Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-02-24


New York, February 23.-The first
witness was called to-day in the Adams
inquest was Harry C. Cornish. The
first question asked him was:
do you think you can show any
motive for the killing of Mrs. Adams?"
YES" replied Cornish and he then
went ON to tell the story of the events
which led up to the quarrel with Mo
lineaux. The statement was interspers-
ed with derogatory remarks regarding
Molineaux. Much was based upon
things Cornish had heard other people
say.
Cornish denied that the statement
produced as his by the police was COR
rect. 1T sounded" said Cornish
like Captain McCluskey's recollection
of my conversation. | was and am
most anxious to find out who sent the
poison. 1 believe it was intended to
kill me. l believe the police will ad-
nit that l helped them considerably"
cat first" continued Cornish, Z
could not think that l had any enemy
who had it in for me enough to want
to kill me. | have had squabbles with
every man in the business. The quar-
rel with Mr.. Weeks was such a squab-
BILE and the statement and the letter
shown that 1 would get even with
Weeks meant in an athletic way. There
was an athletic rivalry between the
Knickerbocker and New York Athletic
Clubs.
"The handwriting was shown to me,
but not the signatures, but if we could
have had before US a letter from Moli
neaux written to me 10 Friend Cor
nish, and compared it with the clipping
from a newspaper ANY one would have
sworn that the same man wrote both.
After that it came over me like a
flood, or by intuition, and I said that's
the man who sent the stuff to Barnet
about January 1 fifty men in the
club were saying the same thing. His
name was connected with the case on
all sides. l could not think of any one
on earth who had shown the same an
mostly to me. He had lied about me
and got Mr.. Hughes to make charges
against me. Mr.. Hughes has since told
me he was sorry and could not under
stand how it is he had been led into
the matter | have since heard that the
reason Molineux left the board meet
ing was because he learned that he had
been nominated for governor of the
New York A. c.
He has carried his enmity light
along When l began to make inquir-
les about him l heard many state
ments. Strange stories were told of
his library works on great crihes, a
book on sexual progression and other
works that no layman should read.
Then there was talk of his collection
of pictures. These things were only
hearsay, but they influence my mind.
Then from his own course of proceed
ure, when he was first talked about,
he hired lawyer and handwriting
expert He has bad mind"
Cornish said Molineaux had made an
unpublishable and false accusation
against two prominent members of the
Knickerbocker A. c..
Continuing, Cornish said:
Then Molineux marrying so sud
denly created some suspicion in my
mind and especially when he announc-
ed that he was married to Miss Cheese
borough, who members of the club
told me, was very intimatewith Bar
net
Cornish related that on the evening
of the aforementioned amateur circus at
the Knickerbocker A. c. house he was
invited into Barnet's room as he was
passing. No other person." Cornish
said, was in the room with Barnet
besides Miss Cheseborough. There was
partly filled bottle Of wine on the
table and glasses were there also,
witch showed that the two had been
drinking. Cornish asserted that Bar
net had left the club house to go on
a yachting trip but had changed his
plan, because, as he (BarneO said to
witness, he had learned that Molineaux
was to be one of the Ialrty. Cornish
denied Molineaux's statement that Bar
nets room was Quarantined previous
to his death Molineaux could have
entered at any time he might have seen
fit, said Cornish, "and he would have
done so if he had been the intimate
friend of Barnet as he now pretends
he was"
Cornish asserted that of all those
who were called to Captain McClus-
keys Office to write their names, the
only one who refused was Molineaux.
Mr. Osborn said Cornish, addressing
the assistant district attorney. there is
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