Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1858-1859, 1859-04-16


Communieasien from District Attorney
Heard on the Bilanslky Poisoning Case
and DR.. Wren.
10 tAs Editors qftAs N5snssotia~:
In the Daily Times of Friday morning the
9th, find what suppose / must consider q
professional paper" as it was signed by
"JNo. v. WREN, NJ. D."
To my surprise this professional paper is
nothing more nor less than an attack upon
myself; both against me officially andperson'
ally; and al based upon the assumption that
was the author of an anonymous communi-
cation-not professional paper Yin the
Minnesotian of the 9th inst, signed +" Boaz."
have no disposition to engage in foul
mouthed" controversy with DR.. WREN."-
His experience on other fields, better schools
in this respect than any have been taught in,
forbid me to engage in such contest, where
I would be assuredly worsted by one whose
boosted honorable profession is no bar to
his betraying honorable professional conf
dence; and whose age and pisty, to say moth
ing of the force which he embodes in his per.
son from the accumulated dignity of being at
once JNo. V. WREN, NJ. d." Coroner, City
Physician, County Doctor, Health Officer, and
Chippeway Medicine Man, render him too for
midable an opponent for so young and inexpe-
rienced man as myself to cope with in that
kind Of style.
assure the Doctor, however, that am not
at all sorry for being "young," for l have
time, and, If not great ability, q great DISPOSE
ton to improve myself; and, by avoiding beg
gsr-on-horsebaek airs, I trust never to be re-
duced to the necessity Of either begging with
tears in my eyes numerous offices, whose du-
ties,when obtained, neglect to perform, nor to
deteriorate to that point of selfsuf6ciency,
when, knowing it all, am incapable of grasp
ing any further knowledge from my own ex-
perience or the experience of others, nor to OBJ
trude my vanity and official arrogance to the
obstruction of the public service and the ends
of justice.
trust my IN. D." friend will not take
offence.at these observations for "out of the
mouths of babes and Stockings sometimes
cometh WISDOM" and venerable individual
grown in one short year so large, might find
useful instruction even from some "boys and
new men" if not from myself, to turn his az
ed mind into better appreciation of his ex-
act size before the public eye!
With these prefaratory remarks, I proceed
to consider briefly the points at issue between
the Public and DR.. Wren, touching the pro-
curing the proper evidence to substantiate
the alleged poisoning of Bilansky:
LIST. When Bilansky's death was first
made known, rumors were rife among the
neighbors that he had been poisoned. In
consequence of these rumors "Jno. v. Wren,
NJ. D." as Coroner held an inquest upon the
body; but with that selfsufficiency for which
"Jno. V. Wren. NJ. D." is remarkable, he
took no pains to investigate by post mortem
examination of the body, the truth or false
hood of these rumors and the body was in
tered without the Coroner's duties being at
that time as thoroughly and perfectly per-
formed, as after results showed they should
have been.
I'd. The case was so "loosely conducted"
by the Coroner in the first instance that the
most important witness, Mrs. Fitzpatrick,
neighbor who attended the deceased through
his sickness, was allowed to 60 without elicit
ing from her the vital fact, that just before
Bilansky's illness, she knew of Mrs. Bilansky
purchasing arsenic, ostensibly to poison rats in
house not infested with those vermin.
But after the close of the first "loose" inquest
Mrs. Fitzpatrick communicated this fact to
her husband, which occasioned the exhuma.
ton Of the body, and its being brought into
the city from Little Canada at an extra extra
expense to the County, which would have
been saved if "Jno. V. Wren, NJ D." had
attended properly to his duties, in the first
instance, as well as saved most of the expen-
ses of the second inquest
Sd. The first official information had of
the case was from the Coroner, whom casu-
ally met on the first day of the second in
quest, and who then invited me to attend it.
On that day the Coroner conducted the ex-
animation of the witnesses, as well as on the
second day when the medical witnesses were
examined.
DR.. Potts testified only to the post mortem
examination Of the body, not having witness
sed as he said the termination of the chem
ical analysis of the contents of the stomach.
DR.. Morton on taking the witness stand, tes-
tilted also as to the post norton examination
of the body, and was then asked in substance
by the Coroner, "H any chemical expert
ments had been made to test the presence of
arsenic and if there had been, to detail their
nature and result" Seemingly desirous to
avoid answering the question, DR.. NJ CURLY
replied, that "Mr. Wolff had been selected by
the Coroner to make these experiments" and
the Coroner would have apparently clos
ed with DR.. NJ. upon this point, had not
whispered to him to ask the witness eff he
did not witness and understand the expert
ments?" Upon this question being asked, the
witness replied in the affirmative, and then
stated that the reduction tube testrevealed the
peculiar metallic, (iron grey) ring which was
never found he thought, except when arsenic
was present"
pr. Goodrich, however, in his testimony
differed ffo2. DR.. Morton as to the metallic
ring being an exclusive test of the presence
of arsenic-that cdSgaium would produce a
similar ring. He d.. g. also testified
that through the microscope, he saw but one
crystal which he could say with any particu-
larity had even the appearance # crystal