The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-01-29
CLERKS ON lHH O'IAHD
Pension Bureau Employees les i.y
AgainS Smell.
Several Swear That the Prisoner
Never Displayed Amy Signs of In
Hbeth. Tells of His Examinations.
Thinks the Defendant Is FeiEning.

/ today were Pension Office employees. Who
/ testified as to the defendants mental ball
/ ance, and Or. Richardson, the Supeginten-
, dent Of St Elizabeth Hospital, who said
/ that he thought the prisoner was feigning
4 insanity
| The father Of Smell came in and took
his place beside the prisoner as the roll
| was being called. Mrs Smell, ST., was not
| on hand when court opened. Neither was
/ the wife Of the defendant nor his daugh-
| ter. The weIsenberger family was repre-
scented by the parents Of the murdered girl
and her brother. Henry. Drs. HIckling
shute. and Rose were prominent in front
seats.
The first witness for the Government
was Daniel Walsh. reporter, who testi-
fed that on the night OF August last he
had interviewed Smell in Jail. and that the
defendant had said, in reply to a question
regarding the motive for the crime. that
whisky was responsible for it, The cross
examination revealed nothing more.
John H. Jamison. an employee at the Pen
sion Bureau. was the next witness. and he
swOre that he had known Smell since 1891
in an official way. In that time Smell had
displayed 20 symptoms Of insanity.
While this testimony was going on Smell
sat gazing before him in a thoughtful way.
His eyes were wide open and his face paIer
than usual There were evidences Of ner-
yousness in his manner. and he occasion
ally twitched his head. He die not look
at the witness but studied the faces Of the
judge and jury
Jamison continued that Smell had been
considered very conservative clerk
though not a rapid one He had always
conducted himself as sane man, and he
had never heard the prisoner complain OF
any alment but once. when he LEFT the
Office on account OF illness.
Mr.. Turner followed out his usual meth
Cd on the cross examination and establish
ed the general amiability Of his client
Eugene b. Lacy, a clerk In the Pension
Bureau since 1898 testified that he had
known the defendant In an official way
from October. 1897 10 August last.
u always looked upon him as above the
average clerk IN intelligence and had no
special conversation with him Of any but
an official character" His opinion OF the
sanity Of his former felloN-clcrk could not
be shaken by the cross examination.
Thomas Markward a policeman. living
at 1901 Florida Avenue. and having served
had known Smell Tor six or seveh years,
during which period he had seen him sey-
eral times a week. and had talked with him
many times. He had never observed any
thing out OF the ordinary with the defend
ant. save that he Had drunk rather freely
The witness stated that he had thought
Smell a bright man. and a perfectly sane
man. He had seen him two DAYS before
the murder and had then thought he man
had taken drink or so, 20 but was 9TH
erwise all right
Pension Clerks Testify.
The witness had often met Smell when
he had said he was away from the Office
because OF Illness, on which occasions the
effect Of liquor was noticeable upon him.
MI Mitchell examined. and drew
from the witness the fact thai his CONVEX
satiOns with Smell had been Of very brief
duration and OF no particular moment.
Frederick Braendle, an examiner in The
I Pension Office for eighteen years, testified
that he had known Smell for three years
and had seen him for twouty-three days a
month during that period. His testimony
differed in nowise from that Of other Pen
sion Office clerks. save az one time Smell
had had some disease OF his right hand
but witness had not examined it. He had
never noticed anything IN the man to indi-
contact with him had been entirely official
and he had never heard Of him being con-
sidered drinking man
Dr. \. y. Richardson. Medical Supcrfn-
tendent OF the Government Hospital for
the Insane, testified that after graduation
in 1876 he had been connected with the
Athens (Ohio) Asylum for the Insane. and
had for six years been in charge OF the
insane asylum at Columbus. Ohio. where
I haT I, f-
He has held his present Office since last
October, and had 1850 patients under his
supervision at present.
During the twenty-fOur years he had
been in this special practice he had about
5000 insane patients under his care. He
had been called to testify in court more
than forty times in Ohio. Indiana. and
other States. besides having been Called in
consultation in many private cases. He
testified that he had made an examina
ton of the defendant at the request of the
District Attorney. on October %. and had
made three other examinations since
The summary OF these examinations was
that Smell had complained OF insomnia. OF
hearing music, and when he closed his
eyes he would see strange visions.
He said he had a poor appetite and
showed me the remains of his dinner on a
shelf in the cell. He walked with the roll
ing gait of a large. unwieldy man. He
tottered when he put his heels together az
my request. His memory OF his previous
work seemed to be clear. but he was rather
slow in answering questions. He answered
me when / asked him why be had been put
in Jail, and told NE that he had been told
he had killed a girl, but he did not re-
member doing 1t. He said his wife had
told him he had done IL and that if every
body said he had done it, he supposed he
had,
Evidence of FeiEninE.
The witness testified that the memory Of
the defendant was good on all points but
the fact OF ever having had any trouble
with the girl nad of the murder itself
Smell had takea all his replies to these
questions OF the actual crime and the
scene Of it from people who had told him.
'On the second examination I saw him
walk along the corridor when he did not
know / was present. and he seemed to me
to walk with tho average gait of a man
of his size. He told me he was about six
feet and a half tall, and thought he
weighed $50 pounds. The next examine
ton which l made, at the suggestion Of
your honor"
DO you mean to refer 10 General An
dersOn by the term your honor2' " inter-
rupted Mr.. Turner.
NO; he means you. replied the District
Attorney.
The witness went on with a careful re-
sumo OF his examinations of Smell. each
visit seeming, in the mind OF the witness.
n IN saf no hn1f e. l.