Evening star., 1926-09-17
EVANGEL'S ILLNESS
HALTS HER ARREST
Abscess to Confine Mrs. Nc
Pherson 3 Days. Others to
Be Taken Into Custody.
BY the Associated Press.


LOS ANGELES, September H.
With the arrest of five persons
scheduled by District Attorney Asa
keyes and statements of new VII
nesses adding to the mass OF evidence
in the Aimee Semple Mcpherson KID
mapping investigation. the serious III
ness of the evangelist threatened to
delay the third inquiry into her nve-
week disappearance.
REPORTS of the evangelist's illness
Wednesday were followed by her col
lapse at an Angelus Temple service
Yesterday and the subsequent an
nouncement of her physician that
dangerous infection might cause
death if complications developed.
The illness was described as an alb
scess of the nose, close to the brain.
The physician said that although her
temperature had dropped from the
1O2 mark reached last night 1t would
be three days before the danger would
be past.
District Attorney Keyes said yester-
day he had prepared complaints charg-
ing five persons identified with the
case of conspiracy to defeat justice.
He named Mrs. Pherson; .her
mother. Mrs. Minnie Kennedy; Ken
|
evangelist and former Angelus Temple
radio opera tor; John Doe Martin and
Mrs. Lorraine Wiseman-Sielaf.
Hoax Framer Included.
Mrs. Sielaff was named following
| her statement that she was employed
| by Mrs. Mcpherson to frame the
Miss k hoax. whereby she was 10
pretend she had been the companion
of Crmiston during a Today sojourn
at a cottage at Carmel. Calf, shortly
after the evangelist disappeared. She
| named a "Mr. Martin" as the man
who first asked her to undertake the
Miss X" role.
A new witness was linked with the
case late last night when Harry Z.
| Swift. a truck driver, who claimed
to have witnessed the kidnapping OF
the evangelist from ocean Fark
| Beach the afternoon of May le, told
! keves that the persons who TOOK hef
| away in an automobile were OrnlStoh
and her mother. He then issued d
detailed statement giving MS Nersloh
of the kidnapping"
| Az soon as the warrant for Ormis-
tons arrest is placed in the hands OF
detectives for service. he will sur
render if promised immunity. his at
| tornev. S. s. Hahn, has announced.
The radio man was said to he near
Los Angeles and in readiness to face
the charges.
Alibis Called "BraZen."
The complaints were ordered by
| Keyes Yesterday following state
ment in which he declared that an
! atmosphere a Of a gigantic hoax sur
rounded the evangelists "unbeheV-
| BILE" kidnapping story. He added that
! the situation had developed into a
Enation- wide scandal as the result Of
| the "brazen activities of Mrs. Nc
! Pherson and her friends to build up
false alibis for her
Joe Watts. said to have posed as
| Steve" one of the evanSellstS al
| legged abductors. was confronted In
the district attorneys office last night
| 0v his accuser, Miss Bernice Norris.
! Watts was named by Miss Morris,
formerly private secretary to r. "A.
Mckinley, blind Long Beach attorney
and recently killed in an automobile
accident, as the man whose voice and
photogra ph were recognized by Mrs.
Mcpherson as one of her kidnapers.
Watts steadfastly denied that he had
any knowledge of the hoax. but ad-
nitted Miss Morris had taken his
| photograph.
Other witnesses questioned in the
district attorneys office yesterday
| between for Mrs Mcpherson and Mrs.
Sielaff, Miss Morris and Miss Emma
Schaffer, the evangelist's secretary.