The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-02-21
THE MURDER OF W. N. RICE Dramatic Story Told by Jones. CHLOROrORM WAS USED Valet Was the Tool of Lawyer A. I. Patrick. Millionaire Weakened by the Ad' ministration of Msrcurial Pills.
 Patrick Kept Informed of '
 Developments in nlnsss.

Patrick Kept Informed of
 Developments in Illness.
 New York, Fob. 2o.-A very dramatic point in the trial of lawyer Albert T. Patrick, for the murder of the Texas millionaire w. M. Rice was reached this afternoon.
 Charles F. Jones. the valet, had been relating the circumstances leading up to the somewhat sudden death of Mir. Rice in September. Then plunging at once Into the details he held the attention of his audience to the end of his recital Freed of minor points his story follows:
 In August Patrick grew impatient. Mr. Rice, though an invalid. was living too long to suit the lawyers purpose. Pat rick said he would come to the house and kill him himself if necessary. He sug- gested chloroform and Jones said he would get some. The idea of chloroform as . means was suggested by a magazine article. It was determined on after Jones talked with physician who said q person whose heart was affected. as was Mir Rice's could be most easily killed with 1t and that little trace of the drug would be left. Jones got two ounce vial of Il by writing to his brother in Texas.
 Jones then branched of into the alleged plan adopted to weaken the already sick old man. This was by giving him mer- cury and iron pills. The pills brought or facilitating diarrhea. Then unwittingis friend brought Mir. Rice a present oi bananas. Of these the old man ate nine The fruit made him exceedingly i'll and yet the weakening doses of mercury were kept up. By Saturday. being about the eighth day of the last illness, MT. Rict became delirious. This testimony brought the events up to Sunday the day of deatf and the witness had said that during this ten days of ifinsss he had Kept Patrics informed of the details personally ane by telephone. a,&J
 Rice's quick death, declared the wit. ness, was decided upon at a conference between Patrick and Jones. held Saturday night. Jones had told the lawyer of the arrival of draft for S26.0oo Patrick told him 1t was time to apply the chloro- form now that the draft had come and Captain Baker was coming. or they would lose all Jones agreed. as
 Jones here told his story of the actual killing. He made a cone of towel In the small end of which was chloroform soaked sponge. Creeping into the room where Mir. Rice lay sleeping, he quickly covered the sleeper's face with the large end of the cone. Jones rushed out oI the room. In half an hour he came back. He removed the cone. MT. Rice was dead. Jones swore he telephoned Pat rick the words MT. Rice is very fll," the agreed signal between tn two or the death. Jones's story of the end was concluded by the statement that Patrick came to the house and removed all or MT. Rice's papers.
 At the opening of court today in the trial of Albert T. Patrick, Recorder Con ordered stricken from the record a state- ment made by Charles F. Jones on the witness stand yesterday concerning re- mark which he said he had overheard Patrick make to Fred B. House, his coun- sei At that time House WAS attorney for both Patrick and Jones. and accord ing to Jones, Patrick said to the attorney that he had acted throughout as though he was playing chess. Houses reply was alleged to have been that he was afraid Patrick was d poor chess player.
 Jones testified today that at Patrick's request he obtained and gave the de- fendant some of the ink used by Rice in signing some of the documents of March 26 1900. Patrick sad he would have Short and Meyer use different ink, but that Mir. Riccs name was to be written with the ink used by the old man. Jones then repeated his story of the visit to Patrick's office when the will of 1900 was read to him.
 Patrick and Meyer and Short were present." Jones said. We had some trouble in securing privacy because a Colonel Walker was in Mir. Patrick's of- fee, and Patrick could not get rid of him. Patrick said Short and Meyer were going on their vacations and wanted them to witness the will before they went fin case of Mir. Rice's death while they were out of the city. That was in July, 1900. The will was not signed then"
 Jones identified a letter written by Rice September r, 1900 to the. Merchants and Planters oil Company. regarding the re- building of the companys plant. which had been burned. The date on the letter was changed, he said, to September 27. at Patrick's suggestion, ''in order to show that ftlce was III SOiioANiNh JNos before his death"
 "In August, 1900, Patrick gave him draft agreement of a settlement of MT. Rice's will which he copited on the type writer and returned. unsigned to Patrick. who later said he had telegraphed 1t to C. F. Holt in Houston, Texas Some time in August Jones continued. Patrick asked me if did not think Mir. Rice was living too long for his own welfare. He thought it would be a good thing If we could put him out of the way. He said if I would tell him some night when MT. Rice was sleeping soundly he would come down and do it if would not. I asked why Dr. Curry would not do it and he said that pr. Curry drew the line there. He would do anything that was wanted if if was not actually crime.
 "N,hat was said of chloroform?' asked Assistant District Attorney Osborne
 "Patrick said that would be an easy way. An article in magazine gave the idea Something was said about getting chIoroform and Patrick said 1t was very hard to get; that one had to have all sorts of certificates before the druggist would sell 1t. I told Patrick he could leave that to me. I sent my brother sS and he sent me chloroform in Tour ounce bottle"
 "Did Mir, Rice read that article on