The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1893-06-09

prosecution. For the ~ cOuu tiho ~ "'"y
truthfully be recorded that the facts, as
stated by The witnesses do not substaa-
tiate the claims made by Mr. Mooay'
The Contradict ons of Witnesses
The contradictions, the damaging ed-
missions. the misleading statements
aud the gen, RAJ lack OF connection pe-
tween the facts and the alleged conse-
quences Of these facts we're SO frequentiy
brought out yesterday as to aimost aels
comment. All day the defense pusled IL
self with showing how entirely reliable IS
memory and how untrustworthy are tne
statements made simply from memory o.
events that have happened only lew
hours before. Almost without exception
this truth has ben driven ho'nes,o .ne
mind of every witness. Again ahu aga"
les erday IL was brought out and einPh"-
sizei.
In the case Of Officer Fleet 1t was found
that tie memory refreshed py notes
taken at the time and Diace or the occur
renee of certain events proved entireIy
uutrustworthy and may prove more SO
II the evidence OF two or three otners
directly contradicting what he said Is 10
be weighed as of more value than
his own single statement. Oncer
Fleets testimony will ba OF ht-
tie weight if he continues to con-
tradict himself as he did yesterday
His aim as well as that OF his fellow
officers, was to find some evidence or the
crime. For this purpose the closets were
examined and dresses closely inspected.
At the preliminary hearing he said be
examine each dress in the front closet
on Thursday, and that all OF them were
covered by sheet. lie contradicts tpat
stat ement made under oath. ana ue-
clares that he did not examine each dress
carefully, and that they were not COW
cred.
That is sample of the conf citing
statements in which he had involved
himself at the close OF the trial at D
o'clock yesterday. Yet this witness Is
an officer whose business IL i TO hunt
for evidence and whose life Is almost
uaily spent In testifying under oath.
Very Unreliable Evidence.
And it is upon memories so very fallib!e
as these that the evidence relating to
Lizzi.'s dress that morning rests. Bird
get doesn't know what kind of dress
she had on. Miss Russell has no reco'-
lection, though she rememb RS other
events with most startling vividness.
DIR. Bowen is not at all sure about it.
lie doesn't even know that it
was drab color. IL was simply
an indefinite light shade. Only
Mrs. Churchill remembers with ac-
curacy what the dress was. Yet she
coul int remember at all what was the
color of Miss Russei's dress. of Bridget's
or of Mr.. Borden's dress. Iu fact, there
is no one % is all positive about this
dress or any ones else except Mrs.
Churchill. To her 1t was light
blue dress with navy blue diamond
figure on it, 1t also seemed freshly
made and made OF calico and cambric.
But the dress that Lizzie burned was an
old dress, soed dress, aud made OF
Bedford cord cloth, quite unlike either
calico or cambrlc.
Zig Point FIR the Defense.
Finally it Is conceded by everyone who
saw Lizzie that morning that the dress
she wore had no sign Of blood on it.
Not speck OF blood as ex-Gover Tor
Robinson SO concisely put it. Again
and again this point was emphasized.
1t is OF the utmost value. The defense
will play il AZ a leading card. Beside ac-
knowDedging that n dress was burned
and that its burning Is rather an EVIL
dence of innocence than of guilt, the
defense will insist that the dress that
Lizzie wore that morning, was spotless
as far as human blood is concerned.
They will say to the governments: First
the dress that was burned was not the
dress that Lizzie wore that morning.;
| on it. Take either hour or the dilemma
and you have proved nothing.
Another point over which there has
been great con ention IL the probabili y
of seing Mrs. Bor lens body from the
stairs. DIR. BoNeu's stimony is proof
that he did not see the body from the
stairs under tn" bed though he was look
ing for it. and had been told that it was
there. The room was dark. DIR. Bowen
is a witness OF the government. Opposed
to his statemel Is are the statements of
Mrs. Churchill and Bridget.
Both were so nervous that neither
would GO up stairs without the other,
yet they saw the body distinctly from
the stairs The point here is not the pos
sibility OF seeing the body. The exper-
ments Of experts prove that possible.
The question is whether it Is at all prob
able that any one thoughtlessly going
up stairs would notice the body in
dark room. the shutters on the
windows being partially closed AL
of the ques ion is two in favor to one
against the value of DIR. Bowen's testi-
mony is consd dered to be fully equal 10
that OF both Bridget and Mrs. Churchill
In any event, however, the answer will
be merely a matter OF personrl opinion,
as it Is manifestly Impossible now to
make any satisfactory experiments either
for or against the theory.
MIR. Moody's Opening Claim.
II will be rem m bered that Mr.. Mood y
in his opening address claimed that Miss
Borden had deliberately gone up stairs
20 her room, passing the sitting room
without noticing her father, and the bed
room up stairs without noticing her
mother. To Mr.. Moody such an act
seemed almost heinous.
But il did not seem so yesterday after
DIR. Bowen explained that Lizzie went
mn stairs because he told her TO do so,
and that therefore, instead of acting I'd .
liberately," sac was simply obeying the
direction of her physician. Perhaps the
claim OF Mr. Moody and his inferences
need no iurther Comment.
DIR. Bowen's Valuable Evidence.
The defense added one more very valu-
able point to its claim in the evidence OF
Dr. Bowen yesterday morning. aud 1T
was a point SO entirely new as to almost
stagger both the governmen Mt and the
audience. DR.. Bowen had given Lizzie
|. morphine everv day for five days before
tue inquest. Lizzie was not accustomed
to taking morphine. The doses were
tyice the usual amount in size