New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-01-30
MIR. JEROME ILL IN COURT.
The HARRIS TRIAL HAD TO BE ADjOOhNEp'
JOHN A. TAYLOR OPENS TIE CASE FOR THE

hut misfortune ureventcd It, mailing the most Of H-
opportunity one Of its experts. although pic.o".N
acknowledged 70 be a high authority on medicine pS "''
witnesses for The prosecution, hardly made strong ln
press sion ON the jury favor Of the prisoner !" Ue
afternoon .es.ion W. Travers Jerome, the able young
lawyer for the defendant broke down compVcN anu
the tisl had 10 be adjourned. The whole weight vi
examining witnesses has fallen on him, ana inc
striving to grasp ab,tTuse principles Of medicine ana
chemistry was u strain on him. d. lie hau No'
thoroughly recovered from recent Illness
After an unlmportant witness for TIE prosecution ''
hsrn examinet join A. Taylor presented 70 the !uiy
Nh outline of t facts which his side expected 10 prove
lie did not speak long and his words eNiu'i''' ""
weight ON tile twelve men by whom the case Is 70 be
decided. lie said In part:
CARLYLE W. Harris has listened for ten dAy' 10 l,e
evidence against him ana has pIeoeINtu , ' mtnc,nn
Ills Indictment born OF a mOn>trOus susPitiioi,
suspicOn which took IT. lodgment rom L t vd 81
wOlnan OF whom nave hO,llnB to say Sut ~ Far
praise II has been famed by feeIih-S Ul 81 "a ,Ot
twelve months the great county oil W hrdino nm his
It's energies, has spared no expense III u SeS ~ have,
case against this boy vi twenty 4tdIs' n! M
brought TO bear all the force ana pr % the case
OF the county and have carefully pieAiffu ' it, ~
Why should there not be case against mn WIZ. 90
months in which TO prepare it Wla' SoIe e 1" l ID
twenty years has not sara tiIhs' "i"O' "'"'" 49,"
position ia society , ,r, ord
In The Rrst place who is this prisoner Ie eFa ana
son Of one most distinguished men VINO nave cor
1erred honor the place of his abode ne ia uis
science and been representative G,'H Gt what
has never been associated VITA a ti'S ot her
would bring honor Oh the community. MS mother
IS gentle, refined splritaalmhded woman M"p oe
writings in every house in this Go9nty ae , mS
followed him into court has been with nm ~ Tue hV
Of his deep trouble and VII never ueef ,he mn n9s - tree
pf murder does not grow. lie has been an lnuust'io
STUDENT. pursuing his studies With such avdity a.. cT,
lege that, before this trouble had come upon nun I nv
mad taken the first hospital prize against all conpculO
II will be the duty of the defence to show Son gen
temen OF the Jury that there Is diagnosis oil the case
OF that girl that differs from That made BY DE- POWER
and that diagnosis Is 9dored ad s4 1p x s a. 1f
he autopsy made by Dr.. Allan Nj Lane Hamilton, ana
viii prove to you BY the most eminent scenus,s ana
pathoogisis OF tie day that II IS very doubtful WHETHER
Helen Potts Harris died Of poison administered by
Carlyle Harris or any one ese-whether sle uisu "a
morphine poisoning at ALL LAWYERS for te P'G ie
ten say that they have absolutely proved tlat Heeh
Potts died Of morphine posonilg lhey say ' aaa1 t
they fonnd trace OF morphine 4 trace is an amount
Email that II is unweighate ihey say tnhe terc
mony of the most eminent scientists in the country
Professor Bgg, BY DR. Wood eoneededy at ne very
tie country and by Professor Charles L. Dana that IL
would be- utterly Impossible to detect morphine after
'D We shall show by Professor wormley. OF the Uni
versty of Pennsyl that quinne would surely nav
dispersed SO that 1t could not be traced AFTER 50 many
DAYS We DO not contend that Helen Potts took no
morphine. She did-onesiXth Of a grain. shaii re
death of that poor girl FOR my closing address. only
ask You 70 preserve your luui'ldi HI"css III So 0
Heard all the evidence
For the first time in the trial. the prisoner showed
signs OF emotion Before Mr. Taylor had gone far in
his address tears began TO roll down Harriss cheeks
and he was scbbing heavily. lie leaned his head
ON his mothers shoulder and she, too, began TO cry
Mrs Potts mother OF the woman whom Harris is nc
cUsed of poisoning, was also In the courtroom anu sie
also gave way TO her emotion
The first witness for tie defence was Dr. llorau'
c. Wood, of Philadelphia. lie was sraduatei ID
1862 aud was resident physician at the Philadelphia
and Pennsylvania hospitals for year each iio
WAS visiting physician at the Philadelphia Hospital
for seventeen eighteen years and was pny'Nl"h
.Io Vf,ftrota 1T - IN
His testimony was Interrupted 80 that Miss Mary
Louisa McCready aunt Of the prisoner, might take the
witness stand she said that the prisoner was eA-
ceedingly studious while in college. lie was twenty
two years old, and had no money except tha' gwen
him by his grandmother. she had accompanied INN
10 the District Attorneys office OH MaTh - ias,'
after the publication of article charging hin Win
no,sonipg his wife. Her nephew had then offered
10 surrender himself In reply to a question by
Assistant Dlstrlct-Attorney Wellman, Miss NcCraoy
said that Harris's father was. living somewhere Ill
Westchester County. she did not know Just where.
Dr. Wood then took the stand again. Is IL
possible,s asked Mr.. jerome, 10 diagnose morphine
poisoning by the symptoms alonef
1T is not several years ago l was sunInonsd
10 the bedside of patient At the Philadelphia HOS
pital who was IN a state OF coma. was toid thit
one of the c0nyaescsnt patients, VINO ac'eo is
nurse had given her poison. Her symptoms were
those of opium poisoning, mad treated her for that
death was undoubtedly due 10 Serious apopleXy'
said the witness.
lis ii possible to determine tie condition OF the
organs nearly two months after death Without d
microsco Optical examination was asked
"In my judgment it Is not several years ago
Dr. Do Costa Of Philadelphia, an eminent PHYSICIAN
examined heart with the naked eve and pro
nounced it sound The microscope showed II 10 NC
in the last stages Of degeneration
al the Kidneys were Kept from February until
october Or November would an examination OF them
chow anythingl' Mr.. Jerome asked
a. am positive 1t would not" replied Dr. Wood
The WITNESS had seen cases where the autopsy ola
Tot reveal the cause of death. lie also believed
that persons could die from poison and no trace Of
the drug be found in the body. lie had seen death
result in an hour from brain clo not larger than
n small French pea. Mr.. Jerome read to the Wit
ness all the ymptOms in the case Of Miss Helen
Potts and asked him if lie could say what caused
her death.
In tho present state Of medical science, &C
curae opinion could be given, in my mind The
witness said further that lie had never attended a
patient suffering from opium poisoning without know
ing that the poison had been administered. lie
recollected giving patient onc-sixth Of grain Of
morphine which nearly caHed death. The woman
din not breathe for three minutes and her heart ap
parently stopped beating. Her HE was saved ty
artificial respiration and the use Of emctcs.'
Mr. Wellman pressed the witness about his state
pent that opium poisoning could not be recognized
bv the symptoms alone, but the ply WAS irl.
An adjournment had To De taken because 10 more
Witnesses for the defence were present.
AZ . O'Clock the trial wa, resumed, the defence
calling Dr. Herman NJ Bigss 70 the witness chair.
lie said that lie graduated from the Bellevue
uospjta Medical College in lro3 tnd spent two years
N study abroad. lie is now professor OF pathology
and in anatomy in the Bellevue Hospital
SnIlcrs and has made abOu; 1000 autOpses. Mr..
Jerome asked him II Miss PottsS heart which weighed
and Quarter ounces, was OF the normal Size.
m. yItness said that in II woman such she was
ribed 10 he the heart should have weighed eight
onnees lie believed that the small size OF tic
organ was due 10 atrupby disease.
Dr. Bigcs had been present at me reeXnmna',0
800 owe hut The microscope revealed number Of
iesInns Mr. Jerome had been asking question,
sinvly and hesitatingN. lie put an lhvOved Anu