The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1871-09-27
Mrs. Wharton.
Doctor Aitken Produces a Reaction in Her
Favor.
HIS OPINION IN THE sCHoEPPE CASE
TIE PRISONERS DEVOTION TO
HER DAUGHTER-HER
JAIL LIFE.

During the past two or three weeks
the excitement in the public mind con
seone.t upon the horrors developed by
the almost direct proofs of poison hav'
ing been administered to'GencraI het-
chum. resulting iii bis death while ~
ing sick in the house of Mrs. Wharton
and the narrow escape of Nj. Van Ness
under similar circumstances tthe latter
being her financial agent,l had some
what subsidized, but has been again re-
newcd by the publication of the result
DIR. Athens analysis of the contents
of the stomach of her deceased son.
announcing that no poison could be
found either in the stomach or the in
testines.
Little faith, however, is placed in his
Judgment, and, while it is to be hoped.
both for the sake of humanity and the
accused, that his examination is cor
rect, it would have been far better to
have submitted to the test of other
chemists 20 have satisfied the com:
munity.
DR.. Athens reputation as reliable
chemist suffered greatly in the memo
rable case of
DIR. SCHOEPPE
for tine murder of Miss Steineke, al
Carlisle, Pa, it being notorious fact
that lie was employed by parties large
" interested in the conviction of the
unfortunate man to make the examiha-
ton, and that it was mainly upon the
evidence furnished by him of prussic
acid in the body that a verdict was
rendered by the jury unfavorable to
the prisoner.
Under the will made prior to the one
in. favor of schoeppe the unfortunate
lady had bequeathed her money large
II to charitable purposes, appointing
as one of her trustees VIM. A. Stewart
ESQ.,, lawyer of this city. 1t was
chiefly through his active exertions
I. that the accumulation of evidence
against the former was brought to-bear
and it was under his direction that
Prof. Aitken made the analysis.
The result CT the trial left in his
hands the management of the large es-
tate of the deceased lady. After the
conviction of Schoeppe, and when the
attention of every one was called to
the case on this side of the Atlantic,
and meetings were being held by the
German population and by large bodies
Of scientific men throughout the coun-
try, if remember correctly, Professor
Doremus, of New York, upon a careful
sitting of the analysis of DR. Aitken
stated that under ordinary circunstan,
ces after death the same condition might
be found in any body.
At any rate a doubt seemed to per-
wade because of the looseness of the
examination, and the poor man still
hangs on in uncertainty, although il
has been so long time since his con-
viction.
Now, while the report of the chemist
in the case of Mrs. Wharton's son is ia.
vorabie and directly contrary to that
of Miss Steineke's, he shows lament
able want of Judgment and propriety
as an expert by interlarding in it the
expression that
THE PoIsoNs REASONABLY TO BE Elk.
PECTED
were not present, and utterly fails tc
justify himself afterwards in trying tc
explain away the unwarrantable use Of
such language upon the part of an ex
pert employed for but one specific pur.
pose. Whether reliable or not, how
ever, it has had one good tendency
and that is to allay the excitement il
the public mind against the unfortu
nate prisoner and at the same time t.
produce some reaction in her favor
Your correspondent visited the Jail to
day, but Mrs. Wharton still steadil,
refuses to see any one but her physi
clans and few of her most iptimat,
friends. Her health, notwithstanding.
her close confinement, keeps good, ant
she still obtains her meals outside tn,
prison walls. She is daily visited b,
the wives of some of our most estima
Die citizens fold associates,) who dis
believe totally in the charges mad
against her. She was committed t
Jail on the 18th of July upon the char
ges, as the record shows in tile clerk
: office, of willfully putting to death b.
the use of
TARTAR EMETIC AND YELLOW JASMINE
General Ketchum, and for assault witt
intent to kill, by the same means, MI
Van Ness, who, being her fnancia
agent, was of course acquainted witt
the qualifications of her business.
If it is proved upon the trial that th
above were the means used for the &C
complishment of the purpose, Their
certainly has been shown a degree o
knowledge in reference to the applica
ton OF means to obtain the desired OBJ
Ject which would have done credit t.
the skill of scientific men in the medi
cal profession. Tartar emetic bein,
powerful in its effects when given il
large doses, and ranidly nrnstratins