Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-04-08

menf OF the AttOrne$-AiS OhAy
Crime Was Conspiracy Against
the Will of 190O-Patrick Says
Jones Only object is to Have Him
Held in Prison Pending the Will
Litigation.
NEW York, April 7.--Lawyer Al
bert T. Patrick, who is charged with
the murder of Millionaire William
Marsh Rice, made a statement tonight
concerning the case. He had been
asked to say something concerning a
story printed in morning paper to
several hours, accompanied by po-
liceman attached to the District At
torney's Office, in touring the tender
loin district. According to this story,
hotels, concert halls and gardens and
theatres had been visited by the pris-
oner and his attendant and dozens of
drinks taken. On this point Lawyer
Patrick said:
II have known that this kind of
thing has been going on for several
weeks. l could not have sworn that
such was the case, but l have heard
from various sources that Jones was
plentifully supplied with money, was
taken out buggy riding and was other
wise treated with great kindness and
consideration"
PatricA then went to speak of the
Rice murder case. This is the first
time that he has made any state
ment since his arrest. He said:
Jones never killed W. NJ. Rice. Had
he done SO he never would have testi-
fed to it, especially as the District
Attorney has promised him no immun-
ity nor would his counsel, even though
provided by Cap5in Baker, have per-
mitted him to do so. His confidence
is due to the fact that W. NJ Rice at
the age of 81 died of heart failure, as
did his brother. F. A. Rice, yesterday
at the age of 10, and there will never
be any proof otherwise.
1.-The only crime of which Jones is
guilty is that of conspiring against the
1900 will and that OF perjury in the
present proceedings. His fairy story
is the result of collaboration with
Captain James A. Baker, Jones law
yer, Mr. Battle, who is hired by Baker,
Assistant District Attorney Osborne
and Prof. Witthaus, the professional
expert whose report Osborne for the
last six months has been expecting in
few days, and who swore that Rice
died OF mercurial poisoning, if he did
not die OF something else.
THE object of Jones story is to
have me held in prison pending the
will litigation. l have already been
in prison six months on the forgery
charge, without even being indicted,
and do not believe that there is any
serious intention to try me on a Grim
inal charge before d jury. My arrest
on a murder charge and the desperate
attempt to hold me is due entirely to
my ability and attempt to give bail
upon any less serious charge. The
stock in trade of the opposition to the
ability to control the District Attor-
ney's Office; that is to say, that portion
presided over by Osborne, over which
there seems to be no administrative
supervision.
so far as the tactics employed
against me have been the giving out
by Mr. Osborne, continually, of state
ments known by him to be false, in
order to cause the public to prejudice
me guilty, so as to justify false i'm
prisonment and to prevent a fair trial;
the wrongful imprisonment of myself
and the bounding by detectives Of those
who appear to favor me; the abuse
of the process of the courts by wrong
fully subpoenaeing. in the name of the
court, persons to personally appear be-
fore him and submit to examinations
in his Office.
The use under the guise of wit
nesses OF professional handwriting ex-
perts to swear that the signatures of
the 1900 will, checks, assignment. etc,
are forgeries and the procuring of
false testimony are all in the same
line. Jones swore on the witness
stand, and OSBORNE admitted it in OPP
en- court, that Jones had informed Os-
borne about January that Jones had
killed Mr.. Rice with chloroform and
that subsequently. in collaboration
with Witthaus on February q. the
present complaint charging me with
killing Rice with mereurial poison was
made at the instance "a Osborne. in
an attempt to deprive me of all knowl-
edge of the nature of the accusation
against me until he had used as wit
nesses those whom he supposed to be
for me.
Il have been informed that Jones
hos hnor - ea~-,~.f