The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-10-12
DURRANr PUTS IN DENIALs.
He DiscIaims Contradictory Stories
Credited to Him


San Francisco. oct. u.-Theodore Dur
rant, while losing none OF his coolness
and self-possession, and without being
made to contradict himself in any way, did
not fare as well in his struggle with Dis
trict Attorney Barnes to-day as yester-
day. Mr.. Barnes had reserved his most
telling points for the close, and he brought
them out with good effect There were
in his interrogations to-day broad intl-
nations Of rebuttal testimony OF a very
important and in one case sensational ma
ture, and he expects next week 10 COM
plete the net which in his direct examina-
ton he partly wove around the accused
man.
When the proceedings opened this morn
ing Durrant was confronted with state
ments alleged to have been made to two
reporters, in which he said that on the
afternoon Of the murder he had arrived
at the church between and s:30 o'clock.
He admitted that he had made the state
ments to the reporters. but said he had
been misunderstood. The time referred
to his trip from the college to the church.
and not his arrival at the church. lie
said he had stated the time he left the
college to be between and 4;SO o'clock.
When he came down from the space
above the ceiling to the Sunday school
room, where George r. King, the organ
through the glass in the doorway and saw
King before stepping through. the
door door When, When 1t was called TO
was stained, he said he could see the
outside of Kings form through the color
space In Il. King had testified that he
was the first to speak at that meeting,
and that Durrant walked to the middle OF
the room before replying. This Durrant
denied. He said If King spoke first, he
the conversation.
Mr. Barnes then questioned him as to
his knowledge OF bromo seltzer, and he
said he had never studied up on it. He
asked why. II he knew nothing about 1t.
he had sent King for It, and replied that
he thought Il would stay his stomach.
Durrant's college note book is one with
an adjustable cover, and he was asked n
he had not made Il that way to enable him
TO Insert lectures. He said he had not, and
added that he had used the cover over a
year He made the rather remarkable
statement that he had, on the day of his
arrest forgotten that he had notes of DR..
Cheneys lecture on the Afternoon Of April
3, though he remembered It up to the
time of his arrest, and It
again occurred to him three days
later. This was to account for
his having told two witnesses during the
interval that he did not remember whether
or not he had the notes. He accounted for
this forgetfulness by the effect the hub
He denied that after his arrest he had
asked DR.. Gilbert II. Gram, fellow stu-
dent, for his notes Of the lecture. He also
denied that after he had seen his name as
ISOLATED with the disappearance of
Blanche Lamont and before his arrest he
had borrowed the notes Of Student Glaser,
but admitted that he had consulted Glas-
Durrant admitted that he was absent
from the morning lecture at the county
hospital on April 8, the day he Is said
to have crossed the bay to make an APP
pointment with Minnie Williams and that
he got another student 10 answer for him
had crossed the bay.
Several specimens of Durrants hand
writing were then introduced for the jury
to compare with the writing on the pack
age containing Blanche Lamonts rings,
which was sent to her aunt This is the
writing which Is SAID to resemble Rev.
Dr. GiDsOn's.
The sensation Of the day was produced
when Durrant was asked II he had not,
on the 22d of last month given to Miss
Carrie Cunningham, a reporter, an en-
opened except In the event Of his con-
viction. He denied having done SO.
Mr.. Barnes then asked him: did you,
on the 9Th of October, in cell No. . of the
county jail, in a conversation with Miss
Cunningham, say that when you We're at
work fixing the sunburners you heard a
noise and followed II up to the belfry and
there saw the dead body of Blanche La
mont on the second landing, and did you
say that she was murdered on the second
landing of the belfry2
There was a story brought TO me by
Miss Cunningham" said Durrant (which,
like the Sweet Pea Girl story, purported
to be a rumOr which she had heard about
town to the effect that / had heard a noise
while fixing the gas, and that / had fol-
lowed the noise TO the landing above TO
see what II was and discovered what you
make reference to. i neither affirmed nor
denied It, as / have done with every re-
porter who has brought story to me.
asked her If she intended to publish this,
and told her she would put me to great
annoyance. She said she would say moth
ing about II whatever, and she stood on a
box and said she would solemnly promise
me she would say nothing about 1t until It
could be proven
Now added Durrant, dramatically, IT
ask for the proof to come forward"
This concluded Durrant's cross exami-
nation. The case went over until Tues