New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-02-12
WEEKS TO APPEAL AT ONCE
BRIEF IN MOLINEUX CASE TO GO TO
ALBANY ON SATURDAY.
POPULAR FEELING REGARDING THE YER
OF SYMPATHY FOR THE DEFENDANT,

OF SYMPATHY FOR THE DEFENDANT.
There is nothing exaggerated in saying that
when people who have followed the evidence ad-
duced in the trial of Roland B. MolineuX opened
their newspapers yesterday morning and found
that the jury had convicted they were stunned.
A verdict of guilty was not expected by one per-
son in a hundred if the comments heard every
where yesterday may be taken as indicating the
trend of public opinion In the clubs, in the
hotels on the railways and everywhere, in fact,
where people congregated the result Of the trial
the principal topic of conversation. And
in those discussions and exchanging of views it
seemed to be the almost universal judgment that
the evidence presented by the prosecution was
not convincing to preclude all possibility of
that reasonable doubt. the benefit of which the
| law provides a man whose life Is the issue shall
receive.
Remarkable as this trial mas been In many
respects, probably the most striking of its ex-
ceptional features has been the widespread in
terest it has created and the popular sympathy
1t has aroused for the accused man. Not in a
generation, it is said by many observers, has
there been trial in this city which has at
tracted so much pubic attention any
case Of late years be recalled wherein so large
a proportion of the community has believed that
the evidence insufficient to prove the guilt
of the trial The multitude of people
who waited for hours in the corridors outside
the courts and in the streets, anxious to gain the
earliest intelligence of the result of the Jurors
deliberations. probably represented the feeling
of the public upon the question of the innocence
or guilt of Moneux. The demonstrations in
favor of the defendant which took place inside
and outside of the courthouse were unprecedent-
ed, far as is known in any trial heretofore
held in this city. Several hundreds of people
cheered Molineux again and again as he was led
across the gallery of the court building toward
the tombs Similar sympathetic demonstrations
greeted General Molineux whose tender solicit
tude for his son and his own personal sufferings
perhaps the most pitiful feature of the
trial. The crowd followed the General as he
walked through Centre-st. to the Brooklyn
Bridge on his way home, cheering him frequent
ly and interspersing their plaudits for the Mol
ineuxs with execrations for Cornish.
CONVICTED ON A SLIP OF PAPER.
In the discussions which were heard yesterday
1t generally held that substantially Moli-
neux was convicted upon the evidence of slip
of paper. That piece of paper was the address
which Cornish swore he cut from the poison
package. The prosecution was unable to con-
meet the defendant in any other way with the
parcel 1t could not show that Mollneux had
bought made cyanide of mercury or had
the chemicals for it's manufacture in his posses
sion. The prosecution further, it was declared,
could not trace to the defendant any of the arti-
ces contained in the package.
AS matter Of fact when 1t was discovered
by the detective department that the silver bot
tie holder bought in a Newark jewelry
shop, the woman who sold the holder was un-
able to identify the prisoner as the purchaser.
and when put upon the stand swore emphat-
cally that MolineuX not the to whom
she sold it, Adequate motive to support the
charge that the defendant filled with
much enmity toward Cornish to desire his
life the prosecution, NEWCOMERS were saying
yesterday, had failed to establish. Motive is
necessarily controlling factor in case of cir
cumstantial evidence. yet Mr.. Osborne could
bring forward no more satisfactory proof of
motive than that MolineuX and Cornish quar-
relied about club affairs, and that in conse-
quence the former left the Knickerbocker Ath-
letc Club and Joined the NewYork Ath-
letic Club. This in the latter part of 1897,
while Cornish did not receive the poisoned
bromo saltzer until December "a. 1898. The jury
were therefore called upon to accept the theory
that because of the variances over club matters
which have been mentioned, Molineux after the
lapse of year still so vndictive to seek
Cornishs life. Consequently in the face of this
inadequate motive for heinous a crime as
murder by poisoning. and of the inability of the
prosecution to identify the prisoner with any
of the things contained in the poison package II
would appear that the jury must have found
their verdict entirely upon the evidence Of the
handwriting experts, that Moneux wrote the
Barnet" and Cornish letters, and that the
hand which wrote these letters also penned the
address upon the poison package.
The presumption that the jury decided mainly
upon the handwriting testimony is borne out by
the request the jury made after being out for
over five hours for all the written exhibits in
the case
Now that the verdict is against his client, the
wisdom of Mr.. Weeks's course in permitting
this class of evidence to go uncontradicted was
questioned in some quarters yesterday.
APPEAL ON SATURDAY
Mr.. Weeks intends to appeal Immediately for
a new trial. At a conference held yesterday
between Molineuxs counsel it was decided at
once to petition the Court of Appeals at Albany
to reverse the verdict. The appeal will be made
to that tribunal next Saturday. 1t cannot be
presented earlier. for the reason that it is
necessary first for sentence to be pronounced.
Friday next is the day which has been set for
the passing of sentence 1t is probable that the
petition will consist merely of a minute OF the
case This minute will comprise the steno-
graphic notes taken at the trial, the accuracy of
which must be concurred in by the District
Attorney before they can be accepted legal
minute.
When Molineuxs counsel asked yester-
day what particular ruling rulings they
would bring to the attention of the Court OF
Appeals they said they not prepared to
make public their case at present. They
pressed confidence that the Court Of Appeals
would promptly reverse the verdict of the lower
court.
This would mean an additional heavy cost to