would
have received had he remained at
work.
The witness said that Freeman's
"sprees" were of a progressive ma
ture. the frequency of them being
more pronounced as the time went
on. For the first few years he knew
DR.. Freeman, the witness said, the
doctor would go off on a spree
possibly only once or. twice a yea
These periods during which the doc
tor was under the influence of liquor
or drugs increased. Breen said. I'M
til they were a weekly occurrence
Breen told of the doctor coming
to his house to live and of his fire.
quent visits to the drug store to Sc
cure packages for the doctor. Asked
where he secured the w~hiskey. Breen
was reluctant to state. but finally
said he secured the jugs of liquor
from Joe Camino's place in Hillside
avenue, but he did not think that
Canine was supplying the stuff. The
witness told of the large amount of
whiskey taken every day by Free
man while the doctor lived with the
Breen family.
Breen testified that on Christmas
day, 1921, Harry Mohring, who lives
across the street, came to the Breen
house. dressed Freeman and took
him to the Mohring house for dinner.
The witness said he broke with Free
man after he had set fire to his bed
clothing, the result of dropping
sparks while smoking in bed. Breen
said the doctor became lax in his
habits and he did not like the man
ner in which the doctor treated his
wife, this resulting in Breen reach
ing the decision TO get away from
Freeman. In January, 1922 this
break came, the witness said.
John w. Breen, Jr., testifying on
the stand this morning, told OF be-
ing a b"ookkeeper for DR.. Freeman
for twelve years. On April 80 OF
last year, he said, the doctor sam
moned him and told him he desired
to nave a directors meeting held for
the purpose of fixing the salaries OF
stockholders in the Freeman COM
pany and also because he (treeman)
wanted to urn over all OF his stock
in the business to Breen (the Wit
ness). The witness said he did not
call the meeting but on the follow
;,r, Ia.+ Nraan1an n handed him what
he said was the minutes of the meet
ing of the stockholders he had held
the day previous. The minutes,
the witness said, had been written
i'm long hand by Harry MohrinS n
he (Breen) made a typewriter copy
of them, a copy being presented IN
court, but its contents not made pup
lie. n.
Last June, the witness said Dr.
Freeman had him write to Senator
Frelinghuysen, telling the senator
that a niece of the doctor who hau
married a German officer desired to
come to this country as her
had been killed. The witness said
Freeman told him to tell Frellng-
nuysen in the letter that 2O,OOo
marks had Leen sent to this niece
AND he requested the senator to give
her the freedom of the port, assur-
ling him that she weud bring no CON
ltraband. The witness testified that
IDr. Freeman had no brothers and
no married sisters, making it i'm
possible for the doctor to have a
niece.
Breen also testified that Dr.. Free
man had him write 20 the Standard
oil Company in September of last
wear telling the officers hat he could
Isolve for them the problem of clean
ling refuse from their tank boats as
he (Freeman) was formerly an in
structor in chemistry at Rutgers.