Evening star., 1923-05-18
DENIES KNOWING MOUNT.

NEW YORK. May 1S.--Mrs. Kath-
erinH IIotchkiss I.ongmaid today tes-
tifieG before District Attorney Banton
OF this city that. until two weeks ago.
she had never heard of Leighton
Mount. former Northwestern Cniver-
sity student. whose death by hazing
was reported to have been mentioned
In letters she received from J. Allen
Mills, It student who was examined
b. q grand jury at Chicago
Mills, she was convinced. had moth
Ing to do with the Mount haZing and
knew nothing about the manner Of
his death. He had written her that
his St"pmother was making him un-
happy and she had replied with a
letter of sympathy. she said.
The witness, who was accompanied
by her father, William III. Hotchkiss.
FORMER stat" superintendent of in
surance. said she did not meet or
know Mills until some months after
the hazine. when she went to Evans
ton ~ visit Il girl friend at North
western.
Statement by Father.
Mr.. Hotchkiss, said to have been a
professor at Northwestern University,
gave the following statement of his
daughters correspondence with Mills
at the close of her testimony before
District Attorney Banton:
SHE went to Evanston late in De-
celuher, 1921, to visit IL school friend
While there. at dinner party. she
met J. Allen Mills, who was three
Years younger than she. and who in
the course of the after dinner CONVEX
sation and while talking at her hos
tess house expressed himself as blue
concerning his future. He explained
this by saying that he had trouble
with his father. who had kicked him
out of his home-this due to dis
agreements with his Stepmother-and
also that he didn't have any money
h.a tnI !, In, b. Il
on In the university. She said that
nothing was said in these conversa-
tions about any unusual incidents
about the university nor its students.
was the name of Mount mentioned
but the conversation had entirely to
DO with the young mans feelings
owing to domestic circumstances
Promised to Write.
she stated further that she was in
Evantson but eight days. and before
she left young Mills asked if he could
correspond with her. as he felt she
could help him. This. she said, she
would do, and after that. in a reason
ably short period of time. she received
from him at most four or five letters
morning: relative to one particular
letter which has been quoted in the
chicago papers, and which Is an ex-
hibit she stated that she could not
IeCoIlect QeTnllely as TO the
letter which led up to her reply, save
that 1t had to do with the same sub
sect of the young mans domestic
aroubles. and that she replied to it as
Quoted.
She has no recollection as to the
reference to an awful day. though
she assumes from her her rather faint
Secollection of the letter that it had
TO do with something that was CO.
temporaneous with the writing of the
Safy SIn ,fnt tn1 bot ~, of
these letters was there any reference
to any haZing or to Mount.
I'm response to questions she stated
that when the family moved from COL
West 10 street, New York, late last
September to Rye. she then being Miss
Katherine Hotchkiss. she destroyed a
large number of letters, about 200,
and among them she destroyed the
letters which she had received from
Mills"