The Portland daily press., 1879-02-04
THE DEXTER MYSTERY.
Dearborn and Chapman Reply to
Detective Wiggin.
Nothing COnciusively Shown tO
Tarnish Mr.. BarrOn's Record.

BOSTON, Feb. 3.-The Globe this morning gives its
readers the reply of Messrs. Dearborn and Chap
man to Mr.. Wiggin's statement published yesterday
Although some of the theories advanced by the lat
ter are as it would appear successfully met, still
must confess faith 10 the purity of the character
of Mr. Barron s still mistaken. In order, however,
to give both sides hearing, far as possible, the
following synopsis is published
In reference to the disp lsition of the keys they
say that professional thieves would hardly take them
to a room cut of their way, when they could have
thrown them into a snowbank outside, where they
would not easily have been found. In putting the
handouts on his own hands Mr.. Barron would not
need the keys, the cuffs are self-loeking OF the
other robberies referred to by Mr.. Wiggn they say
that they were done in warm weather. At VIM
throp. Me-, the robbers took to the woods, where
they remained until they could leave thelocaty with
safety. This was possible in the summer, but there
is some difference between escape OF that sort and
going into and out of country place like Dexter in
the winter.
The testimony Of Mrs. Samuel Farrar and Miss
Abbie Putnam is open to several objections. In the
first place, thieves don't travel around in women's
clothes; if they do, we have never heard of such
case. In the next place. Mr.. Barron was not at the
bank the night previous therefore the thieves would
not be around there to gag him. Then the man who
claimed to be selling safes has been traced and it has
been found that he was actually engaged in that
busnesss which is common enough not to excite any
remark. The idea that a woman was needed to as
sist in the job is preposterous. 1t well known
that Mr. Barron was at the bank daily from 10 a. m
to 70 a. M, and from to 4 p m,
The cigar ashes aud the "lunch'' IN the hall have
but slight basis in fact Every one was looking to
find something, and some cigar ashes were fund in
frop
cushions some one scrsped out dirt, which, it
was claimed, might be cracker crumbs. All of it did
not spoonful, and it would be difficult to tell
what that was. Then, according to Mr.. Wiggn's
theory, if Mr.. Barron had not gone for coal, he
would not have been attacked, and this was done as
Late as 4:40 O'Clock There was no combination for
Barron to reveal. The lock was time-ock and Bar
himself could not open it until 10 o'clock the next
day. for which time it was set The fact is that when
MIR Barron was found, piece of bundle twine was
lying loosely over his shoulder and down upon his
breast, and the gag in his mouth was simply the
handle of water pail, which would not have pre-
vented an outcry had he attempted to make one All
the ma ks upon his neck were upon the back Of it,
and the doctors account for that by saying that he
lay with that part OF his body upon a small trunk
that was in the bottom of the outside safe. There
were no marks upon his shin or lips, no signs Of
blood no abrasion OF the skin. There was slight
reddish mark across each side of the neck which
was caused by the string with which the gag was
tied but it was nothing more than he could make
himself There were traces Of blows on the top and
side of his head, which might have been caused by
striking his head, after he was unconscious, against
the side and door Of the safe.
He could take the lock off the safe and adjust it
without using a lamp. The door of the safe swings
out into the bank, and ther, reason whatever
for using lamp in caring for the lock. The doctors
would no doubt have told Mr.. Wiggin what they told
us had ne gone to them. As matter Of fact it was
in evidence before the coroners jury that there
symptoms of poison, but the coroner did not go into
the details of that feature of the case. The doctors
did not make post-mortem examination, because
Barrons family objected, but they injected into him
while he was alive, as he could not swallow, coffee
and belladonna both strong antidotes Then death
ensueJ at the time when morphine would have pro-
duced it.
Mr.. Barron had but little property, and he would
have been poor man had he freed it from mort
gage. He had made sworn false statement three
months before to the bank examiner; he knew that
the on the bank was likely to prove disastrous;
he knew that if the bank suspended the examiner
would be called in, and that he would be exposed
and he was unwilling to meet SO many evils. The
assSnmeHC Vi HIS Lie INSURANCE p0llcy was not VallQs
as it had not been accepted by the company, and it
was not known that it had been assigned until since
Barron's death.
They claim that the hall door was open as a blind
that the bank window was open all the afternoon
and that there no footprints in the snow any
where near it. If the bank had been robbed SO much
valuable would not have been left beh ind nor would
Mr.. Barron's pockets have been left undisturbed
In fact robbery if committed at all, would have
been done before o'clock, before the time lock was
put on the inner safe.