National Republican., 1878-04-11

,Eyes-The Defense Close Their Testi-
5 mony-Probabie Termination Of the Case
To-Day.
! The trial OF J. R. r. Mcchlin resumed in tho
Police Court yesterday. The first witness called by
\ the defense was Dr. ". 7. okie He stated that he
5 had known Mr.. Mcchlin and his family since tho
18th of September, 1877. The first tims he was
called to the family was To attend Mr.. Mechlin
whom he found suffering with malarinl fever.
Mr.. Taggart asked the witness what was the con.
dillon Of the premises when he visited Mr.. Mcchlin,
to which objection was made by the prusecutng at.
torncy. Mr.. Coyle.
Mr. Taggart stated that he wished to prove how
his client was treated by his children during his ILL.,
noSs-roaches running over the bed In which thc
sckman was lying, and the children in filthy
state.
The court said that Mr.. Mechlin was responsible
for the condtion Of aha n IN his house, Rrd none
OF the children charge Of assault had been
relevant to the case. Dr. Okic would be allowed to
state what he saw of the treatment Of The accused
IN his family, and not what he had been told.
The witness. rrsuming said that Mr.. Mechlin
seemed to take the interest in his children whiC
father naturally would lIi2 attention was called
TO Aimee by the drfcnlent, who seemed to take
special interest in her health. From his examine
ton did not think that tn. condition of the chill
drcn was caused by undue punishment. Aimee
aud Willie were subject to hystcria and cataicpsy
by which their minds were Impaired 70 q certain
extent, in his opinion. Had not noticed any ssrIs
Of depression in either OF the children during his
visits 10 the house.
BY Mr.. Coyle. Had prescribed for wlnIo and
Aimee. Their mAlshes were induced by menor.
rhmh, Did not look upon any Of the girls except
charlotte as being strong Their complaints might
ment lack of sufficient fDoi and c.oth!ng. ald be-
ing kept Indoors where fresh air could not BE- OBJ
tanned.
By the court. Had formed the opinion that
Ninics was not OF sound mind by her answers to
his questions. The troubles " which he had called
attention were hereditary as Mr. Mcchlin was an
| eptlCptic, The LACY flT,l ,Np might mr. r,,i
these symptoms. however. Thought any kind Of
punishment toward a girl nfis.cd as Aimee was
safety to tie her IT. would probably be proper to ad.
minister that kind Of punishment, but 1t would De
Injurious to her mental faculties.
Major A. c. Richards was next called but his
testimony being of a general nature. no was cx.
Cusod from the stand.
MECHLiS on THE STAND.
J. r. Mechlu the prisoner, WAS then sworn He
testified that he had no recollection of Furnishing
ANY Of hi. children on the 18th OF October It wa.
the day aher he moved from Philadelphia Row
and everything was upside down: he would not b,
likely to punish his children for any ofensc. on
the ith of November his daughter Elias breaki
va, brought upstairs And the mush was not friel
4 properly lie spoke u his daughter Charlotte about
II, aud she said that i was not her fault She
rather impudent, AMI he Slapped her jaws several
i driver and hammer in his hand. lie holding
both articles in his len hand and cufled her with
his right; Charlotte ran away from him and b,
her with any article lie merely boxed her jaws
She rushed out Of the room after the whipping and
l, hold OF her and dragged her lack into the kitchen
:, She laid on the floor 1t In faint He sprko Il
her SHARPLY telling her TO get up, and she did 50
Did not kick her At any time while on the floor,
strike her with hammer or screw.driver.
4. on crosseIamination he said that he did no
A whip Charlotte for sending up poor breakfast
u but for trying TO throw the blame her other sis
u ters Was positive that he did not strike her will
Gs hS@%e nHt WSSn I'D her Wa by accident
, kitchenl SHE arose from the floor and went owe
u into the corner lie followed her aud shook tn,
. hammer at her saying that IL she persisted In he
st tom foOlery he would punish her severely. Hi
q Gslsh.eI Ella was present during portion Of th
III Charlotte with his fist
n the of the assault on Aimee for not hold
p Ing up the dining room table, the witness stated
r. how he wanted It held and she smiled aud seemed
p pleased at being selected TO aid him. She droppe'
- the table twice. for which he scDdcd her sharply
$ and on her third failure he struck her in :ho kc
y with his open hand. He then told her that sh,
was too stupid 70 do anything. and struck at her
. intending 70 hit her on the mouth. Instead, how
ever he hit her OF the the nose, which bled freely
and she staggered back against the window, whicl
went up stairs to wash OF the blood Did not SIR K
her with his ist u any time during the difficulty
T. T. Had no hammer 10 his hand, as il had been p1
" away hours before.
'e On being crosse Iamined, said Ella and one o
the younger children wa. present during the whip
ping The witness was then examined cOncernin
the assault on Madeleine for taking oysters II
Il stated that when he came home 10 dinner he foun
cr nothing put Juice IN The oyster.pie Ella told hiL
Is he would punish her after dinner. He went u
is stairs with her and
Is WHIPPED HER WITH STICK,
such Is used by school children for sirapping
G. their books Stick exhibited and dentifed.l II
he gave her ten blows on the naked flesh. She wa
n, able TO DO about the house next day. During III
ne whipping she made no outcry. for which resso
IN children did not cat at the same table becau,
e he found fault with them for being uutiiy aud ne
IaRF AH1u Nb.n hA ia. =
q house he required them to come 70 the table.
tn Cross: ss:examincd by Mr.. Coyle. They absente
provided them with clothes suitable 10 his mean
In whipping Willie with the stick he used the IL
10y portion There was no abrasion Of the skin. tn
~ next assault charged was on Aimee the 10th Of d.
this case defendant said that he was told when i
ly. came home that Aimee had run away. After wal
IT, Ing long time 1t wa, suggested BY Ella that Will
then woa sRns at at the Gh
ny then started OF to And her sister. About twei,
o'clock, a neither Of the girls had put In an a
pearance, defendant started out to find them.
~ girls In a Fourteenth. street car coming towal
u home. He got In tho car and sat opposite to Aime
tn. He noticed that she looked strange aud wild.
T. made up his mind that confinement would be ne
III. essary. When he reached home he told Ella VIII
ls he intended TO do, and then took Aimee up stat
and tied her In the manner which had been tes
lied TO. He treated her In this manner for her ON
safety. The next morning, afler. breakfast he pr
Nh cured some slats and nailed them across the wi
~ ~ dow. Aimee was
ia KEPT IN THE ROOM
nd until Monday He told his other children to ke,
an eye on her After she came down stairs he 7
quired his children to keep the front and back doc
locked, in order that she might not run away agai
. The reason why the bed wa, not made up was b
cause II was n narrow hall room, and the nattre
more than filed it. one side WAS turned up The
were no pillows or bolster oil the bed. His on
, idea In Furnishing her in this manner was TO pr
IN vent her doing herself bodily harm.
20 BY Mr.. COyle. 1t was probably six or seyC
.y O'Clock in the evening when he was informed tn
ny that day. II was from a conversation with Ell
and noticing Aimees strange appearance, that
formed the impression that she was not in h.
ier right mind. II was one of her usual attacks Eth
It, he or Ella would have 10 sit up with her all mig
sc. or tie her up In the manner which had been d
scribed by previous witnesses. The room was
the third story Of the house. She had nev
Ire jumped out Ofa window, but he afraid that 81
h. might attempt u do So and he tied her for tn
~. reason alone. Did not think that II he locked h
ne in the room without tying her she would ha
ed been safe. Had never attempted TO harm hers,
he or any one else.
Int This concluded the testimony Of the defendaI
.ry and. after answering some questions OF gcner
~ character, he lcn the stand.
PROVISION FOR THE CHILDREN.
Mr. W Is, Webb was next called. lie stated tn
L. he had known Mr.. Aechlm since he was q b.
ie' Knew nothing Of the case except what he h
Is heard. The witness submitted the following pap
of which was ruled out as not being relevant to /
lly case:
,w WAHIsoToS, D. C., April /. 1878
Din " b. Wtto, e,q.!