The age-herald., 1901-04-03
Held ChIorOfOrm to His Nos-
 triIs Until Dead PATRICK WAS INST|GATOR Listeners SatSpeIIbound During
 Horrible Confession
AN AWFUL CONSPIRACY DISCLOSED
Jones Said He and Patrick Had Been Gradually Poisoning the Old Man for Several Months and
 Couldn't Wait Longer.

New York April 2.-without the slight. est quaver in his well-modulated voice and displaying no outward signs of regret or remorse, Charles r. Jones. secretary and valet to the late William Marsh Rice today confessed under oath that he had ended the life of his late employer and benefactor with chloroform.
 The confession was the climax of a re- markable recital, in which he laid bare the details of an alleged subtle conspiracy which had for It's object the seizure of three million dollars in cash and nego- table securities and .he conversion of three millions in realty to the use of the alleged chief conspirator.
 There was a dramatic force in the di- rectness and minute attention to detail with which Jones approached the trag- edy-the moment when he covered the face of the sleeping man N -th the saturat- ed napkin and then waited for him to die.
 The self-confessed murderer told the story of the alleged plot from it's incep- tion. The capital crime he committed and all the minor offenses that preceded 1t
 
 direction of Albert T. Patrick It was Patrick, he said, who conceived the idea of forging a will and forging transfers and conveyances. It was Patrick who induced two persons to witness the forged signature. It was Patrick who de- termined that Rice should die and 1t was Patrick who sought to have him killed slowly and then, becoming impatient, de- terJnired upon quick action. And, accord ing to Jones, remarkable as 1t may seem, Rice never knew Patrick during his life- time and never saw him but once.
 Beginning of Conspiracy.
 Jones, according to his story,sfirst be- gan his acquaintance with Patrick when the lawyer called at the residence of Mill lionaire Rice on Madison avenue, this city in October, 1899. The witness told of the growing friendship and the gradual approach to the discussion to defraud, and Jones finally agreed. Then came the de- tails of the story of the transfers and conveysnces of real and personal proper ty to Patrick over the forged signatures of Rice; the stealing of blank checks from the millionaire's check book; their deliv- cry to Patrick and the forging of Rice's signature; the proposition to put the aged millionaire out of the way by weakening him by continuous doses of mercury; the calling in of a physician at frequent in tervals. thus apparently providing for the issuance of a death certificate; and the extreme care with which the plans of slow poisoning was carried out
 Then, as calmly as though unfolding the plot of q drama in which he was in- terested only as a spectator, Jones led up to the day of the murder He swore that Patrick had furni4hed him with mer- cury pills of d different composition from those first administered told how the millionaire defeated the purpose of the plotters by refusing to take them. Then, Jones said. Patrick began to display inn patience. He swore the lawyer brought two ounces of oxalic acid to Jones. and Jones Swears he tolG him to dilute one ounce in twenty-two times it's weight in water, and to give the mixture to Rice for the purpose of weakening his heart ac- ton.
 Took Poison Himself.
 To induce the old man to take these sew eral poisons Jones said he was compelled to take doses himself in Rices presence. One dose was really not dangerous. It was the cumulative effect of the drug that was to be feared. According to this re- markable confession thesoxalic acid was too slow, and Jones was asked to use chloroform and laudanum. Jones said he was afraid to buy the drugs in the neigh borhood, and he sent to his brother in Texas for them. They came by express This was followed by meeting with Pat rick, who told him that the old man was lasting too long; that he must be put out of the way at once; that Jones should do the work, and that there really would be no harm in it, because Rice had poisoned his own wife years ago and deserved pun ishment.
 Jones described his return to Mir Rice's apartments and the discovery of the mill ionaire sleeping peacefully In bed; he told nf <fa1 rah f,r1 1a .lrl~ the fashioning of 1t into a cone shape as directed, he said by Patrick He detailed the story of the pnning of a small sponge at the point of the cone. Then he told of saturating the napkin and sponge with and holding it over his own nostrlls to test it's effect. Jones looked straight into the eyes of Assistant Dis trict Attorney Osborne, and continued his story without a break and without a tremor in his voice. He described his ap- proach to the bed with the saturated nap- kin in his hand; placing it over the face of the sleeping old man; his flight from the room. and the weary wait of thirty in accordance with Patricks al- I legged instructions. At the expiration of the half hour he returned and found Rice dead. He then threw open the windows to free the room from the odor of chlo- roform. telephoned to Patrick that Rice was dead. sent for physician. and then, after expressing his grief at the loss of so good and kind an employer, he said he went to bed and fell into sound sleep.
 A Remarkable Prisoner.
 Patrick accused the witness of being the arch-criminal. listened with attention and occasionally made notes of the testi- mony. Not even the remarkable witness on the stand was more cool, calm and coll lected than this remarkable prisoner. hand was firm and steady. He displayed neither anger. fear nor resent ment. When Jones reached the descrip-
 (Continued on Second Pass.l