Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1898-09-11

noon. The Hist of witnesses, as pub
lished in the Register yesterday, was
then called. and as they came forward
they were personally recognized to ap-
pear at the time set At the close Of
this proceeding, which necessarily took
up some little time, the defendants were
taken back to the cell building, and
the crowd slowly dispersed
The interest in the crime was rather
greater yesterday than upon Friday,
since the circumstances had become
| understood and digested, and public
opinion had to very considerable ex-
tent crystalized. The friends of the
| murdered nan and his injured brother
appeared to be very numerous, and all
| united in giving the dead man and his
brothers good regulations and endorsed
them as honest, straightforward and in
dustrious boys. This sentiment was
we'll voiced by one gentleman, a fore
| man at the Riverside, for whom Char
| les Mclaughlin had worked for nearly
| four years, leaving to accept another
situation a few months ago. He said
! better workman was never employed
| at the plant, and that personally he
was a good citizen. He denounced the
published statement that the boys were
| fighters as a libel upon them. The
crowd fingered about the Jail yesterday
| morning for a considerable time, break
! ing up into little knots and discussing
| the crime with the greatest interest.
| The theme was also the principal sub
| ject OF conversation throughout the city
all during the day and last evening
At the Jail yesterday, the two pris-
oners keep by themselves, and had lit
tie or nothing to say to the other pris-
oners. They absolutely declined TO dis
cuss their case, and particularly were
they reticent during the afternoon, by
| the advice of counsel. Early in the
afternoon they sent for S. o. Boyce,
and that attorney was in close consul
tation with the prisoners for about an
| hour.
During the afternoon the interest
! ing discovery was made that Johnson
had a narrow escape from catching a
| bullet. A bullet hole WAS found in the
left leg of his trousers, inside the thigh
and well up towards the body. The
made by shot fired by Charles Nc
Laughlin during the pistol practice
, which ended in McLaughins death.
Johnson seat for his brother and com
municated the discovery to him, and
about half-past seven last night the
! brother brought another pair of trous-
ers to the Jail, and the pair Johnson
had en- at the time of the shooting will
be used as evidence for defense in sup
port of the theory of self-defense.
Yesterday afternoon James Nc
Laughlin, a brother of the dead and
wounded men, called at Justice Dun
ning's office. He was crying bitterly
and did not appear to understand how
it happened that the preliminary ex-
animation was postponed. He was
| told that it was customary and all
right, but he was not satisfied, and was
! really in no condition to talk intelli-
gently upon any topic. He eft the Of
! flee of the Justice and passed through
| the City Hall and Court House, saying
| he was going to the jail, but whether
or not he went there could not be as
certained. Jailor Mccormick said last
evening he did not see him.
| Yesterday Chief of Police Bennett
was asked as to the story that the as
sault upon a friend of Korngivers,
some time ago, had been reported to
Officer Bero, and through him had
reached the ears of Devinney and John
son. The Chief said he knew nothing
about the matter personally, but that
Officer Bero had called him up yester-
day morning, as soon as he saw the
story in the papers, and emphatically
denied that any such information had
I ever reached him. that he had any
knowledge about it, or had ever said
anything about the matter. The Chief
said that as far as he knew, he thought
there was little or nothing in the story
The Prosecuting Attorney has all avail
able information about this matter,
however, and will early attempt to get
at the bottom of it.
The evidence adduced before the Cor
oner's jury last evening tends to Gre
ate a grave doubt as to wether John
son or Devinney fired the fatal shot
Constable Shorts told the same story
printed in the Register yesterday, but
his evidence was not confirmed by 9TH
err witnesses Yesterday Mr. Shorts
was asked if the statement attributed
to him, and published in the Register
was correct, and he said it was The
prepOnderence of evidence last even
ing, however, appeared to make Devin-
! ney the man who fired the shots at Me-
Laughli1. This important matter will
evidently require further investigation
and sitting
The funeral of Mclaughlin, this af-