Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-12-27
TRAILED BY SLEUTHS
Jurors in Molineux Case Complain to
Recorder Gof.
JUDGE CANNOT RELIEVE THEM
Assistant District Attorney Says
the Precaution is Necessary.
THE WITH ESSES TODAY

NEW YORK, December 27.-Some OF the
jurors in the case Of Roland B. Molineux.
who is on trial for the alleged murder OF
Mrs. Kate ]. Adams, have complained to
Recorder Golf about being under the con-
stant and almost painful surveillance OF
detectives. They claim that ever since the
selection of the jury a detective has been
assigned to each member Of the jury, and
this detective has shadowed his man with
annoying persistence. The complaining
jurors say that they are not only logged,
but that their business places are invaded
and even the privacy of home life is dis
turbed by the detectives. One OF the jurors
said that he and his wife were even fol-
lowed by a detective to a Christmas tree
festival on Christmas night. His every
movement about the tree, the Juror said.
and in connection with the giving of pres
ents to the little ones, was followed by the
detective. If the Juror stopped to talk with
a friend the detective was there at his
elbow affecting faraway look, but bent
on catching every word. To have his every
word and his every act scrutiniZed and
jotted down, the juror said, was intolera-
BILE
The complaining jurors declared that the
detectives who did the shadowing made a
report of their observations every morning
to Assistant District Attorney Osborne.
Foreman Martins Complaint.
Foreman Martin was one of the complain
ing jurors. He said that he and his family
were much disturbed by the detectives of
the assistant district attorneys employ.
One of the jurors objected to the de-
tective assigned to him, peering over his
shoulder and siding up to him when he
was talking business with some Of his en-
ployes. The complaints of the jurors
cred the whole range of their business and
domestic economy.
Assistant District Attorney Mcintyre
said today that fifteen detectives were
chosen for this purpose, detective being
assigned to each one of the Jurors He
said that 1t not unusual to have de-
tectives shadow jurors during the trial of
an important murder case. 1t was essen
tial for justice and public good that this
should be done
1t was said that Recorder Goff told the
complaining jurors that he could do moth
ing for them, and that they went away dis
satisfied.
The proceedings in the trial were resumed
today with Daniel T. Ames Of San Fran
cisco, the handwriting expert, on the wit
ness stand.
This is the forty fourth day of the trial.
and the record for long murder trials in
New York county has been broken by one
day without any of the essential points in
the case having been proved. 1t yet re-
mains for the prosecution to prove that a
murder was committed that a package
of poison was sent through the mai. Lis
tening for nearly month to the technical
explanations of the handwriting experts
has had a plainly Wearisome effect upon
the jury as a body.
Mr.. Osborne Not in Court.
Assistant District Attorney James W. Os-
borne was not in court when proceedings
began. The recorder waited a moment for
him and then refused to delay longer.
Assistant District Attorney O'Connor took
II he mil b1,r he
ness to choose some specific point of the
admitted and disputed writings in evidence
that had not been touched upon by those
preceding him in the witness chair and
state what bearing it had on the writings.
Expert Ames took for explanation the
lower loop in the letters ''Y" and 'G," as
they are to be found throughout the admit
ted and disputed writings. Passing from the
question of the technical formatio of these
letters, the expert talked on about what he
termed "phenomena-ly long e." This,
he said. was not an accidental happening
as he had found that invariably the letter
E, wherever used and whether capital or
small. was of phenomenal length as COM
pared with the accompanying letters or of
abnormal size.
This statement appeared at first to be
contradictory to that of preceding experts
relative to the final "e' in the word
''oblige,' which is little more than a dot
on the paper. Mr.. Ames, however came to
that point later and said that the final 'e''
]
could not be recognized as an ''e' and was
always disproportionately high from the
base line.
Characteristics of Dollar Mark.
The witness passed rapidly over several
points, which he said were only minor
ones, and then he illustrated by crayon
three styles of forming the dollar mark as
it is done through the exhibits. AS he did
SO. he said that in his judgment they rep
resented three distinct types of the writer's
personality.
At this point the witness turned to Mr.
Osborne, who had entered the court room
during the demonstration, and said:
Il have a hundred other points I could
mention, but am aware of a growing i'm
patience"
Go right on, Mr.. Ames," said Mr. Os-
borne.
The witness next said it was preposterous
for any one to say that the handwriting of
the poison package address was of a sirnu-
lated nature. If. as had been insinuated
that were so, the person who attempted to
initiate the writing would try to write as
nearly like the original as possible and
there was absolutely pictorial resemb-
lance between the poison package address
and the writings of the defendant That
the poison package address was simulated
he said. was impossible from any scientific
standpoint.
At this juncture Mr.. Osborne asked the
witness II he had ever seen such a splendid
collection OF writings from which to draw a
conclusion as was found In this case He
was answered in the negative. Mr. Ames
then stated in answer to questions that not
being aware when he first began his study
OF the writings in the that the Cornish
signature in those letters was not genuine.
he came to the conclusion that Cornish was
the man who had written the poison pack
age address. He had not at that time seen
any of the defen@ant's writing
Then" asked Mr.. Osborne, ''it is YOUR
opinion that the hand that wrote the Cor
nish letters also wrote the poison package
address?"'
"Oh, yes, 1 came to that conclusion long
ago
Steamer Sinks Schooner.