The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-12-02

/ upon the stand and testified that Van
| Horn was in the habit of going through
| the engine house from the front. emerg-
! ing from the rear and crossing over
| to the Wescott back yard. one time
| that the witness followed Van Horn 5
| movements he saw him crouch behind
| the fence and remain that way for a
! long time, as II spying on the house.
| THESE actions were rather suspicious
Aitken thought so refused to let Van
Horn go through the engine house after
| that. 1t was just at dusk that the ac-
| tion related occurred and il was gen.
| orally in the early evening that Van
| Horn made these trips.
Mrs. Emma Bacon, a very young
woman, was the next witness She was
called to testify having met Van Horn
i'm Page court at about $40 o'clock on
the night of the murder. lie was
walking very fast; so fast as to at
tract her notice. He went down to
Mlfilin avenue and then turned to the
south.
CAUSED A UTTER.
In testing the witness knowledge of
Van Horns identity, Mr. Wedeman
asked casually how many times she
had seen Van Horn during the year
preceding the killing. She answered,
after some upward-gazing calculation,
Ten times" There was a very audi
BILE litter in various quarters of the
| room, but what provoked il did not de-
velop.
The witness further on in her cross
examination admitted that she is not
living with her husband, and that her
father-in-law had her arrested for per-
jury not long ago.
Mr. Jones took the witness in hand
when the cross-examination was over
and indicated to her that she might
explain the circumstances of her ar
rest. She did not seem to care to do
So or else did not quite understand
what her privilege was Mr.. Jones then
requested her to explain about her ar
rest. Mr.. Wedeman objected to this
and told Mr.. Jones that he had no
right to lead the witness to explain.
II was simply privilege which the
witness might avail herself of if she
saw fit, but the commonwealth could
nave no concern in it and should not
urge the witness to explain.
Mr. Jones with some warmth COM
planned to Judge Archibald of the con-
slant ridiculous" objections that he
was compelled to combat and INDUCED
in some very harsh criticism of the
manner in which the defense was con-
Quoting its case. Mr.. Wedeman want
ed to get back at the district attorney,
but Judge Archibald directed both Of
them to cease and when order had been
restored he addressed himself to Mr.
Jones and said: Your opponents are
defending a mans life and they would
be derelict in their duty if they did not
hight every inch of the ground | can
not agree with you that their ObieC-
tons are not well taken. / have had
to exercise careful thought and judg-
ment in ruling on every one of them"
Mr.. Jones wanted to say something
further and Mr.. Wedeman was de-
mandng the privilege of answering Mr..
Jones, but Judge Archibald didn't want
to hear from either of them and very
emphatically told them they must
cease their pickering and proceed with
the case.
FOUND THE RAZOR.
William Heiter and Augustus Petit.
two of the WesCott boarders, told of
finding the razor in the cellar and
Heiter identified the one exhibited by
the district attorney as the one found
in the cellar. The blade was open when
found and there were blood stains upon
1t. The razor has a duh. yellow bone
handle, and long narrow blade. Both
witnesses saw rags spread on the floor
near the wall and thought it possible
that they might have been used by
some person to lie down upon.
Mrs. Dora Abrams, a neighbOr. who
arrived at the house soon after the
crime, also heard Mrs. Wescott accuse
Van Horn of the murder.
George Isadore, a boy living in the
ncighborhood Of the crime. saw Van
Horn on the evening in question at
about $40 o'clock walking RAPIDLY out
Of Page court down Mitfiin avenue and
thence along the Delaware and Hud-
son tracks.
The last witness of the day was
John Bedell, who knew Van Horn very
well, and who heard him declare that
he would cut Mrs. WescOtt's throat for
"the dirthy thing she did" to him.
1t is hoped to get the case to the
jury Saturday night, but this is hard
ly possible. Judge Archibald will be oc-
cupied tomorrow in filling the jury
wheel, and the murder trial will have
to rest for the day. A night session
is talked Of but even with that there is
only faint hope of preventing the
case from going into next week. The
commonwealth does not expect to get
through today, and one day and an
evening $ ssion will hardly suffice for
tbs defense.