The age-herald., 1902-03-18
Witnesses Swear to Facts That
 Contradict Jones
WAS AT HOME DAY OF MURDER
Morris Meyer Says He Was Present When Rice Signed the Will and Witnessed Them, as Did
 David L. Short.

New York March. 17-When court was adjourned Friday in the trial of Albert | T. Patrick. accused of the murder of William M. Rice, Christian Schephin of Dunellen. N. J., was on the stand. He had testified that he and Rice were friends for twenty-five years He was not | permit ed to repeat a conversation he had with Rice regarding Patrick. Counsel for the defendant said they desired to show that Rice told Schaphin he had made Patrick his heir, and Recorder Golf said he would reconsider his refusal to allow the conversation as evidence if the admission of such testimony. Today Mir House, of Patrick's counsel. said he had found such authority, and was preparing brief. Mir. Schepf1in left the stand pend ing a settlement of the point, and Miss Alice Potts, daughte of John R. Potts. lawyer friend of Patrick, was called. | She said she was at Patricks boarding house on the afternoon of the day Rice died. She met Mrs. Elliott and Miss Mabel Elliott of Chicago there.
 Jones' Statement Disproved.
 They all talked with Patrick, who did not leave the house between and 6:3O o'clock that afternoon. Charles F. Jones, Rice's attendant and clerk, testified that Patrick met him on the street on that day and gave him the chloroform with which Rice was killed
 Miss Mabel Elliott then testified that she saw Patrick at breakfast at 8:3O a. m; at dinner 1:30 p. m., and at supper at 6:15 D. m. on the Sunday of Rices death During the afternoon she played the piano and Patrick sang hymns. Patrick was still in the house when the witness went to church in the evening"
 Mrs. Margaret J. Elliott corroborated the evidence given by the daughter
 Benjamin w. Lewis, superintendent of the St. Paul building, where Patrick had m office in 1899, was called to contradict the testimony of Dr. Whittlesey of Wash ingtop Conn.,, who said he met Patrick at Patrick's office in the St. Paul build ing in March, 1900. and that Patrick asked him to see Mir. Rice and try to arrange compromise of the Rice-Holt litigation, MT. Lewis testified that PatriclS's lease expired in May, 1899, and that he had no office in the St. Paul building since that date
 Meyer Witnessed the Will.
 MOTHS Meyer. lawyer and notary, testified that he was employed as a clerk fin Patrick's office. Patrick sent him to see Rice on business and he was shown into Rice's room by Jones' Six months later on June 90. 1900 he was in Rice's room and witnessed will made by Rice He signed the will after he had seen Rice sign if. Rice signed on each of the four pages of the will and asked Meyer to dc the same. The witness said he also saw David l.. Short sign on each of the four pages. This will is the one known as the 1900 will, which gave Rice's resi- duary estate to Patrick.
 Patrick said he also witnessed Rice's signature to the general assignment to Patrick the Fifth Avenue Trust Com pany and the safe deposit assignments. These assignments were signed Septem- Der 2l two days before Rice died Meyer said the papers were signed by Rice In his presence. after which he affixed his name as witness, They were signed in the dining room of Rice's apartments.
 On cross-eXamination Meyer said the first knowledge he had of the trouble about the disputed signatures came from the newspapers. His evidence on cross examination, which was unfinished when court adjourned for the day, did not differ materially from hls direct testimony