The sun., 1902-02-04
HANDWRITING EXPERT FAILS?
yr PICKS FORGED RICE SIG
NATURE As GENUINE
According to Patrick's Lawyer r-niness
ar a Juror Causes Adjournment an
Hour Earlier Than Usuai-wftthaus
Tells OF Finding Poison In Rice's Body.

Aecorttug 90 Patrfck's Lawyer
AZ . Juror Causes Adjournment an
uour Earlier Than Usual-wrtthsus
Tells Of Finding Poison In Rices Body.
tn. Patrick murder trial was adjourned
q, hour earlier than usual yesterday after
..on hv Recorder Goff at the request OF
,hs siIth man on the jury. John D. Camp
h.r ~ 2l2 East Forty-ninth street, who
oon,nlained OF being I'll Mr.. Campbell
~ sat ali day with his overcoat on, shiver-
inc He didn't know just what the trouble
We. hut thought that he had a touch of
,hs erin. which might be cfset By good
nights sleep IA,
william NJ Rice, Jr, q nephew and name
II. ~ the dead man, on the stand. His
A.. and most OF his cross-examination
h.d bean finished before adjournment last
Fr,dsv. He was asked yesterday by Law
var Moore Of counsel for the defence about
the death Of his own father, which occurred
recently In a train in Texas. The father
az the witness was brother Of the late
william M Rice. Mr.. Moore tried to show
Nv the sons testimony that the father
Nd died OF heart disease and that the Rice
family was subject TO that complaint. but
all Quesuoii5 o4ohB eA~s ~-~ "Se~ -~~N
out BY Recorder Gon,
After Mr. Rice left the stand the AS
dstant District Attorney who has charge
Of the case road the Rice will Of 1896. which
was admitted as evidence lete on Friday
afternoon. No testimony relative 70 that
document was taken yesterday
Ooroner's Physician Edward ]. Donlin,
who performed the autopsy on the body
kA x.vttv Hn
didn't seem TO be so sure about the cause
Of death as DR.. Hamilton Williams, who
did not perform the autopsy. The testi-
mony OF DR.. Donlin, however, was in the
essential points corroborative OF DR.. Will
Uarns's testimony and was to the effect
that death was caused by inhaling chloro-
form.
eestion Of the lungs caused by the chloro-
form was coeItensive with the lungs DR..
Donlin wouldn't 60 80 far as TO say that the
congestion was coextensive or that II was
intense. Before Justice Jerome he had
testified that there was slight congestion.
The prosecuting attorney and Mr.. Moore
then had hot dispute over DR.. Donlin on
technical points and both were hauled up
In short order by the Recorder.
DR.. Rudolph A. Witthaus, the chemical
expert, was then called. He testified to
finding little over three-qusrters OF
grain Of mercury in Mr.. Rice's body in his
analysis OF the several organs. Tho Assist
ant District Attorney asked the chemist
IL that mercury had been in the body before
death or injected after death In the en-
balming process The question was OBJ
jected TO by Mr.. Moore and ruled out. The
question was put In dozen different forms.
but none OF them was properly put, accord
ing 70 Recorder Gof, and the prosecution
failed to establish definitely the fact that
the mercury was given to Rice before
death.
Under cross examination Dr. Witthaus
admitted that he had not found enough
mercury to cause death
In his redirect examination the chemist
was allowed 10 say that he knew OF no
embalming fluid which contains mercury.
While DIR. Witthaus was on the stand Mr..
Moore and the Assistant District Attorney
had another row. Each accused the other
OF being rude and unfair and their little
set-to was the liveleet incident OF the day.
William y. Harmon, clerk in Swensons'
and a witness TO the Rice will of 1895, was
called by the Prosecution and denounced
the various w. Nj. Rice signatures already
In evidence as forgeries.
Then Fred b. House for the defence in
troduced four signatures and resorted 10
q prize-in-every-packAg method TO con-
fuse the handwriting experts OF the pros
ecution. Each OF tho four signatures
was on the edge OF a paper projecting
through a slit that had been cut In a sealed
envelope. None Of tho rest OF the paper
was visible. Harmon declared three OF
tho four signatures 20 lie the genuine sig
natures of the lats William NJ. Rice. He
was doubtful about the fourth. MIR House
then asked that the envelope be- opened
and their contents, with the signatures
be admitted a. evidence The clerk opened
the hIst envelope and found that the paper
save for the signature near the edge was
blank.
Ths Assistant District Attorney objected
70 its admission on the ground that a blank
paper must be irrelevant. The contents
of the other three envelopes were not dis
oloeod. AL four were marked for iden-
uhoation.
Mr.. House said after the session that
one Of the three signatures which Harmon
bad positively identined AZ hioe's was not
Rioss NJ al
That shows sAid the lawyer, what
all their hAndw writing testimony N worth
The Assistant District Attorneys com
mspt on the four snyeloTss ~as
IL suits We either way, IL the signatures
are Sen uins I'D Like 10 have Patrick "a
plain nov he got them. II they are forged
I'd like 90 have him explain hos he eau
I;s'Ie.s: -. =. ~; ~ n So; :. ;'
Dr Hsnfy LOOMS wss the Last .i-
hsss Of tLs day lie had Also made a.
ssalysls of the Organs - NJ hinas budy
" tssi lmouy ooHubof siod that u d.
NntnAua
He So tssi Ned thai hs knsw II 40 die
sss sii0h would have caused sunl nou.
ss~tiou n Ito lupEs a. Naf Fl9sl ~ tLc
ausi@y ol hf h,s's BODY