St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-05-08
HARRIS DIES TODAY.
Continued, From First PAGE.

Continued From First Page.
nineteen years old, that he began to
study medicine. probably through some
offer made to him by DR.. McCready, for
he went to the college of physicians aud
surgeons, with which DR.. McCready
was closely identified. and lived with
his grandfather. All accounts agree
that he was particularly bright stud
dent.
His Conduct Bad.
1t was in the summer of 1889 that he
went to live at Ocean Grove, n. j., with
his mother, and his conduct there was
bad. he kept place where young men
gambled and drank. In August of that
year, month before he was twenty
Helen Potts. The girl was eighteen
years old, and lived at Ocean Grove
with her father. mother and little
brother. She was a pretty girl, and
Harris took a fancy to her. According
to the evidence on the trial, he was in
the habit of taking a fancy to pretty
girls. He visited her often, and his
mother and brother became acquainted
with the Potts family. Carlyle Harris
and Mary Helen Potts spent most of
| that summer III each others company.
He came back to New York in the
| fall to resume his medical studies. The
Potts family came here to live, too.
| The young folks continued to meet, and
Mrs. Potts spoke to Harris. he secuted
the idea that there was anything more
between him and Mary Helen Potts
than a friendship. A few days later,
however, he called on Helen's mother
and asked her to consent to his engage
ment to her daughter. She absolutely
refused to give her consent until he had
finished his studies. That was shortly
before Feb. II, 1890. On Feb. II Nc
Cready Harris, the younger brother of
Carlyle, asked Mary Helen Potts to go
and see the stock exchange. Carlyle
called for her and the three went to the
city hall, where Harris and the girl
were
Secretly Married
by Aid. Rinkhoff. Neither of them gave
right names for that marriage and it
was kept secret. Within few weeks
Harris began to avoid his girl wife, and
she began to grleve about it. In May
the Pottses went to live at Oak Grove.
Miss May Schofeld, school friend OF
Helen's, was visiting there. The girl
wife was in delicate condition. Harris
would not permit her to make known
her marriage, saying that if it was done
his grandfather would disinherit HIM.
He proposed an operation to conceal
her condition from the world. she
would consent only on condition that
May Sehoield should know about her
marriage, so that if she should ole her
honor would be protected. Harris took
Miss Schofield for walk and told her.
That night he performed the operation
upon his wife.
Mary Helen Potts then went to visit
DR.. Traverton, her uncle, at Scranton,
| Pa. The doctor discovered her con-
| dition. Harris was made to confess that
he had performed not one, but two OPP
erationS upon his wife. He denied the
| marriage, though.
Helen Confessed All
| to her mother. All this time, it devel-
oped upon the trial, Harris was having
an affair, which had disgraceful terml-
nation, with deprav9d woman whom ne
| was meeting at Canandaigua, n. Y :;
under an assumed name. After Mrs.
| Potts got we'll her mother insisted that
| Harris should marry her publicly. Har-
ris promised that he would. He kept
| putting the marriage off, and finally IN
| duced the mother to send Helen to the
| Comstock school. The mother kept IN
| sisting on the marriage, and on Jan. 20,
| 1891. Harris wrote her that her wishes
would be complied with.
The young wife had been complain
ing of headaches. On Jan. 20 Harris
| got prescription for six capsules, each
| to contain one-siXth OF grain OF tRQr-
phine and four and One-half grains OF
| quinine. He gave her four of the six
pills. telling her to take one each night.
! The other two pills be kept. Then ne
went to Old Point Comfort. The girl
took three of the pills. She complained
| that they made her feel worse. She told
her mother that she had good MIND tc
| throw the fourth one away. Hel
mother advised her to take it. saying
that Carlyle knew what was best FOL
her. If she had not taken that pill she
probably
Would Have Been Alive
today. She took it just before retiring
on the night of Jan. 81, 1891. She aWoke
in partial coma, land SAID to her school
mates that she had had beautiful
| dreams. She had dreamed that Carlyle
was with her. Soon she began to moan
and was unconscious. Drs. Fowler ano
Bauer were called to attend her. She
died the following morning. Harris
was sent for. He seemed to care little
for his wife's death, but kept insisting
that the medicine he had given her was
all right. He was told to go to the drue
store and find out. He went out to dc
so. The evidence showed that he did
not 90 near the store, although he re-
turned to say that he had been there.
The apparent preparations Harris mac
made to clear himself of suspicion, his
refusal to permit the girl to be buried
under his name, and the
Conflicting Stories
he told caused suspicion to be directed
toward himself. He was indicted or
May Is, 1891. He was brought to tria
in January. 1892. He had William
Travers Jerome, john A. Taylor ant
Charles f. Davidson to defend him
The trial lasted three weeks, and the
defense was almost wholly to show tina
the girl did not die of morphine poison
ing. Experts were on the stand fol
| DAYS. After celebrating an hour anC
twenty minutes. verdict of murder il
the first degree was returned. HarrI:
was sentenced to die on March q, 1892
Harris took William f. Howe for biz
counsel then. The seven judges OF the
court of appeals unanimously affirmed
the conviction in one of the StrOnges
decisions ever written by Judge Gray
The fruitless proceedings for a new
trial which Recorder Smythe denied ar,
so recent as to be familiar. In these pro
ceedings the defense abandoned 1t!
former ground, and set up that the CIR
p had been in the habit of taking NOR
phine and that the dose which killed
her was self-admlniStered.
Harris made long speech to the
court just before he was sentenced t.
die in the week beginning May s. HI
was taken to Sing Sing on March %
Since that time his friends have been
Circulating Petitions
+ all over the state, asking the governo
for executive clemency, which has nov