Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-09-10

HAVE Been Found in the Vat
WI ere Mrs. Leutgert's Body is
supposed to Have Been Disposed
OF by Means Of Caustic Potash
ant Steam, But Their Informa ton
as So Poorly Expressed That
ne Jury Gould Not Comprehend
ly-Generally Speaking the State
Failed to Make Much Out of,
Their Expert Chemists = Bones
Would Not be Destroyed by
Caustic Potash.
Chicago, September 9.-For the first
lime in the history of the Luetgert
trial, no curious crowd to-day blocked
the entrance to the Criminal Court
building or Judge Tuthill's court room
prior to the morning session Of the
court.
The public seem to have learned af-
ter several tiresome lessons that it is
useless to seek for entrance without
a reasonable excuse other than curios-
ity. In the court room the usual crowd
Of spectators gathered, the women far
outnumbering the men as usual. The
big prisoner was brought into court
earlier than usual, and was in his
seat in front of Bailiff Reed before
judge or jury entered the court room.
Luetgert plainly showed the effects of
confinement and warm weather and
his features were more wan than usual.
The jury also seemed to feel the eff
tects of the several days of hot weather
and the two weeks of confinement
which they have endured
The first witness called was H. F.
Kruger, the druggist who sold Watch
man Frank Bialk the medicine which
Luetgert ordered his employee to pur-
chase. The testimony was intended
merely as corroborative of the watch
mans statement as to time, for the
purpose Of showing the hours between
which the alleged murder was supposed
to have been committed.
The second witness was DR.. Charles
B. Gibson, the chemical expert, who
was placed ON the stand for redirect
examination in regard to his analysis
OF fleshy substances and slime re-
moved from the vat where the State
are attempting to prove the wife MUIR
der was committed.
Prof Gibson's testimony proved to
be of little value to the State. AL
though the witness freely admitted the
bits Of fleshy substance and organic
natter taken from the pollution were
similar to human flesh, he was equally
.andid of his admission on cross-exam-
nation by Attorney Vincent, chief
counsel for the defense, that the flesh
was as similar to the flesh of any
other animal as it was to the human.
Prof. Gibson testified that a body
could be disintegrated in the manner
hat the bones would be affected in
the manner that the State has en-
ieavored to establish. The witness
testified that the bones would be mere
y softened at the ends but would not
be dissolved. The lawyers for the de-
Tense were highly pleased at the result
Of their cross-examination and felt
that their case had gained as a result
of the evidence.
Prof Mark Delafontaine, a Swiss
chemist, was next put on the stand.
Prof Delafontaine was educated only
In the technical terms Of English. and
1t was impossible for him to couch
his answers in the language that the
jury could comprehend In addition ID
this defect in the manner of his testi-
mony, the witness was possessed of
very faulty delivery and his low tones
could hardly be distinguished by the
court and lawyers who were very near
him. However, his testimony was nee
essary to the case of the State, for
without this story of experts neither
the mannei Of Mrs. Luetgert's suppos-
ed murder nor the fact of her death
can be established.
TESTIMONY concerning bones was the
chief portion of the evidence submitted
by Prof. Rlafontaine. The bits Of
bone which the police gathered from
the refuse pie where the ashes of the
furnace were said to have been dumped
was submitta to the scrutiny of the
learned chemit, who readily answered
yes when questioned as to whether they
resembled human bones. Other of his
answers were 10 vague and uncertain
as to be valuelSs as evidence. Several
times the court attempted to have the
witness define himself as to certain
terms and EXPRESSIONS. but such at
tempts were futile. The chemist gave
as his opinion hat a body could be
dissolved in causic potash heated to
boiling point in he space of three or
four hours, nothing but the bones and
some Of the liganents and cartilages