Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1893-06-16
THE BORDEN TRIAL.
Popular Sentiment faVOrS Miss
Borden.
Interesting Glimpses of the BOrdens'
Home Life.

IL would be manifestly unfair 10 try TO
, sum mp the evidence la the Borden case on
2 The strength OF the testimony thus far taken,
E because the state Is not h II through, and
7 though the counsel for the defence have
weak ned the prosecutions evidence IL
should be said that much evidence promised
has not yet been introduced. The States case
IS weak just now, that i all. As for the
. popular feeling, 1t l. enough TO say that the
, prisoner l. being called Miss Borden by a
. good many here who at the beginning Of
last week = oke familiarity Of her rs Lizzie"
VI au>tere'y as Lizzie Andrew Borden
, There have been interesting glimp,cs OF
The home life Of the Bordrns Of Fail River
brought out In the testimony on the witness
stand. Andrew Borden was not mean aud
stingy. He was "furchanded" rs they say
down this way, but when man came to
hlre ms store for purpose the Old man did
not approve Of how quickly he refused to
let 1t go into that tenants hand.
Bridget Sullivan never made beds for any
but herself She did little cooking and she
was well treated. Are there many houses
where the servant betakes herself 10 her
room at II o'clock in the morning for 4
sieStn?
His two daughters were well provided for.
The dresses in their close closet upstairs
nave been too numerous for the officers on
the stand tn rnm"mher. Both IiALle AMI
Emnt rad bank accounts OF their own.
Ihey Went where they pleased. II not. it
was Their own fault, not their fathers.
Uncle John Morse spoke with gusto Of the
fact OF the abundance Of the table After
| that II was not 50 necessary to forgive the /
warmed over breakfast.
! Inc 'nlly was one that WITS satisfied with I
! Yunilty. That was all. But they would /
! nav" this woman Of - murder this old man /
VINO had always treated her with consider /
alton, would have her strike him down with /
| 4 irrocity twice ns great rs that exhibited in .
| me mothers ease, simply because she dis.
| liked the latter, 'htted" her is the term the
prosecution used, though the witness had
not YET come forward who was to substanti-
ate this
The testimony at the Borden trial from the
police force Of Fail River is practically all in,
though Marshal Hiliird has not taken the
stand. inspector Med cy, Capt. Desmond, .
who conducted the tlr>t real search OF the
Borden premises ma " four days after the
murders, and Stale Detective Seayer. who
made hunt OF the premises the saturday
before. were the principal witnesses.
IL Is these unmportant details that 20 so
lar toward STRENGTHENING a theory, and when
again aud again during the testimony of the
officers widely differing versions Of single in
clhents are given, 1t weakcns the whole
structure the State Is attempting to build
upon them.
Take the testimony OF Inspector Medley.
IL" Is the officer who teSthcs that there were
no footprints on the llOOr of the second story
OF IN" barn. He is positive OF this, and ii is
daIliEInG evidence against Governor Robin
sons client. But Mclley tc-ttie that his
examination OF the floor was concluded in
TWO or three minutes and il Is ON his eyi.
dence alone and the negative evidence that Il
the woman was not seen going In or out OF ,
lhe barh IN IN" questionable ~ minutes
that the prosecution must settle this point.
Mcdlcy's method OF satisfying himself that
the stairs had not been walked upon recently |
was bS placing his most hand of suliry ,
August day upon the boards and dcduCinp l
from the fact that he coIld SEE the marks Of (
MS GERS IN the dust and nothing else. that n
honpdy woman with thin-so'ed shoes on .
her iect Tor Instance had not been up the .
stairs. ~ " &
II was not scientific method Of SATISFYING g
himself. Only "A close inspection under the II
care of two officers provided with every "
means Of making their own evidence respon.
'ibIe would be conclusive but so far ms ON
'er Medlcys investigation went it + positive
anu direct cvdenc" something 10 rar.,n
ne case aS SO f,r unravcI!cd n 10 stand out
IKE very black spot on a background Of
neutral CO0rS
The hatchet-it is no longer necessary 10 ~
icslgnHte It "hand!cess figured largely in IN
he investigation II Sltur,ily. The ciose VI
questioning came upon the substluC. flund n,
IN the iron 81 the Ratchet head Medley ~
nou;ht the dust upon the iron was the dust j"
u ashes. but much Coar,er than the other II
lust upon the tools in the same box in which H.
he Ratchet AS foLnl. But he was positive T.,
IS could be that it was ash dust ~
APT. desmond was questioned closely NJ ~
o the substance also. He thought il was eli,
'dlr Coarse dirt Pushed further he in
l'n'n 10 in'hk that IL was dirt coarser than
ny found IN the cellar upon other articles
VI course all this is OlJN tAnintir.. an
he act that the Ratchet va, snneU,Ie,a
tl"re II was 10 til" box ace riding 10 thr |
Ulcers theory, but where has not brrn ~
rouTht ont In testimony 50 fir,and whether p
ne ne theory OF the Disposal of the weapon a
'lll have anything urther vet hrou,ht fnr. -"
ard Is Just now only problem ,tlcal ,
State Detective Sewers contribution totLc
atrhet symposium had largely to do with 'o'
ne broken portion OF the handle CIV
oninson was delighted To find that Sruypr =
tl been once a carpenter aud though the
yer mouestly dt1claimcd any prcten,ions
being an expert he did after some he,itn.
On pronounce the wood OF the handle In
ave been decayrd
How easy its dccayei condition wouId Hin
axe the job Of breaking in two in order IN Do
row suspicion from the wcapon-a woman AM
the prisoners siren 9Th might be able To set
II qnlckY' neatly, Clearly. But II de. STR,
yea 10 that extent II would be ntiskv ron
eapon to rain y blows upon the head ~ =,
Q Two Old people. 1t might stand the
RAIN but after all 1t would be hardly the
'apon good Judgment would have selected T.
commit the atrocities which wboeyrr tho
ordered these people evidently cnni.n. sen
ited especially when II is considered that u"
ere were In the cellar other and more
ANY Instruments of a perfectly sound
ture. D'"""
50 Tar AZ the searches among the dresses of
@ house were concerned in no part were
rsseS with blood spots or paint. This ia
dence parity for the prosecution and n,rt.
for the defence. Nobody posed AS O1icrr
arlington did az an expert on women's
thlnS and consequently nobody got badly
lsteh though State Detective Sewer AZ
y as the regular Fall River police wcrc I.
identity hunting for blood spots on the
'Sses aud had little thought at the time of Col
'lr search how great part the simple D..
ntlhcatiOn OF single dress was plov In oi
trial of the accused woman. '''' ." tn,
me thing has been clearly established r.
these officers were hunting for blooJ n
ITS on c'othing hut did not find them, r. r
not more than singular that but one Of
IN can describe the dress she had on tho
OF the crime and on the day of the
eat search no one looked Mt Lizzie ,,,,
rdrns clothing upon her person closely MIMI
ugh TO know what she was wearing tiscm