The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1892-08-27

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STRANGE BURGLARIES.
The Borden House Was Robbed In
July.
THE FACTS KEPT SECRET.
Very Little Fresh Evidence was set Before
the Court this Morning. but the Trend
was Still Against the Defence--An Ad-
journmsnt Until IL O'clock Monday.
ESPECIAL TO THE NEws.I l


FALL RIVER. Aug. 27-The second and
third days have been fateful for the ac-
cused.
The strenuous efforts made by the de-
fence to find some flaws of Importance in
the testimony has proved of no avail.
Slowly but surely the prosecution is
drawing the Gordon of facts down to a
point where ths friends Of Miss Borden
must cease to claim that there was not
Meanwhile the defence has added two
important points to its claims one of
them almost positively settled, and the
other still floating. The first relates to
the motive. In the testimony of the in
surance agent yesterday 1t appeared that
the reports concerning his remarks about
Mr.. Borden's will and his intention to
make one were entirely unfounded. He
said Mr.. Borden never said anything of
that kind nor did he say that Mr.. Borden
had said such a thing. This statement
settles the probability of Mr.. Borden's
intention to make a will.
The testimony OF j. ". Morse showed
that the cellar door might have been
open. This Is importlnt as it leaves
possible means OF entrance aud escape for
an assailant Mr.. Morse was rather un-
certain about il and his statements were
conflicting, but he still clung to the fact
that he thought the cellar door was open
when he returned to the yard about IL VI.
1t is true that no direct evidence of Miss
Borden's probable guilt has yet been ad-
vanced. None is likely to be- Neither is
there evidence OF her Innocence, but where
she public felt uncertainty as to her
guilt, it now feels uncertainty as 10
her innocence. The testimony OF Bridget
Sullivan has been eagerly looked for. 1t
cas- come. II is not startling In its dis
closures. 1t Is sad In what IL does not
disclose She gives a very accurate ac
count of her actions during, the whole
morning of the murdei-perhaps little
too accurate. She was in and around the
back part of the house the whole time.
So far as she knew no one but Lizzie was
there. She was up stairs not over twenty
minutes and was called by Lizzie. Mean
while Mrs. Borden had been dead proba-
bly, an hour and q half and Mr.. Borden
had just been killed.
The lenient public has been ever prone
to believe that so inhuman deed could
not have been the work of the daughter.
This is theoretical. 1t looks upon her
guilt as theoretically impossible. But
the evidence of Bridget Sullivan is circum-
stantial. 1t shows that for any one else
to have committed the deed Is almost
circumstantial impossibilitv When
theory is confronted by circumstances the
former must yield. And reluctantly as
the people may be to do so, IL must be
hercafter conceded that the governments
position is very strong.
Grant the probable guilt, and the out
come of the case Is evident Many have
been the guesses that Miss Borden Is in
sane, but none have given conclusive
reasons such rs the NEWS OF yesterday
presented for the belief that the insanity
plea could be well founded, The shane
of tho head and the expression of the face
as minutely described yesterday are
strong evidence, but a careful analysis of
her acts adds materially to the thought.
Here Is n case not only OF pre-
meditated murder but OF probable
deliberation for months. The or
dinary assassin is cunning = too
in house for so long time as elapsed
between the death Of the two people. The
thought of his escaping from the sight of
Bridget or Lizzie for two hours is impos-
sible. Only an insane person of abnor-
mally developed cunning and the spirit
of fiend could have endured such ner-
vous strain. No sane person would have
thought OF escaping notice on the public
streets at that time OF day. The act is
one that resulted from long study and
1t was consummated under conditions
that exclude all elementsTfof chance.
Grant again the probable guilt OF Miss
Borden. Think OF her laughing at the
basty remarks of Miss Bridget when the
door refused TO open-laughing when
the lie blood was oozing from
the wounds of her probable victim
IN an adjoining room. Think of her 90
ing down stairs To iron and wait for
chance TO complete her awful work. Are
those the acts Of sanity There is no
need to 70 further. Her whole demeanor