Evening star., 1926-05-28
BERG CASE TACKLED
IN FENM|NG PROBE
Mother of Former Ward of
Accused Commissioner Is
Heard by Inquirers.


Hospitel and three months before his
death. was permitted to make will
on order Of the court. which was peti
toned for by Commissioner Frederick
A. Fenning, was reviewed today he
fore the House judiciary subcom
nnittee investigating impes chmen'
charges brought against the Commits
sioner by Representative Blanton,
Democrat, Of Texas.
Utilizing one Of Mr. Rlantons wit
nesses-Charles Hadley Hull Of New
London, Conn, attorney for the hoy $
mother-F'rank j. Hogan, chief de-
fense counsel, was able emphatically
to deny charges by Mr. Blanton that
the mother was never notified by Mr..
Fennins at the time the will was pro-
bated.
Davis Called to Stand.
Just before recess was taken for
luncheon. Auditor Herbert l.. DAVIS
of the District Supreme Court, who
recently ruled against bond premiums
and committee fee In one OF Mr..
Jennings guardia nship cases, was
called to the stand Mr.. Blanton yes
ierday declared that although Mr..
Fenning had been ordered by the
court to turn over the estate OF
Roley Lee to Mrs. Eliza Lee. the new
guardian. the Commissioner had not
done so. The audito, was asked by
Mr. Rlanton today il final account
ting had been made and Mr.. Davis
replied II Was filed May II. the court
order turning II over to him was
dated May 20 and the auditors Of
flee received it this morning for a
final statement.
Mr.. Rlantons hrst witness today
was Mrs. Mary Berg. mother OF the
deces sed veteran. The facts In the
case as shown by court records are
that Mrs Anne Post representing her
self as heing the sister of the veteran b..
filed a petition appointing MIR. Fen
nina guardian and decla ring the, e
were no other relatives except two
brothers. Mrs. Post Is cousin oe
the veteran. Mrs. Berg. the mother
testified. In the petition cf Mrs.
Post requesting that Phillip Berg be
allowed to make a will. the charge In
made that the mothe led an immoral
life and the son wished to disinherit
her.
Good Reputation Assumed.
The committee today declined to go
into the question raised in the petition
against Mrs. Berg. hut Chairman
Dyer. Republican. Missouri. asserted
that the members would assume Mrs.
Berg to he q good woma n and Of good
reputation, in spite Of statements set
forth in the petition.
Mrs. Berg declared through a dis
tant relative she learned her son was
i'll In ST. Elizabe Hospital, and that
through the Red Cross, two months
later. she was informed of his death.
She further testified she never was
informed Of the notice published in re-
gard to the probate OF the will
Mr.. Hull then was called by Mr..
Rlanton and be subata inflated the
statement that Mrs. Berg was Phillips
mother and that he knew her to be
hard working woman and of good
reputation. He made reference to
some correspondence he had with Mr..
F'enning. which Mr.. Blanton did not
take up. hut which Mr.. Hogan went
into 1t proved to be a complete file
setting forth the fact that following
the boys death, Mrs. Berg who pre-
viously had been informed by Mr..
F'ennins that the son had made a
WILL employed Mr.. Huh to protect
her interests. MIR. Hull corresponded
with MIR. Fenning, received q copy
Of the will and also an offlcial notice
that the document had heen fled for
probate. The will now ia being con-
teseted in a Connecticut court by the
mother. who was disinherited entirely
by the lunatic son.
The Lee Case Is Closed.
The Roley Lee ca ~. to which many
hours Of discussion have been given
before this and other congressional
committees. was closed yesterday aft
ernoon when Mrs. Eliza Lee OF
Grundy, Va. completed her testimony
begun several days ago and was cross
examined by Mr.. Hogan and excused
from, further appearance on the sta nd
Mrs. Lee testified she came to
Washington more than two years ago
and found her son Roley without any
clothes. other than night shirts and
a bathrobe. She bought the first suit
for him, which Mr.. Fenning later paid
for out Of her sons estate and since
that time has personally purcha aed
the wearing apparel. During this pc
riod, Mrs. Lee testified, she saw Mr..
Fenning only three or four times at
the institution.
He supplied her with funds on her
arrival here. she declared. and when
these became exhausted, he gave her
$50 mad. she recalled. said. I'D have
TO go home" Mrs. Lee added that this
almost broke my heart. because !
wanted to stay by my hoy intil he
either died or got we'll" Nevertheless.
she declared. she was forced to carry
out the Instructions and went back to
Grundy. where SHE kept boa rders un-
vi she accumulated enough money to
return to Washington.
Allowance Was Raised,
Mr.. Fenning put me of with $40 a
month" she declared. but explained
this later was increased to $57 through
the efforts Of c. Basccm Slemp. She
had qualified as xusrdia in 1922 in
the Virginia courts. she also declared.
MIR. Hogan, in cross.exa mining the
witness. developed that a friend in
Grundy had been in active correspond
ence with Mr.. Fennine. which re-
suited In the latter sending her the
necessary papers to sign appointing
him guardian. Previous testimony
had made no mention Of the negotia-
tons leading mp to the appointment
OF Mr.. Fenning by the mother.
Mr. Hogan also developed that
when Mrs. Lee came to Washington
the hrst time her son was una BILE to
leave his bed for two or three weeks.
owing to the nature Of his illness.
This was offered to explain the lack of
clothing. Without Announcing his
pa pUse' MI HokSn questioned Mrs.
Lee on the number of children she
had and the reply showed she was the
mother Of six grown sons a nd daurh-
ters end two minors.
Says Records Are Missing.
William II. Hayden. a clerk at st.
Elizabeth's Hospital. gave further
testimony regarding the rifins of his
files and declared a number of his
records had been missing for more