The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-09-10
Chemical " Experts"

innocent men breaibe treer az enc ISsuis
Of the tria, Of Or. scRoErTs, which caosed ~,
Saturday With the actIuitfaa Of the Iafsoafas
charged with the crime OF murder bS poison.
The point II the whole matter b tns aa : if'ag
is now walking the streets Of Carlisle, Pae IN
rerfect health, who, more than three years
AFRO WIS sentenced to death on the testimony
Of a chemical expert wearing the title OF
Or" backed up by the more digutfed one
Of Professor" In Hrs. WHARros's case
the same Professor !" who testified against
DIR. ScHogrpg was engaged for the prosecu.
ton. On that trial AIKEN declared positively
that traces Of prnsssc add had been found 10
the stomach of the deceased, while II YVES
aftervssd demonstrated by r,,lmher on
"experts I" that no possible trace OF pfessfc
acid and no symptoms Of It's use ex-
isted. Upon The trial of seaoEsrE the same
Professor testified against the prisoner.
10 nc confronted In the same manner by the
evidence OF the professional experts. It Is
worthy of note, too, that in the case of Dr..
scHdErrR the Kings County Medical Society,
in conjunction with number Of other scieD-
tific societies, memcrialized Governor GEARY,
declaring that tue medical expert evidence
against the prisoner was Enthusiastically and
absurd. Vet Governor GEARY kept Dr.
SCBngrrE under the ban OF crime, only TO be
acquitted In manner so strange az TO De
characterized by thr judge who tried him as
an tntc.rosttlon Of Providence. Since the
DAYS of LrcRErIA BoRGiA and the Mn'-
cbioness Of I,rinvilliers trials for poisoning
have exercised a remarkable and fascinating
influence upon the public mind. There ia
something dreadful'y sedHctlve about the
idea of taking human iife by stealth. Many
OF our readers will remember the great trial
Of palmer, the poisoner OF RIDoELET, Eng
land, who was said to have done away with
n, fewer than thirteen persons by strych
nine, until then an almost unknown agen. OF
death. This trial lasted for many weeks, and
experts of chemistry were engnged on both
sides, the prosecution and defence bringing
forward the testimony Of equally able men
equally positive that poison was and was not
the cause of death. PALMER was hanged, but
TO this day there are men who believe him tt
have been legally murdered. There is q case in
one of the courts of Virginia now waiting te
I've tried where lady Of gentle life and ire
proachable character Is charged with, with
out motive, poisoning five of her children
One of these Baltimore experts has, witt
promptDess amounting TO eagerness, tclc
graphed Hhe mail being slow that he has
found arsenic in one of the stomachs. 1t is
to I've hoped the accused woman will not be
convicted ON his testimony if there is the
slightest doub: in her favor.
/, Is doubtful If the late JrrhUs CESAR
could he rcsurrccted to-day whether one OF
these professors wouldn't upset the assassina-
ton theory by excavating arsenic from that
warriors bowels. Let the ScHoEPpE and
WHARTON cases make them pause and turn
from the pursuit Of human life to the less
dangerous avocation of making certified
analytical surveys Of Bourbon and Bum
gardner. ..-.ss-.s1 ..~.r