The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-22

streets. In mpany with captain LEES
and Detective Seymour District Attorney
Barnes went over the route himself on
Sunday. The three boarded southbound
car at 2:59 o'clock that afternoon and rode
to Market street, where they transferred
to the Valencia street car. On this they
rode TO Twenty first and Valencia. From
that point they walked leisurely up to
Bartlett street. turned the corner ana
walked just as leisurely to the church:
There they compared watches and found
that the trip, including all stops, which
are frequent on Sundays, had consumed
exactly thirty-eight minutes. A reporter
for The CALL, who made the trip yester-
day, covered the same route in thlrty-four
minutes.
1t is the supposition of the prosecution,
of course, that Durrant and Miss Lamont
took this route on April 3. In The first
place she was residing with her aunt. Mrs.
Noble, on Twenty-hrst street, near YORK.
and as it is known she had an appoint
ment with her music-teacher for lesson
at o'clock, it was supposed that she
would take this, the nearest and quickest
way of getting there. In the next place
there is the testimony. of Attorney Quin-
girl supposed to be Blanche Lamont COM
ing up the east side of Bartlett street from
Twenty-irst.
A thirty -eight-minute trip from Powell
and CLAW streets to Emmanuel Baptist
Church would have brought the young
couple to that edifice at :37 o'clock, fifty
three minutes before the time Durrant says
he arrived there, and thirty-three minutes
prior to the time Mrs Caroline s. Leak is
positive she saw him enter the church gate
with Blanche Lamont.
1t is possible that this time, this thirty
three minutes, or this tfty-three minutes,
will cover the period of Durrant's move
ments, out of which the defense hopes to
establish his alibi-probably to show that
he left Blanche Lamont somewhere on the
route from Clay street to Twenty-hrst and
Valencia, after which he never saw her
alive again, although he did visit the
church at 80 o'clock on that same after
noon. 1t is even limited that Durrant, in
the excitement succeeding his arrest,
stated the time of his arrival at 4:30, when
it really might have been ten or fifteen
minutes later. The defense will undoubt-
eddy endeavor to prove this as the leeway
of these few minutes may cut big figure
in the case.
The prosecution naturally scouts the
possible lily of the proof of an abb, and has
a theory-maybe witnesses to demon
strate 1t, whom they may be keeping in
the background-thatw when Durrant and
Blanche Lamont alighted from the car at
Twenty-tirst and Valencia streets, the
young man anu the young woman StOOO
on the corner chatting, the girl desiring to
proceed in the direction of York street to
take her music lesson, and they are equally
we'll satisfied that Durrant was trying to
prevail upon her to accompany him to the
church library, where he would give her
the book, 1.-The Newcomes," which he had
promised her when he had ridden uptown
with her at O'Clock the same morning.
Whether with Durrant or the young man
uho TOnkad lika him RlaOrho Lamont
went to Emmanuel Baptist Church that
afternoon. She did not take her music
lesson and she met her murderer and her
fate without having parted from her school
books. The lapse of time between her ar
rival at Twenty-frst and Valencia streets
until Mrs. Leak saw her enter the church
the prosecution will contend was spent in
mbating Durrant's urgings to accom-
pany him to the church. If there are wit
nesses to prove this the prosecution does
not state.
The defense continues equally mum on
the methods it will pursue in the effort to
establish the alibi and has little to say re-
garding any of its witnesses at all. 1t is
known, however, that counsel for Durrant
have issued subpenas for Conductor West,
who will not be called by the prosecution,
and for a number of witnesses, including
the Misses Gertie Taber and Daisy Wolf,
who are expected to testify to the good
character of the accused, Notwithstanding
the many stories dug out of obscure corners
in the effort to show that he is human
pervert and villain.
And, incidentally with all this, comes
Constable Palmer of Walnut Creek into
the Office of Captain Lees yesterday morn
ing with pocket-knife and weird tale of
the time when the young men of the signal
corps camped on Easter Sunday in the
shade of Mount Diablo. Constable Palmer
was of the firm belief that the knife had
been dropped by Durrant on that trip,
while the signal corps stopped in the Moses
barn at Walnut Creek. When Constable
room he was as mum as an oyster and
GUNNER than two. He refused positively
to have anything to say.
The knife, which is tortoise-shell af-
fair, has two blades and scissors attach
ment. 1t was found by Mrs. Moses, the
wife of the proprietor of the ranch where
the signal corps boys stopped on the Sun
day of Durrant's arrest. Mrs. Moses car
ried the knife for several weeks, speaking
TO several neighbors of her find-the story
in this way reaching Constable Palmer
who Immediately jumped to the conclu-
sion that it belonged to Durrant, and that
the stains upon it were bloodstains.
Thereupon, after telegraphing the story
out on Tuesday afternoon, Constable
1OllOWCd ~ dOW ~ Guc OlIy. AlleT
the constable had told his story Captain
Lees had nothing to say about the knife,
which he had deposited with the other ex-
hibits in the Minnie Williams case
It is not thought that the knife will cut
much of figure in the case, as it is hardly
likely that the murderer of Minnie Will
Hams, after stabbing her repeatedly with
the broken tableknife, would have gone to
the trouble of searching her clothing for a
knife with to cut her wrists, as some are
inclined to think.
Miss Williams father when questioned
as to any knife his daughter had, stated
that she had tortoise-shell handled one,
but he could not describe it.
The hunt for witnesses still goes on in
both cases with undated fervor, the prose
cution bent on proving Durrant's guilt;
the defense equally in earnest to save his
neck. The next proceeding to hasten
either of these desired ends will be made
when Judge Murphy ascends the bench
this morning.