New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-06-16
,,oRE READING OF LETTERS.
LARGE ATTENDANCE OF WOMEN IN THE
COURTROOM

WORE READING OF LETTERS.
.,cp ATTENDANCE OF WOMEN IN THE
COURTROOM.
.o Cor the prosecution in the trial Of Mrs
fH' was closed yesterday afternoon. In
TS the time consumed in getting the jury
su'.ne Assistant District-Attorney Mcintyre
w.,, ossociates have required twenty-six days
tho grounds for their accusation against
Ws.,ondant before the jurors A great deal OF
80, has been made upon the amount Of
=. thus taken up. But the representatives Of
l"' on,s were not wholly responsible for the
~, a-awn-out character Of the trial so far. The
ions ..obs objections raised by the defence day
aav the contentious arguments that have
ai'. a.s.rily followed and the consequent rulings
~. Court will easily account for nearly half Of
w. ". hours the case has occupied.
rho completion Of the testimony adduced by the
s.,. against Mrs. Fleming yesterday gave peo-
=. rho officially and otherwise. have regularly
',.,ded the court and closely followed the evil
100 en- opportunity to discuss its merits
...- .he adjournment several groups OF these
..,r,s congregated in various parts Of the court
.., and animatedly discussed the chances for
IA AGAINST the conviction of the accused woman
c.,.raIIy speaking. 1t was freely expressed that
-. nrosecutions case against Mrs. Fleming was
,.what weak While IT was conceded that an
.,.,uate motive for the crime had been presented
IA that II had been clearly proven that large
.rontties of arsenic and anthony had been
,,rrd IN the body Of Mrs. Bliss. stress was laid
,,r the fact that there was little or no evidence
!, demonstrate that the defendant ever bought
.,son. or even had II in her possession The
s-siness Of the evidence pointing to Mrs. Flenn-
va having sent poison 10 the dead woman in
a, clam chowder and 80. within the meaning Of
as law. having administered 1t to her mother
ms also dwelt upon. Mainly upon these grounds
As consensus Of opinion was that the jury would
nv. 10 the defendant the benefit. to which she is
entitled. Of a reasonable doubt.
Mr.. MINTYRE SATISFIED.
Mr.. Mcintyre himself. however. thought other
wise. In conversation with Tribune reporter
10 said that comp-shensively he had made out
strong case against the defendant, and while he
would not in any way prophesy upon the out
come Of the trial, he asserted that the defence
would fnd its efforts at rebuttal q somewhat
dnfcut task.
The defence will be begun this morning I'm
uediately upon the resumption Of the court. and
John c. Shaw viii make the opening speech.
Just what will be the line Of defence TO be pur-
sued 10 still to a great extent a subject only Of
conjecture. Right at the very outset Of the
trial Mr. Brooke and his colleagues decided that
until the State had completed its evidence the
hand Of the defence should not be exposed. This
determination to divuge nothing until the mo-
inent decided upon has been we'll kept. Once Mr..
Brooke limited that he might show that the
Nf~~ %,ot
h was habitually addicted to arsenic-sating.
subsequently he succeeded in discounting the
Es Of the revelation by his attack on DR..
saxle, and by combating at every etep the
testimony suggesting that death was due 10
u,enica poisoning.
THE LINE OF DEFENCE.
Asked yesterday after the rising OF the court,
What his defence would be to the charge brought
against his client, he replied: "Our line will be
more contentious than defensive" He explained
txt hs cant to contend that the whole theory
Of the prosecution was wrong. and that Mr.
Bins did not die from arsenic. He will endeavor
10 disredlt the analytical expert testimony. and
10 show that It was beyond all scientific reason
that 30 much arsenic and antimo ny could have
been found in the body OF the deceased woman
u was accounted for by the various experts FOR
The People He purposes also TO show that the
defendant and her mother were not on constant
y unfriendly terms. as has been alleged
The FIRST WITNESS FOR THE DEFENCE.
Replying further to an inquiry as TO whether
Mrs. Fleming would take the stand on her own
behalf. Mr.. Brooke said that was question that
had not yet been decided upon. The first Wit
ness that Mr.. Brooke will bring forward VIII he
the man Heppner. 10 whom. IL Is alleged Dr.
bcheee said his professional reputation depended
upon the issue Of the trial and that he had so
arranged matters that the jury would ma MIS-
Fleming guilty whether she was innocent "r
not Heppner will be followed by other VII
nesses. by means Of whom Mr.. Brooke hopes 70
cscredi DR. Scheele and his expert testimony
the minds Of the jury. Upon present caIcuia-
IONS ii is expected that the evidence TOT 'he
1asaee Will be closed by Friday next. MI
o''oke has been retained 10 defend the muir
U''s', Gentry, whose trial opens In Phiiadeiphia
W Monday next, and for that reason Mr.. Brooke
ma! Be depended upon to use fair expeHitl"h
uurins The remainder OF the week. Assum'HS'
'"e'elore that the end Of the testimony VIII ne
,'dcned by Friday. Monday and part OF TutS-
Va! VIII be devoted 10 the summing up or couh-
'e| and the Recorders charge. and verdict
may De looked for on Tuesday afternoon or even
Ing
Inc Whole ~ yesterday was devoted TO the con-
snued reading Of the letters written by MIS-.
a'emlng to Ferdinand Wilckes. The prosecu-
WI nas deemed the reading Of these letters as
"senuai In proving the motive. that Mrs. Elem
" mol only felt an incorporating hatred for
" mother. but that In the fear Of losing the
-" on whom she had centred her affection, enc
sready 70 obtain the money which she hopeu
'ad prove all-suficient inducement to MN
remain at her side But however strongly
N letters supported the alleged motive. II IS
IAN that they manifested her 10 be woman
$se moral nature was badly warped. Some
these were. as the Recorder remarked, go
~Anoalous In their suggestion" that he refused
allow them to be read In the open court while
~. n others he expurgatcd certain sentences
''e permitting them TO be read to the jury