The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-09-06
LITTLE DURANT IN THE DOCK.
NUMBER WHO FLOCKED T0 CATCH
A GLIMPSE OF HIM Is SUR
PRISING.

YreIca. Cal, the Little Town That
Recently Lynched -Four Murderers,
sends Him a Postal, Promising "A
Fair and speedy Trial if He VIII
Have 1t sent There on "a Change
of Venue-The Proceedings I'm
Court-New Evidence Alleged TO
Have Been Discovered.
san Francisco. Sept. 5.--The number of
people who are willing to stand in big
crowd for hours at a time just TO catch a
glimpse of Durant, the little mild-faced.
boyish-looking individual accused of two
hendish murders, is surprising even to
one accustomed 10 such things.
Durant was the recipient Of postal
card from Yreka, the little city in the
state where four murderers were hung by
lynchers a few days ago. advising him to
get a change of venue, as the citizens OF
Yreka would get him jury and give him
d fair and speedy trial. The way they try
people in Yreka is too well known, so it
IS hardly probable that this suggestion
viii be accepted.
In reference to the story printed here
yesterday to the effect that Durant had
told Clarence Wolf, an intimate friend.
OF his intention to ruin Blanche Lamont.
and assuming that the conversation fur
nished a possible motive for the crime,
the Chronicle this morning prints the fol-
lowing statement from Wolf;
Il don't see," said Wolf. "how such
story originated. l am at loss to know
where it came from. Not a line of the ar
tcle is true, not a line. l am not, and
never have been an intimate friend of
Theodore Durant. 1 have known him a
long time, but / was not in any way init
mate with him. We were friendly enough,
but seldom met. 1 rarely had any conver-
sation with him unless we met at some
kind Of a church gathering. / know moth
ing against Durant."
Durant was in no way exercised over
the publication, declaring there was no
foundation for 1t. 1T is utterly untrue"
said he, that ever spoke in a malicious
or sighting way about Blanche Lamont
10 Clarence Wolf.
The prosecution have forged another
link in the terrible chain which day by
day more cloa>-lV fastens the guilt upon
the young medical student. The police
claim to have found a new witness who
viii give the strongest proof that Durant
Cheney on the afternoon Of April at
the Cooper Medical Institute. For months
an effort has been made to overcome the
silent testimony of DR.. Cheney's record.
1t has been an obstacle to all absolute
proof. 1t has stood In the way OF con-
vincing demonstration that Durant was
not in the college at that hour.
When DIR. Gilbert +. Graham testifies
he will swear that the prisoner begged
him to lend him his note book that he
might compare the notes of DR.. Cheney's
lecture of the afternoon of April with
his own. This strange request was made
several days after Durant had been ar
rested and stood accused of the horrify-
ing crime. He was trying to establish p
proof that he was at the lecture when
several people would swear that they saw
him elsewhere. He knew that student
after student would say that his note
book was a model in the class and he sent
for his friend to ask him for his notes.
Before the opening of the Durant case
this morning District Attorney Barnes
stated in conversation that he had fully
tested the eyesight of Mrs. Leak, who
claims TO have seen the accused and Miss
Lamont enter the church by a side door
on the afternoon of April 3, and that he
had found her to be a competent wit
ness. When the case was called Officer
Russell took the stand and explained
more fully about the maps and model OF
the church which were produced yester-
day
The day was taken up principally with
the Introduction of maps of the church
and surroundings and photographs of out
side points.
While Policeman George Russell was IL
lustrating points in the church to-day,
Durants counsel brought out the fact
that there is a passage through the area
over the ceiling of the auditorium where
the sun burners are, from the front to the
rear. This is important to Durant, as it
disposes of the point made by District At
torney Barnes in his opening statement
that he had evidence that showed Durant
had not gone there to fix the sun burners
on the afternoon alleged.
Detective O'Brien, who found the body
Of Blanch Lamont in the belfry, was on
the stand to-day and described the Incl
dents connected with his discovery. The
defense inquired closely into the sup
posed footprints in the belfry, said by a
local paper, at the time the body was
found, to have been noticed by Gibson
near the body. The detective denied that
there was any such footprints and said 1t
would have been impossible to see the
murderer's foot prints among the litter
left by the church builders.