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Show MRS. HALL SUFFERS ORDEAL OF SHARP QUIZZING BY REPORTERS Retires Wan But Composed After an Hour's Questioning; Ques-tioning; Sheds No Light on Mysterious Deaths of Rector and Singer NEW BRUNSWICK, N. J.. Nov. 2 (By the AsHOflatcd Pros) "What comment eould I m?ke? f course, that was not bo, and that Ib u.11." With tliese words Mrs Brfcnoes Ste-en3 Hall opened Wednesday her first Interview an interview planned by her counsel io that she might Si bK to extricate herself, in tho public ej from tho circumstantial net In which the unfolding of th. Hall-MUIa murder mur-der mystery has enmeshed her. For the first time since she was made a widow by the slaying of the Kev. Edward Wheeler Hall and Ills choir leader, Mrs. Eleanor flelnhnrdt Muls. Mrs. Hall emerged from the seclusion she hus maintained for 'even weeks meeting a small army of ns-paper ns-paper writers In her home, and subjecting sub-jecting herself to an hour's bombard- ni'Mii 01 ipieiioiiB At the end. she retired M she had entered the room, wan but composed. She had shed no light on the mystery. mys-tery. She had fallen Into none of tho traps the cross-examiners prepared for her Hers was a negative It amplified but did not materially alter the statements previously made on her behalf by counsel and friends. Briefly, It was that Dr. Hall ha J started out to his doom, saying he was going on on errand of mero to discuss with Mrs Mills a hospital bill which he was paying with chun h funds; that ho was slain by a person i and for a motive of which she his not the slightest conjecture; and that her memory of him Is unsullied by the Ugly scandal In which his name has been Involved. it was nBir psst iwo o ciock wnen Timothy X Pfeiffer, Mrs. Halls lawyer escorted her Into the quaint library of the big Hall homo, where the reporters wero waiting In serried ranks. AjLONTD AT ORB HAL. Ho introduced her and withdrew, leaing her alone with her ordeal of , personal publicity an ordeal from Ml which oho had said she had shrunk since youth. Attirod in. a gown of hlac!c canton crepe, 'with a light acarf of black pIIic about her shoulders, she seated herself in an old-Lihloned rocker and let her gray eyes POVO over the strangu scene her familiar llhrnrv presented The background of greenish-gold wall paper hung with a medley of classical prints and portraits of ancestors; an-cestors; the mantel with its brle-a-brac and vases; the antique boolt-j i cases, one topped with a child's tinker-toy all these were familiar i enough. But the rugs had been pushed' back; chairs cluttered the room, and' in each chair sat a reporter There were a score of men and, two women. At a round mahogany table at her side sat two court stenographers, to make, a transcript of the interview inter-view Tho reporters matching her rolng gaze with Inters stares, saw a rather , plump woman of 47 pale, obviously! tired, and slightly nervous Her gray' hair was brushed back in a high pompadour pom-padour that emphasized slightly tho! long oval of her face. QUIZZING BEGINS. She braced one hand on each arm of her rocker, and the Interview began. be-gan. "Ha'o you any comment to make, Mrs. Hall." the spokesman began, "on that part of Mrs. Gibsons story (Mrs j .lane Gibson, the so-called eye-wit-ness of the slaying) In which fhe nays you were present on the Phillips farm on the night of Septembor 14?" Moistening her lips, Mrs. Hall re-j re-j piled. "What comment could I make? Of course that was not so, and that Is all." ' You were not there "' ' I cortalnlv was not." For an hour, then, one reporter after another volleyed questions at her, taking her over her story of Uui actions before and after the murder; quizzing her sharply for any possible knowledge she might have had of the rector's affair with Mrs. Mills, seeking some point at which an entering en-tering wedge could be driven Into her story. Threo or four times she took refuge hehlnd the reply, "I cannot r. member." mem-ber." and three questions she refused point blank to answer But throughout through-out the Interview she maintained that she always had believed, and still I believed, In th. faithfulness of her husband to his marriage vows. CHAltLOTTi: rLLS. Mrs Hall, In speaking u Charlotte Mills, daughter of the slain woman, who has sold some of her mother's letter for publication, said she had I written the girl a comforting letter after the murders, but did not reecho re-echo her when she came to call. 1 had soon no one but my family and Intimate friends," Mrs. Hall ex-pla ex-pla Ined , "I wrot her a letter at once. She was a girl i taught In Sunday school und this tragedy was also a tragedy to her So I Just trlnd to write her u word of comfort." She said she had given her no financial aid. Q Were you ever Jealous of Mrs. Mills or any one else? A Absolutely never. , Q Have you ever fired a gun? A. Never In my life. iHfj W Was It one of Mr. Hall's pas times to practice 6hootlng" A, No Q Did he possess a revolver that you know of A. No. Q. Lid you ever ask Barbara Tough to keep an eye on vour husband hus-band and Mrs. Mills? A. Of courso not. INQUIRY TO POLICE. Again asked why she had not mentioned men-tioned her name when inquiring of the police regarding hr husband, Mr H.dl suid she simply didn't think of mc-ntlonim.- n and that It didn'1 occur to her that it would aid th poll S to know exactly who wan missing. miss-ing. Q. Did you know at that time tha' Mrs Mills also was missing ' A No, 1 don't think 1 knew U when I telephoned I telephoned be-! be-! fore 1 saw u r Mills 1 think. Q. Ami it wasn't until you saw Mr Mills that yOU knett Mrs Mills; was missing? A No. Q. Did you attach significance to IIih fact that both were missing'.' A. I thought It strange. pes Q. Did you suggest to Mills that he notify tho police. I Nol that i remember. Q. Did It occur to you then thai they might be together'? ft 1 hnr.il.- lMMp 1 t- The fnrt that they had disappeared and he had gone to see her I though; some accident might have overtaken them both. Q. Did you on I ho Saturdav after r Hall disappeared give Barbara Tough some silk socks of his to w.i-h " j A Yes Q Did you say anything to the Bel that you thought him dead? I A. No. $20,000 IN V U MP. Asked further about the two letters let-ters from Mrs. Mills Which Mis Hall said .she had seen, she declared they merely described Sunday school serv" Ices. She said Mr. Hall showed them to her. and she Insisted there were no terms of affection or familiarity in them. M ii.H . rub, xi. in corre..ieri reporlv ih.ii her husband had Sto.ooo in negotiable securities In a safety deposit vault (when ho was killed, declaring th amount vos about ?2o.000. I "Can you tell us what the source : or it was"" she war. asked L.' Is.tha,t npcessftry All those questions. ques-tions. Hare the) anything to do I with It ?" she repnud I When the reporters insisted de- l.i w ,ni"ht "ia('v FOrno bearing on ic blackmail theory which has been advanced as a motive. Mrs Hall rinally consented to say that half of the sum wa left him by her mother. She steadfastly refused to say where the remainder came from. Later, her attorney said her delicacy deli-cacy In speaking of the rest of Mr Halls securities arose from tho fact that she herself had presented him with th-m PIG RAISER'S STORY. Her questioners next Jumped to the so-called ee witness" story of Mrs Jane Gibson, tho pig farmer, asklns if she could explain why Mrs. Gibson would have told such a atorv if it wen not true. "I haven't tho most remote idea" she declared. She denied Mrs Gibson's statement, that they had met at a rummage sale asserting: ' I 1 have never scon her." "Would you bo willing to confront her If it became necessar ?" she was ! as iced. "I Would do whMnv,r , tors wish me to do." " You have no fear In your mind of I the outcome of this at all?" I ' No My absolute innocence of any suspicion I don't see that I hare the Slightest thing to vorry about ' j "How many times. Mrs. Hall did ,you see Mr Mills on the Friday?" "I know of two times. Ho "says he carnc here In the evening. but I don't remember." "When you were first notified that your husband's body was found W re vou also told of Mrs. Mills' body being be-ing found?" "1 think so; I think immediately." "Had her body been ldentled at that time?" 7 ' I am not sure. I think so." Will you tell us what iou thought when jou hoard they had been found 'dead together'"' I had no thoughts I didn't know What to think." "What was your immediate reaction reac-tion ? ' i "1 was so absolutely stunned, I had no thought." "And then, when that passed, what did you think?" i "1 can't tell you any more than I didn't know what to think." ' What do you think nov. " ' "1 don't know what to think now." INTIMACY QUESTION "Mrs. Hall, suppose you had known that the relations between vour husband hus-band and Mrs. Mills were "very Intimate, Inti-mate, what would you have done' "What u strange question. Of course 1 would have spoken to him " "C an you tell us Just exactly how you have been feeling all during these seven weeks? Won't you just tell us in your own way, all of your reactions and all of your feelings about all of this, all your searchlngs. 1 mean your m ntai searchlngs, for a solution f" "I feel if i Was up against n blank wall. I have no idea what to think." "YOU must realize that a lot of people peo-ple bellev e you guilty. "It seems to me most mysterious that anyone should think such things, i cannot understand it, of course." "Hadn't you been eager for thin opportunity op-portunity to come out and tell how vow stand about It?" "Frankly, I have heard so many things in the papers that I feel it Is Very uncertain what goes into the. newspapers at all " "What has been your general feeling feel-ing with respect to publicity, not about this case, but all your life"" "I have all my life avoided publicity In every possible way. There Is no one who has led a more retlrod life." OFFERING REWARD "There was a suggestion, some time past, about your offering a. reward. Why dldn t you do II? This suggestion sugges-tion came to you, I believe"" "Why should I offer a reward? It would be a most awful thought." "Just why?" ' "Why, to offer a reward to havs some one to COR1Q out and tell of a murder." I "You are anxious, however. that this whole thing should be cleared up?" "Why. of course." "Bui you arc not satisfied with v. hat the authorities nave done?" ' No, but It seems that they let many things go by" Just exactly what feeling would prompt you to think It would bo terrible ter-rible to offer a reward? Just put It vour own wav." I "I don t thinK I can put It in j words " "You want to see the murderers punished v ' "I don't want to Bee anybody punished pun-ished I wont to get the solution. I haven t a vindictive feeling to see anyone any-one punished. 1 think anyone who has committed a murder Is not a safe person tp have at large, but as far as !a vindictive feeling, I have none." COPY OF LETTER "Mrs. Hall, when jou were at the prosecutor's office, did you sco one ot the letters youi husband Is alleged to have written Mrs Mills?" "Just a newspaper copy of one " "Was that Identical with your husband's hus-band's writing'" "I onl glanced at it They showed me a signature of his in the fac-slmlle und 1 said It looked like It. but I could not guarantee It." I 'Id you examine it at all closely?" "No." ' Weren't you Interested in determining deter-mining whether It was his handwriting?" handwrit-ing?" "The loiters did not seem to Interest Inter-est me at all." "Or the diary?" "No." "Have you read any extracts from the diary ."' "No " The questioners asked Mrs Hall to give them her eBtlmate of tho charai -ter of Mrs Mills, whom she admitted she knew "quite well " p ."1 do not like to describe her character char-acter at all, 1 do not think I could," she said. professes FArrn Going again to tho letters and 'diaries which Mrs Hull said she had I not even read the questioners asked her if she and her counsel didn't think lit tremendously Important to discover j whether the documents v. ere genuine and evidences of intimacy between them. I don't even see that that would would tell you who was the criminal," Isho replied "You want to find tho possible mo-tlve mo-tlve lor the murderers?" "Of course I do " "If your husband wero In love with 'any woman, every person connected with that woman who could Miuot a gun might have killed hlni?" No answer. "If the diary and the letters are true, he must have been in love with Mrs. Mills. lo you agree with that?" " Y'es." "Why haven't you read the diary and letters before.'" "I haven't read any of the papers" "That Is the tremendous point of tho whole case so far X" "I had such faith in my husband. If j he were here he could explain ho could explain if here were here." "Y'ou would not be convinced that lyour husband was carrying on an af-J I fair with Mrs. Mills even if you savi In the diary intimate details that wero known to no one except Mrs Mills?" T knew him too well for him to be In 10' e " MRS MILLS' CHARACTER "Was Mra. Mills u vamp ' Do you j think she was a woman of good character char-acter ' " "I do not care to say " "You do not think she deliberately set her cap for Mr Hall"" "I never saw any Indication of it." "Now, what do you think of it?" "I do not know I do not know what to think " ' Have you changed vour opinion recently re-cently regarding Mrs Mills ' l mean by that, covering the period of say six months?" I have not changed my opinion of her, unless you speak of the last six weeks. Of course, I have had a good deal to think in this time " "Prior to the murder you had not changed the opinion ;,ou had of Mrs. Mills for some time".'" "No." |