New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-12-16
HOLES IN KINSLEY'S CASE
ONCE DISMISSED MOLINEUXS WRITING
FROM CONSIDERATION.


POISON PACKAGE ADDRESS THROUGH
THE SPECIALLY PREPARED SPEC
MEN OF HIS PENMANsHIP
Barlow s. Weeks succeeded yesterday in ap-
precably turning the scale in favor Of his Client
| Roland Burnham Molineux whose demeanor re-
mained Just as impassiye while his lawyer was
dealing some particularly hard jolts at the
/ efforts upon which the prosecution has built up
| its case against him, when William D. hlns-
! ley chicken raiser and chirography expert
| calmly announced that after comparing the ad-
dress OF the poison package with the disputed
Barnet and Cornish" letters the handwriting
on the wrapper was Molineux's. This conclu-
sion. supposing the jury agreed with it, would
| practically mean the conviction OF the DEFEND
! ant But yesterday Mr.. Weeks was able to
! show that the experts opinion was based upon
an extremely weak foundation, so slender In
| fact that once Mr.. Knsley himself eliminated
! Molneux from any connection with the death
! OF Mrs Adams The case against the defendant
] so far as the prosecution is concerned depends
almost entirely upon the question Of handwriting
| If the representatives Of the people cannot fuiiy
establish their contention that MoIineux wrote
the inscription the package sent to Cornlsh
their case falls to the ground. and Ii Is admitted
| that but for an important ruling by Recorder
Con- at a crucial point Of the trial the prose-
cuton would have been unable to fix upon any
identity between Moneux's writing and that
upon the wrapper containing the poisoned bromo
seltzer
When Mr.. Kinsley had given his opinion that
Molineux wrote the Barnet" and " Cornish"
letters, the prosecution proceeded to make
those letters the standard of comparison upon
toh he dafa NJ
address on the wrapper. Mr. Weeks, Of course
objected with all the vigor he could summon
but was overrued by Recorder Gof. and there
fore the prosecutions expert permitted to
testify that by comparing the address with the
bogus letters he was Of the opinion that the
defendant mailed the poison to Cornish. Yes
terday Mr.. Kinsley admitted that he could trace
no similarity between Moneux's admitted
handwriting and that upon the package. More
than that he said he not able to reach
conclusion upon the defendants completely in
the case until Moneux had written for him
under instruction.
HAD TO WA FOR PREPARED SPECIMEN.
80 that until you succeeded in getting Moli-
neux to write in the style of the exhibit you
were examining under conditions you prepared
for him, with pens, ink and paper you selected
to suit your purpose. you not willing to give
a positive opnion?" Mr.. Weeks asked.
Il was not" the prosecutions expert replied.
"And yet you. who assume to be expert in
disputed handwriting. would not pass an opin-
ion until you had set the scenes to suit your
self and had dressed the performers to suit
yourself?"
"I would not pass upon it until then" again
~ Sd IA. 1<nsley after the objections of AS
listant District Attorney Osborne to the wording
| of the question had been senced.
Although the witness tenaciously clung to his
opinion that Molineux indited the address
the wrapper, Mr.. Weeks drew from him the
fession that at one time he had thought other
wise. He said In fact that at time he had,
TO his words, "sidetracked" the de-
fendants handwriting, and for the time being
had practically dropped Mollneux from consider
alton. Mr.. Weeks also read TO the jury a letter
written by the witness to F.. B. Hay. a brother
expert living in Washington dsagreeing with
the atter's assertion that the Barnet and
Cornish" letters were in Molineuxs hand
writing In that letter Mr.. Kinsley declared that
the figures in the letters did not resemble Mol
ineux's at all. and referring to certain char
acters which Mr.. Hay had contended identified
Molineux with the disputed letters. Mr.. Kinsey
wrote that so far from these characters bearing
out Mr.. Hays conclusion they favored just the
opposite
Mr.. Kinsley explained that at the time he
wrote this letter he had been furnished with
only few meagre specimens of the defendants
writing insufficient upon which to arrive at any
material decision. Mr.. Weeks's questioning,
however, was directed to showing lnferentially
that the witness had been biassed, and that as
the paid expert Of the prosecution he had de-
voted his energies to fastening the guilt upon
Moneux because the police and the officials Of
the District Attorneys office had made up their
minds that he vas responsible for the death Of
Mrs Adams
Mr. Kinsley said that Exhibit %, an envelope
addressed TO W T. Hassett. started him to work
again on the defendants handwriting after hav
ing to all intents eliminated him from further
consideration Exhibit 2S is admitted to have
been written by Molineux. That envelope the
witness asserted gave him the key that un-
locked the whole secret Mr. Weeks asked the
witness to describe what the key" was. and
after some hestancy he answered that lit was
the word city" That word, he said.
written in such a way to make the ''cf' look
like a large "a" This popularity, he said, ap-
peared in other exhibits. but he had not noticed
1t until No 2S was submitted to him. This
hilt he said, demonstrated to him that Moli- !
neux wrote city" in such a way as to make 1t
read like ATTY" although In his letter to Mr. !
Hay he stated that there was no pictorial re- I
semblance in the defendants ''ci' 10 an enlarged |
small "a" AS a result OF examining Exhibit |
%. the expert said he set to work on Molneux's
writing and starting with the peculiar forma- |
ton Of "ci" he had subsequently been able to
reach the determination that the defendant /
wrote Exhibit A, the address on the poison /
wrapper He acknowledged to Mr.. Weeks. how /
ever. that there was nothing in Exhibit y re-
sembling Exhibit A. and that the only way to /
connect the two was with the assistance OF the /
other disputed exhibits.
PLANS OF THE DEFENCE.
Mr. Weeks naturally will give no hint as to I
what the nature Of the defence will be, but II has