The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-01-25
RICE'S ALLEGED SLAYER
TESTIMONY AGAINST ALBERT Il.
PATRICK, ACCUSED OF MURDER.
Attempt to Show the Lawyer Forged
the Name of His millionaire
CIient-The Evidence.

NEW YORK, Jan. 24.-The taking of evil
dence was begun to-day in the trial of Al
bert T. Patrick a lawyer, on an indictment
charging him with the murder of William
Marsh Rice in this city in September, 1900.
John II. Wallace, paying teller at Sven
sons Bank, where Rice had an account.
and where one of the checks payable to
Patricks order was presented, was the first
witness. Wallace identified a check for
S25, 600, payable to Albert T. Patrick as one
that had been presented to him. 1t was
the misspelling of the name Albert that
caused a telephone call to Rice's apart
ments, which resulted in the discovery that
the man was dead. The witness said the
check was handed him for payment by
Short, who said he came from Patrick
Wallace told of the telephone communica-
ton with Rice's house and of the discovery
that Mr.. Rice had died the previous day.
Counsel for Patrick objected to every ques-
ton asked on this line, on the ground that
the witness could not testify to hearsay
evidence, but the recorder overruled the OBJ
jections until Assistant District Attorney
Caravan asked who answered the telephone
He sustained the objection that Mr.. Wal
lace could not tell who it was. Wallace
testified that he had never seen Patrick I'M
I'll the day when the check was presented
SO far as he knew Rice's business was at
tended to by Jones, the valet-secretary.
In your opinion is the signature on the
check the signature of William NJ Rice?
asked the attorney for the prosecution.
Counsel for the defense objected, but the
witness was allowed to reply. I'm my opin-
iOn," he said, lit was not written by Rice"
on cross-examination Wallace said that
when the check returned IN hank
Endorsed ALBERT" T. Patrick and Albert T.
Patrick, he stamped il accepted" al
though he had grave doubts as to the gen.
uineness of the paper.
At the request of Patricks counsel the
witness went over the signature letter by
letter to point out what he considered dis
crepancies from Rice's writing. Finally he
said: 81 don't know what was wrong with
the signature, but l don't like it. 1t does
not look natural TO me. The final curve Of
the M for instance, looks as if it an
afterthOught."
Wallace had never seen Rice and Captain
Baker, of Texas, an executor of one of the
wills in dispute, together at Swenson's
Bank or any other place.
W. o. Wetherbee, a clerk in the bank of
s. NJ. SwenSOn & Son, said he knew Rice
for twelve years. He was asked to tell of
visit alleged to have been made by Jones,
the valet-secretary, to the witnesses home
in Brooklyn, but this was ruled out. Weth-
erbee said he had never seen Patrick until
the day the check was handed in at the
connected in any way with Rices business.
When Patrick called at the bank he saw
Mr.. SwensOn. In the conversation that day
Patrick said Rice's body was to be Gre
mated as 1.-The old gentleman was a crank
on cremation" Patrick also said there
had been an understanding between him
and Rice as to what was TO be done with
the proceeds of the checks. Wetherbee
gave it as his opinion that the $25,OO0 check
was not signed by William NJ Rice
Counsel for defense objected TO the adj
o
the ground that the defendant was under
indictment for forging that check and il
would not be fair to bias the minds of the
jury by admitting ii.
! intend to prove the conspiracy between
this defendant and Jones, replied Mr.. Os-
borne.
THE prosecution should not be allowed
to say a murder was committed because
they think a check was forged" said Mr..
Moore, for Patrick. The recorder admitted
the check
Under cross-examination Wetherbee was
not admitted expert in handwriting.
as he could not analyZe the signature on
the SO, 900 check The doubt i'm his mind
more general than specific. Mr. Moore
took the witness from letter to letter in the
signature and asked him where each diff
fered from the corresponding letter in the
signature conceded to have been made by
Mr.. Rice The witness repeated what he
said before recess-that he could not tell
what the difference was, but the disputed
witness
said he did not decide the check was not
genuine when he first examined it, This
was before ii was stamped accepted
Mr.. Wetherbee then testified that the
check was accepted and certified The GER
tifcation was Cancelled by Mr. Swenson
after he had talked TO some one over the
telephone.
Eric B. Swenson. of the firm of G NJ
the next witness. He reviewed the events
OF the day that the disputed check was
presented, and his meeting with Patrick,
and said: Patrick said he was very sorry
we had not paid the check: it was Mr.
Iice's intention to have the check paid.
told him we would not pay the check. as
we had knowledge of Rices death and that
an administrator must be appointed. He
said no administrator was needed; that Mr..
Rice had no property here. and he Pat-
rick held an assignment OF his securities
and had another check for the balance of
Mr.. Rice's deposits in bank
The witness swore that Patrick told him
that Rice had eaten nine bananas and had
probably died from the effects He said
he had consulted his lawyers, Powers x
Sands as soon as Patrick left him He
was positive that Rice did not sign either
the check or the assignment.
Harold s AchesOn. of the Houston Post
told of an error made by the accused In
the Rice death notice, and Teller Wallace
was recalled for a moment.
The latter was followed by James w
Girard, of the firm OF Bowers * Sands who
testified that he went TO Patricks house
with a central office detective the day the
disputed check was presented TO Swenson
He said he told Patrick they came from
Swensons bank and the accused replied
that he going TO do business through
the bank and thought the relations should
be amicable. The detective asked Patrick
why he wanted an assignment II he had
a will and Patrick replied: That is a
secret" Girard testified that he asked
Patrick what had caused Rice's death and
Patrick said that a woman had given him
"A lot of bananas and he had eaten nine OF
I tO-mOrTnV
NexN Gold FieIds I'm MONTANA