New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-01-09
EXAMINES BARNET'S NURSE.
CAPTAIN MCLUsKY TAKES A STATEMENT
FROM MISS BATES.
THE DETECTIVE CHIEF DOES NOT CONSIDER 1T
OF IMPORTANCE IN CONNECTION WITH THE
ADAMS CAsE--HANDwRITING EXPERT
Still. AT woRK-LTTLE PROG
REss ON THE MYSTERY.

STILL AT WORK-IITTLE PROG
REss ON THE MYSTERY.
Captain McCusky Of the Detective Bureau
devoted almost the entire day yesterday 70 try
ing to find out the relation between the death OF
Henry Croesman Barnet. at the knickerDocKer
Athletic Club last November. and the poisoning
case in which Mrs. Adams lost her life. The
result of this work was apparently not salts
factory, as the Captain promptly made public
the chief testimony taken In the Barnet case.
that Of Miss Adde Bates. the nurse who at
tended Barnet and who was reported as saying
that Barnet had told her that two attempts had
been made to poison him. This statement OF
Miss Bates was the first In the case which Cap
tain McClusky has made public, and his giving
it out seemed to indicate that he did not feel
that It was OF Importance enough in the case to
warrant keeping back
The Captain said that he no great I'M
portance in the statement made by Miss Bates
and that as the situation stood now the body
of Barnet would not be exhumed and examined
unless the District-Attorney. after receiving all
evidence in the case. should decide that II was
necessary.
The fac-simile Of the handwriting on the pack
age sent to Harry Cornish which contained the
match holder and the bottle of poison was not
given to the newspapers yesterday by Captain
Saturday night to give as much publicity to this
writing a possible, with the hope that It would
lead to the Identification Of the sender Of the
poison. Mr.. Kinsley, the handwriting expert,
had then about decided that the handwriting on
the package did not resemble that OF any OF the
persons then suspected Mr.. Kinsley. however,
sent word to Captain McClusky yesterday that
he had some hope OF arriving at a different con-
clusion by tonight. and as a result Captain Nc
Clusky decided TO hold back the Photographic re-
productions Of the address until late this after
The meeting between Captain McClusky and
Miss Addie f. Bates the nurse. was at Police
Headquarters yesterday afternoon Miss Bates
lives at No. IL West Twenty -second-st.. and
Detective Carey met her there and took her TO
Headquarters in a cab. Captain McClusky ar
rived at Headquarters shortly after Miss Bates
came and then for two hours he talked with
her about the Barnet case After she went
away he called all the reporters present into his
Office and read to them from her typewriter
statement. He explained that this the
first statement she had made. although she had
been variously reported as having important
evidence In connection with the case.
MISS BATESS STATEMENT.
According to Miss Bates's statement. she was
November l last, to take Of case She
called at Dr. Douglass office and was directed
by him to go to the Knickerbocker Athletic
Club to attend a diphtheria patient, Henry c.
Barnet. The patient had sore throat. and DR..
Douglas came in the afternoon and gave direc-
lions for giving medincne and spraying the
throat. The doctor also told her TO admit no
to the patients room during his illness
She gave him medicine at different times and
refused absolutely to let any one see him. Many
messages came to him, but they were answered
by her over the telephone.
AT different times" the statement continues.
"a gentleman having room the same floor
in the club called to inquire for him and sent
him flowers. The Monday afternoon before he
died (he died on Thursday, November 10 some
flowers came to Mr.. Barnet with a note He
was sleeping at the time. When he awoke i
told him some flowers there and also a
note He requested me to read the note. and l
did So After reading the note ne just closed
his eyes and said. wonder how she knew
was ILL.,
After had been there two or three days. DR..
Douglas asked me IL / had seen box marked
'Kutnow.' ] answered that had. and we found
Il the dresser in the bathroom. and Dr.
Douglas took it away with him. He afterward
said that 1t contained mercury. AT the time
of his death there were in the room Dr.
Douglas. myself and Miss Jennie Calender. the
other nurse. His brother had been there. too
but at the particular time he died he was not
there. During Mr.. Barnets entire illness ne
was in the same condition as a man suffering
from diphtheria. At no time was Suspicious
that his illness was due to any other cause
He was uncommunicative through all his III
ness. / paid attention 10 the sores in his
mouth and sprayed his throat"
Miss Bates denied that she had ever said to
any one that Barnet had been poisoned before
the poisoning with which he was affected just
before his final illness. She said that she wished
to make the statement to Captain McClusky.
for the unexpected notoriety into which she had
come had deprived her Of the position which she
was holding. She said that she had talked to no
other person about the case.
The note mentioned by Miss Bates in her
statement to Captain McClusky is in the posses
sion of the police. and has been given TO the
handwriting expert to compare with the ADDRESS
on the package sent to Mr.. Cornish. Further
than that the note was written by woman
Captain McClusky would not say.
The detectives who going over the one
hundred thousand addresses TO which samples
Of Kutnow powder were sent. in the hope OF
finding in the list names Of those under sus-
picion OF sending the powder TO Barnet, are still
at work on the list, and will not be through for
several days. AS yet their work has produced
no results.
NOTHING NEW IN NEWARK.
1t was said at Newark Police Headquarters
last night that no communication on the subject
Of the poisoning case had been received from the
New-York police for forty-eight hours. and 1t
looked as II the centre Of interest had been
transferred to some other place. There were no
developments. The positive statements by clerks
in Market-st hat store about a man wearing
false wig and beard buying hat a few
days before Christmas still considered i'm
portant In connection with the fact that the man
who bought the silver holder at Hartdegen 8
Jewelry store wore a reddish beard. while the
man who bought bromo-seltzer at Garrigan 8
drug store about the time had only q