The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-09-10
SILLY AND FRIVOLOUS YARNS
FLYING THICK N REGARD TO THE
DURRANT MURDER CASE.

hut Every One, SO Far, Has Been De-
MED by the Persons Most Interes-
ted, and the stories Prove to he
BaseIess ..RoOrbneISs," Not Worth
RePeating-Tesfim Concerning
Two Blocks ON Which the Head of
the Murdered blanche Lamont
Rested in the Church BeIfry-Thcy
Are the same as the BIOcf1s Used
in Dissecting Rooms, and Were
Only Noticed by One Man.
San Francisco, Sept. 9.-The last few
days have been prolific of rumors in con-
nection with the Durrant case. perhaps
more so than any corresponding period
since the bodies of Minnie Williams and
Blanche Lamont were found in Emman-
uel church and Durrant was arrested for
their murder.
All sorts Of stories emanating from the
most vague sources, have been circulated
and published, only to be fatly contra
dicted when traced to the fountain of in
formation. Such tales as a yarn that
Clarence Wolfe would testify to Durrants
having told him of his intention to betray
Blanche Lamont; that Mayor Sutro was
supplying the funds TO conduct the de-
Tense; that the defense would undertake
in the Minnie Williams case to show that
the girl was not murdered en- the night
when she is supposed to have lost her
life, but on the following morning and that
she was not In Durrants company that
fatal night, but in the company of an
aged sIitor, these were only a few sto-
ries that have been given publicity and
have been pronounced false by the per-
sons most interested.
The latest of these startling stories IS
that wired from Los Angeles Saturday to
the effect that Miss Ida NJ. Clayton, a
teacher in the Redding Primary school is
either the person, or knows who was the
one, whom Durraut is supposed to have
frightened I'm the church by a sudden ap-
pearance he made before her one day.
Capt. Lees took up the work personally
yesterday Of investigating the story, but
up TO last evening ne had failed to find the
whereabouts OF Miss Clayton, who had
gone out Of the city over Sunday. He
was compelled to give up last evening
without having satisfied himself as to the
truth of the report.
John r. Dare, prosecuting attorney in
police court No. 2 Will be one OF the
states witnesses on Wednesday. His son
Starr has already testified to finding the
wearing apparel of Blanche Lamont stow
ed away in the rafters and under the
floor in the belfry. But Starr Dare did
not notice the two blocks under the head
of the body as 1t lay with its arms folded
! on the floor. ...-..s.,,...,
SO far only one of the peoples wit
nesses, Detective Gibson, has been able
to testify concerning these blocks, though
several other witnesses, who saw the
body in the belfry, before 1t was removed
by Deputy Coroners Smith and Hallett,
have been examined. Detective Gibson
noticed these blocks, and went there a
few days later and secured them. Now
these blocks If properly ientihed and
proved, are very important for they tend
to show that whoever it was that placed
the body Of the murdered girl where 1t
was found, had knowledge of the GUS
toms in vogue in the dissecting room.
The head rested on these blocks, just as
the head of a corpse rests in a dissect-
ing room. Durrant is a medical student.
Attorney Dare saw these blocks under
the head Of the body. He was in the bel
evidence is valued highly by the prosecu-
ton.
Heretofore Attorney Dickinson (of coun-
sci for the defendanD has questioned each
witness who was in the belfry about these
blocks with the result that no one else
besides Detective Gibson seems to have
noticed them.
There is a good deal of preliminary testi-
mony yet to be aduced before the wit
nesses who connect Durrant with the
case can be put upon the stand.