Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1871-12-29
The Wharton Trial.

ExPEIr AGAINST NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. d. pfE.
As To THE ASrINoNY TESTS
ANNAPOLIS, MD.. Dec. 29-The court met al
l0o'elock. Miss Jennie Mayer, of Baltimore,
ard Captain Henry +. BrewertOn. OF the Fiftb
Artillery, we're the first two witnesses calleI
They testified to Mrs Wharton's sneral repa-
tation for kindness and amiabilifv
Professor X. :. McCulloch was called Ia
Profs ssor in Washington and Lee University,
and teacher OF natural philosophy and che mis-
lIy As appled to metailurgy; made chemical
analysis three or four years for the government.
was chemist TO the United States mint: was con-
Srltirg chemist for the Confederate goyernu, MT.
heard the testimony OF Professor Aiken in regard
20 Ms analysis Of the contents OF Gen. X =
stomach, and also read his report 10 the prose-
cutting attorney; in. my Judgment the test
proved by Aiken to have been mad. by himself
are iisn1hcient oproye the presence ofautimonv:
consider Aiken's ANALYSIS radically defective
In order 10 establish the presence of anti rnonv
IL Is absolutely necessary TO get the met al itself
and by ties. after test prove that IL really is an
nmony; anthony is a simple elenantarV sinh
stance, having many properties by which IL can
be recognized, and ii any of these experim emit,
falI. II Nitates the impression that II really Is
ahtlmony, and would show il WAS impure, or the
presence OF some other substance: the quantity
operated with must be suffi sient 10 be S,ihircf.1
10 all these tests to preclude the possibility of It's
Oelnganything else. lconsiGer Aiken'sanalvsis
radically defective, because he dill not g.r rh.a
metal; bat operated on substances more or less
MIXED with organic matter, which would rem
der the tests falaciOus; il, Aiken had haen on
rTalilg on metal, and knew IL to be such
his tests would constitute a very strong prob.
abihty that 1t was anthony, hut MT All
absolute certainty, because, as new metals are
constantly discovered in chemistry II would he
possible that If a chemist Possessed q IN atal /.
might contain these three properties. and VT
isli IN other properties which belong 10 antirno-
ny; in any case, l consider it necessary 10 90
beyond these tests in cases such as a chemfst
nItratng on the contcUts Of stomach con-
tanning substances OF organic kinds; il has been
held for years that such reactions as those OF
A1Eens may prove entirely fallarious: witness
explained the tests referred to (those of Aikenl
md said they do not prove the presence of anti
nony, because. other substances give the same
results; have made experiments with reference
20 this particular case; tried reaction of SULPHUR
etfed hydrogen on Choral and got from IL nre-
ciIitate which might be mistaken by its
color for that of sulphuretted autimonv.
repeated the experiment with sulDhide of am
melis and with similar results; then experi-
meied similarly with tinctnre or yellow issSa-
mine. and got also a preeipitate which might
readily lie mistaken by its appearance for one
of antimony; then mixed the yellow iassamine
and choral; found they gave similar results
when mixed; then put such mixture into organic
matter, such as the white of an egg and milk
hat had soured, using the whey; then mixed
hem with beef broth, to which 4 added taC
trops of Tactic acid and a small quantity of
hydrochiorlc acid and little pepsin, these
beng substances found I'm gastric Juice: tried
these last experiments for the purpose Of imi-
tating. as closely a. possible, what was supposed
70 be the contents Of Gen. KS stomach: 4 oh
Fali6 a red preciPitate closely fling such
a0le as antimOny would give; did this in Lex
ngtoD. and repeated IL here with similar results
htnI presence or Drs. Reese, Cent?, and others