Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1895-09-21
hid TRIED bribery.
AdOlph 0n0enh8im Tells Of Letters He
lad Received
10-1ng to Pay Him Well IF He
Would Modify His Testimony and
Say He Could Not Identify Du-
rant - Gushing Women Who
Write Letters to the Murderer.

San Francisco, September 20-When
/ George B. King, the organist of Eman-
uel Church, was put in the witness
stand in the Durant trial Wednesday,
the prosecution by an oversight failed
to examine him ON two material points.
When King was first interviewed in
reference to the murders by represen-
tauyes OF the different newspapers he
denied an knowledge Of anything
which in the remotest way might con-
meet Durant with the commission of
either crime.
Ills denial was made in a way which
lett strong impression that the young
/ man was not telling the truth 1t was
/ then that the suspicion arose that he
! knew more than me cared to tell. This
/ opinion rapidly CrystalHzed into an
/ Idea that he knew something he did
not dare to tell His father became
| frightened at this condition of affairs
I and the result was young Kings i'm
/ portant announcement to the police
/ that Inc was in the church that after
{ noon and saw Durant In strangely
agi,3tcd state.
King was then seen by the inter-
I viewers and to q reporter from each of
/ the morning newspapers declared vol
/ tariiy and with emphasis that after
/ Dulant had gone To- a small mirror i'm
/ the church. he also went there and on
! the shelf below the mirror saw clot
7 OF blood AS if Durmt had wiped his fin-
ger there Shortly after young King
made has sworn statement TO The Chief
/ of Police. the father of DuTant is said
/ 90 have called uuOn him and begged
/ him TO say that tine man he saw i'm the
church in such q condition looked like
Theodore Durant bnt was not really the
man who is now ON Trial for his life.
/ King answered thai, he could not
/ change his testimony even to save his
friend.
Durant receives letters almost daily
from women In different parts OF the
country assuring him OF their firm be-
/ lief i'm his innocence and wishing they
could be with him TO comfort him. Ia
every instance thus far the letter has
I come from some one whom he has
never seen OF heard Of Among
I number of tender missiyes received re-
Gently was one signed by woman Civ
/ inc the name of Mrs. L. PangDOrn, OF
Aurora. Ills The author assured Du-
rant chat she knew he was lnnOCeu-,
/ that her belief had come to her as an
insDiration and that she would never
/ De convinced to the contrary. She also
/ assured him that She prayed nlghuy
] D.. 1aIfrqrnra
The prosecution i'm The case of Du-
rant announced to-day that its Wit
ucsses would be through with direct
examination next Wednesday. The
/ crowd at he trial to-day exceeded any
/ previous day since the case opened.
George King, the Organist, was re-
/ called for further cross examination.
| After q few unimpOrtant questions
from the opposite attorneys. King was
. excused TO the general surprise, it hay
ing been expected that the prosecution
7 would iuterr0gate closely upon the all
/ legged yamaJip0H in his statements con-
/ ceru.ng DuIant, made at different
/ times.
Frank O. Sidevann. formerly janitOr
/ at the church. testified that on April
I @. the day Blanche Lamont disappear
. ed. the gas fixtures were in perfect or
der.
During the last days Of March, the
gas company had finished some work
/ I'm the church. and gas escaped no
! place thereafter. Witness said that in
/ the latter part of March Durant and
/ King and put I'm a new lock on one OF
/ the doors. to- which they only had keys.
/ They had stated their object was to
! keep ont OF the library persons who
/ had no business there. The eN-janit0r
/ testified that several times he had
| found the doors iu the church locked.
/ He had attached no importance to their
being locked.
/ Adolph Oppenheim. a pawn broker,
testified that en- the fourth and tenth
I of April DWaut came 90 his store and
/ offered for sale a ring with small
\ chin diamond. The witness selected
ring from those identified as belonging
To- Blanche Lamont. and said that was
the ring offered him by Durant. He
/ he'd declined TO purchase 1t and Durant
/ had taken il away with him. The wit
/ ness stated that since testifying at the
/ nrcIfmiuary examination Inc had re-
I ceived Two letters offering him brbes
I to modify his testimony. one OF the
letters offered him $500 ON condition
that he stated ON the stand that me
could not positively identify DuranL
uo was not 10 see any one IN connec-
,fon with the bribe until after he had
riven his testimony. when the money
would bo paid TO him. The second let
+ar was of n similar character. lhe
/ witness said he had turned both let