The Washington times., 1927-06-02
BOlJGHTW|G
To FLEE
Gull I
By WILLIAM J. BUTLER
International Newa RerNIca


king" Benjamin Pcrnell, leader Of
the House of David, planned to es.
cape from the cult while disguised
az a woman, Mrs. Esther HanseI,
star witness in the States dissoIu-
ton suit, testified today.
Mrs. Hansel described amid the
filters Of the crowd how Purnell
bought a red wig and borrowed a
corset and mother hubbard" dress
from Mrs: Hilda Pritchard prepare.
tory to escaping.
How was he going to cover his
beard?" the witness was asked.
He intended to put comforter
about his neck" was the answer.
State Wins in Cross-Fire
The savage cross examination of
Mrs. Hansel by defense counsel. w.
J. Barnard. occupied the entire day
yesterday.
Displaying all the zeal and re.
sourcefulness with which she once
defended the house of David and its
bearded leader, Mrs. Hansel never
faltered under the hammering of
Barnard's questioning and when
court was adjourned, it was counted
the states round.
Not only did she stand firm in
the charges she made on direct
examination as to the immortality
practiced there by Purnell, but
under Barnard's questioning, Mrs.
Hansel made further charges of
brutality and dishonesty Of draft
evasion and of deliberate plotting to
"vamp" a rival cult leader and thus
obtain his money and his followers.
Most of 1t came as surprise to
Barnard as when in answer to his
question as to whether or not
Queen Mary" Purnell was present
at Shiloh at a certain time. Mrs.
Hansel answered:
Gives Defense Several Surprises
mo. she was not. Mary and
had gone to Camp Custer, where
some of our boys had been drafted
into military service and were re-
fusing to drill or obey orders. Mary
and l spent hours writing out So
called scriptural passages forbidding
us to take up arms against our
neighbors, forbidding the carrying
OF firearms or any other weapon.
The truth was that Benjamin and
every other officer in the colony
always carried a gun"
Bernard sought to elicit from Mrs.
Hansell that she never saw Purnell
use it and put his question thus:
But you never saw Benjamin as
sault anybody in your life, did
your"
Eyes, did. He struck me and
knocked me unconscious one night
in his home in Shiloh. The girls
had to put ice to my head to revive
me-"
She told of Purnells plotting to
get the colony of Joseph Corey,
an Englishman,, who had been the
head of the John Wroe colony in
Australia NBenjamin knew that
the followers of Corey all paid
tenth of their incomes every year."
she said.
Went to See Corey, She Says
"And he thought he could get
that money if he could geta Corey
to admit that there had never been
an "ingathering" in his cult such
as there was the House Of David
in Benton Harbor. / was only
fifteen at the time but he sent me
to England to see Corey.
IF you can't get him any other
way, vamp him." Benjamin told me.
81 went to England to see Corey
but did not tell him I was a mem
Der of the House of David. I cor
responded with him after / returned
and finally got him to write to me
that his ingathering had not yet
taken place. With that in black and
white over Corey'S signature gave
Benjamin something to work on
and he had his lawyers go to Eng
land and file q suit to get the
money in Corey's treasury.
Sometime after that, Emma and
Thomas Rowe Of the colony, were
sent to England by Benjamin to be
with an old aunt of Emma's who
was very rich. and was dying.
Brought Back Her Money.
when they returned, BENJAMIN
told me that he believed they had
starved the old woman to death, and
that Thomas had told him that
when she was slipping he tried to
take her diamond rings off her
fingers. She closed her fists and
said: Not so fast there, lad she
said. I'm not gone yet They
brought back with them the money
she had left. also her paintings and
clothing, although other relatives
were named in her will besides the
Rowes."
Pressed by Bernard to tell of
tunnels built as a means of escape
for Benjamin in case of raids, Mrs.
Hansel bristled and said:
You're making so much out of
this because they've been all filled
up by this time. But that doesn't
mean they weren't there because
they were. and I crawled through
one myself"