The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-09-11
THE FIGURE LOOKED LIKE BLANCHE LAMONT 7,

ments they found In the church. Yester-
day came Mrs. Noble to say, 'These were
the garments worn by my sisters child,
Blanche Lamont"
She said more than this. She said she
met Durrant at prayer-meeting on the
evening of the day in which Blanche had
disappeared.
Durrant sat in front of her at the prayer
meeting. He leaned back and asked her
whether Blanche was coming. Mrs. Noble
answered with a simple negative.
Then Durrant told her about the book,
"The Newcombs," that he had promised
to bring Blanche. He had not brought it,
he said. And he asked Mrs. Noble to tell
Blanche that he would bring the book
Thursday.
Mrs. Noble thinks it was the Thursday
of the week following the disappearance
of Blanche that Durrant and DR.. Vogel
called at her house.
He told her that Clarence Wolf knew of
places that were unknown to the police,
and that he and Wolf would search these
places for Blanche.
Then Mrs. Noble told about the rings
worn by Blanche on the morning that she
left the house for the last time. She iden-
titled the rings and told of receiving them
through the mails, wrapped in a piece of
newspaper, on the margin of which were
written the names of John T. King and
Professor Scharenstein.
All this testimony was readily appre-
ciated as Of vital Importance in the peo-
pies case against the prisoner, and the
prisoner himself was the only person in
the courtroom who did not feel vitality in
terested in it, who did not listen most
acutely so that no syllable of it might
escape.
Durrant whispered with his mother dur
ing parts of the testimony and at other
times remained passive and only slightly
interested in it all.
The afternoon session was adjourned be-
fore Mrs. Mobiles direct examination was
co included, Mr.. Barnes wishing her to try
to recollect by this morning the exact date
of her interview with Durrant and DR..
Vogel.
The morning session was devoted to
proving the identity of the clothing and
effects OF Blanche Lamont found in En-
manuel Baptist Church and in describing
where they were found.
Friday the witnesses told of the clothing
found in the belfry on Easter Sunday-the
day the body was found and removed. The
articles identified yesterday were found
two days later-on the 10th of April.
First came Special Officer Somps, who
found a soiled and crumpled glove secreted
under the floor of the top platform of the
belfry. 1t was kid glove, tan color. AS
the District Attorney held it up to the
jury it called to mind perhaps the soft
white hand of the pretty girl that once
wore it.
Some other articles of clothing were also
identified by Somps. They were slowed
away in odd corners.
Attorney Dickinson cross questioned
Somps very closely and ELECTED much in
formation, the utility OF which was not
discernible to the audience at least.
From these cross-questions it was learned
that Somps once had a conversation with
a man named Green concerning the dis
coveries made by the witness in the belfry.
But what bearing this conversation can
possibly have on the case was not shown
by anything which occurred yesterday.
a point that the counsel for Durrant
was very careful to draw out from all of
the witnesses was that the articles found
by them were secreted in places difficult of
access and that in hiding them one must
have consumed much time and traversed
long and dusty distances that could not
have failed to soil ones clothes. This
point was insisted upon by the cross
questioner.
OF course, if the prosecution should set
up the claim that the murderer secreted the
effects and wearing apparel of his victim
on the same day, or within the half hour
or less during which he must have
strangled the poor girl, then Mr.. Dickin
sons point in this respect would be useful
in showing that more than one person
must have been concerned in the awful
crime.
But it is not understood that the peoples
counsel will make any such claim. On the
contrary their theory is that the garments
were secreted at subsequent date.
Manifestly, from the evidence already
adduced, it was a task of more than an
hour, probably several hours, to secrete the
clothing where it was found, and there is
nothing in the claims made by the District
Attorney tending to deny this conclusion.
Witness Somps said he saw footprints in
the dust on the upper steps in the belfry,
thus corroborating i'll this respect the tes-
timony previously given by Policeman
Refill. This was brought out by the ques-
tons of Mr.. Dickinson.
J. J. McGreevy. son of Policeman Nc
Greevy, who lives next door to the church
on Bartlett street. was the next witness.
He went to the church on the Tuesday
following the discovery of the body to see
his father.
While in the church he joined the off,
GERS in the search for the clothing. He
found the hat worn by Blanche Lamont
when she left the High School. 1t was a
Leghorn hat, trimmed with brown rib
bons. McGreevy found it slowed away
under the floor on the first platform in the
belfry. He found it necessary to tear up
portion of the flooring in order to take out
the hat without destroying 1t.
Then came G. II. Graham, detective.
He told of finding the shoes-little black
leather things, low-cut ties, as they are
called. These were also found under the
flooring among the rafters, but in distant
part of the church.
Policeman E. V. Herbe found the school