New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-01-23
G. W. HARRIS'S MISDEEDS.
he BOASTED OF THEM TO FRIENDS.
TESTIMONY AGAINST THE YOUNG MEDICAL

which II true stamps the hahosoho 9o"'o p
rs n scoundreI Of the first water, and more 10 "
man who babbled to chance acquaintance 'ho ."''
,orue q. his misdeeds. The prisoner seems 10 nave
hcon soicitols lest every should not know trat
his destinations irresistible 10 young ""n'e"'
As the story OF his boastings was told hrst ny one
witness and then another, persons In inc courtroom
would turn their gaze the pale, clearcut features
~ .he prisoner and wonder how he had hept OUT VI
Jail so long. - ,
mich ~ this most OF II, in fact, had only
secondary bearing on the question at issue. DID
Harris poison his girl-wiie' let the impression ]"
rnade on the Jurors must have been cohsuei'oi'
There was also some proof which bore dhecuS y"
the charge in the indictment.
The interest in the trial lis intense. crown sum
Gent TO fiji the courtroom ten times over Is oaiy
TUNED from the doors. The unfolding OF the tes'i
moAy seems to be planned rs II somc eo"ius nav
written detective story Of surprising power, anu
Was being enacted In the courtroom fHSI '"eie u
4 circumstance favorable TO the accused man, 'nen
ous which tells against him. Thus tho plot tcKchs
The prosecution showed yesterday That IL hao
.,,r.d no labor or expense TO make the strongest
noss,ble case against Harris Witnesses were Drought
nom a distance, including one from NIGH
ran, and two from syracuse W. i'"' e.,
Jerome made stubborn hghO ior HH
client in the course of which he and Assistant Ds"'oV
Attorney welld6an had several exchanges Oh '"oA..
peasantrcs at quarters. Each Is young eecn l.
bright and each has Of glory to gain from the case
Eecorer smyth occasionally has 10 separate the TWO
,ame-cocks and to insist that there be no needese
wrapgllng. A..
The first witness yesterday was Hcarn j. ro"er' u''
r,.r in the drug store Of Even Mcintyre son. VINO
llIed the prescription Of morphine and qunihe lor
Harris lie said that the clerks at that drug store do
mt All rr,scriptioDs for every medical student They
recognized the prisoner young man WHO sio'"'
knew good deal about drugs, and therefore mao CON-
adencs in him. Power was kept on the s'ahd 'o"e
time and was made to show hew he put up tho yep
sules He said he consulted with other clerks III 'he
place before filing the prescription -,
George E. Manson is a fellow-cle with Power. lie
,ecorecsd distinctly the compromising Of the medicine
for Harris on January 20 1891. Power stood IN rro'
Of the scales and carefully weighed the drug Inc"
called Manson 10 that the scales were odia''eu
accurately and that the right weights were uSeo Aso
,.o saw that nowcr took tho drugs from the r'sh'
bottles. ,
rle next Witness Charles w. Tuercke, now Oh
Ho-nel,vre, n. y, was also clerk in mcintyre
,tore a wear ago. On sunday, February l. "e ud' VI
Helen Pottss DEATH Harris came 10 the drug store anu
asked 10 see the prescription dated January 10 iU
six capsules Of Quininc and morphine, signed u w.
H.. student, The prisoner asked the witness 10 feao
the paper to him, and Harris copieo IL d. i"''0 ~
Io. This at about ii a. III.
Dp Albert T. Weston next testified that nc was a
deputy coroner on February last when ne was sun,
oned 10 the ConsoCk school on account vi inc uea'
~ Mas Potts lie met Harris there ilaTis too MIN
that he had prescribed for the young womdh '"'
had complained Of hesGaches. and he got hcr le oap
,u,es A. oulnne and morphine. on the following oaS
Harris had gone 10 Old Point Comfort. where he spch
. week When ho came back he saw Helen fo'is
again. -, ,.
pr Weston saw Harris more in the evening
vh.n Mrs Potts had from Ocean Grove -
asked her about her daughters health the witness
vent on. and Harris started in TO tell me about IT,
Date ocain tn 10 =
Then Harris began 10 say that the girl hah neat
tyoub,e and had again to ask him 70 let the mohcI
give the Information Mrs. Potts sad that her deneh
ter had heart trouble which she attributed to an ata
of scarlet fever which Helen had in her childhood Ihe
rl had been advised not to take too violent exercise
"wh.n I saw Harris in the morning. he told me
that he had ordered six capsules. Four were taKer
nv Miss Potts and the other two he kept He prom
ised to bring them 10 mo In the evening Wheh tx
came again he said he could find only one OF them
He gave me this and put it into the box which mao
been brought from Miss Pottss room. gave the box
and capsule to Coroner Schul,ze' Recess was taken
and then Mr. Jerome cross-cxamned the witness.
Coroner Louis W. Sc5ultle was next called He
said that he went the Comstoch School on FEBRUARY
at about O'Clock, in response TO a message Iroh
Deputy Coroner Weston. The Deputy Coroner gave
him p,llbox conta ming capsule in the presence
~ The prisoner. The witness gave the box ana cap
sue 70 Dr. Gustav Pfngsen. chemist, OF NO.
Vhitehast In a few days Or. Pfngstcn gave him
back the box. The Coroner placed II in drawer IN
his desk at his office. The box disappeared, ana DE-
,chultzc could not find It, although lie searched every
where for it, Mr. Wellman gave him pll-box, which
the witness said fac-simile OF the one gwen MIN
by DR.. Weston. The box marked: one capsule
before retiring. c. W. H.. STUDENT
DR. Tnngsten was then summoned. lie SAID tDa'
DR. Schultz gave him the box containing one capsule
The witness carefully loched 1t up over night ana uic
next afternoon took IL to Tho ONCE Of Dr. Chapman
.hemist whom he knew, at sixty -fouTth-st and PARK
ave- The two opened the capsule togetlcr and the
witness tasted bit OF tic contents. Then the i've
chemists made Identification te-t'. First they tool
one centigramme OF the powder and dissolved 1t III
nitric acid The substance TUNED reddish color hr
ard then yellow THIS indicated the presence OF NOR
phne. Then the aqua feri sesqui chloride test wa
ised on another gyanlne of the powder, and the
presence OF morphine shown. Then thcT MADE
Two analyses to prove that qunine was present. In
.ach Of these one ccntigramme Of the contents OF the
capsule was used One-th!rtieth Of the powder Wa
thus used
The rest was subjected 10 quantiiat!ye anay sis
The morphine dissolved out. except a ntte OF 1t
with water Ether used to get out the small par
tc,es OF the poison left with the quinine. The NOR
phius then pecipltated from the solution will
ammonia. The pecipitate was dried and then weighed
There about onesiXth Of grain Of 1t. The Quinin
weighed three aid hveeighths grains This showed
that the druggists clerk had made 10 mistake.
Mr.. Jerome opened big work on chemistry and
began TO sound the deph Of the Witness knowledge
his profession. lie asked number of questions, smon
them: Mustard seed gives a pretty good reaction
with the nitric acid test, doesn't it''
II amt acquainted with the gentleman said tn
witness. gravey. lie had given the box back to Cor
oner Schultz. he said.
This next witness Dr.. George r. White. OF tn,
Methodist Episcopal hospital of Brooklyn. lie wa
graduated from the College Of Physicians and Surgeon
In June last, Harris being one Of his classmates.
February the two detailed to spend week at III
Sloane Maternity Hospital. They occupied the sam
ROOM Harris told him about Miss Pots's death. He sst
he had given her morphine pills for sckheadache. II
thought that these pills had killed her Ether the drug
gs: rad made ms take the girl had AL idoSynclss
with regard TO morphine. which might have been du
tn a brain tumor The Girl had headaches Ike thOs