The age-herald., 1902-01-30
Is Not Sure That Patrick Was
 Not in Rice's Apartments
PROSECUTION IS WORRIED.
Make Unsuccessful Attempts to Get the 1896 Will Before the Jury. Try to Prove That Patrick
 and Rice Never Met.

New York. January 29.-Captain James A. Baker again occupied the witness chair at the trial of Lawyer Albert T. Patrick for the murder of William Marsh Rice, almost the entire two sessions of court being taken up with his cross examination. The captain admitted that he had expressed no opinion as to the genuineness of the signatures of various papers bearing Rce's name and which he now calls forgeries, until he had ob- tained the opinion of handwriting ex- perts. He furthermore admitted that Patrick, before his arrest. had told him he desired a full investigation of his re-
 ations with the aged millionaire.
 The witness too declined to swear posi- lively that Patrick was not present in Rices apartments when the old man was at one time making dispositions relative to litigation he was involved in The prosecution has been endeavoring to prove that Patrick and Rice never met. When MT. Osborne for the prosecution offered the 1896 will In evidence as to the genuineness of the signature, MT. Moore for the defense objected declaring that the ruling of the court of appeals in the Moineux case was pertinent. After listening to Mir Moone who argued the document was improper and irrelevant as evidence, Recorder Golf sustained the objection.
 Norman Meldrum, a banker. testified that the signatures on the $65 GOO and $25,0OO checks were forgeres.
 Gifts to Rice Institute.
 A oft said that since Rices death deeds had been recorded showing gifts by him to the Rice institute of what is known as the Capitol hotel property and of about 4f0oO acres of land. Since Rice's death an offer of $200,00O to the hotel people in settlement of litigation had been un- der consideration. Before Rice's death an offer of S50,000 was made for a settlement of the litigation. The witness knew of three wills made by his firm for Rice. One was in 1882. one in 1893 and the last in 1S96 The letter of instruction from Rice concerning the 1896 will was pro duced at the request of the defense and was placed on the record. The letter contained these sentences which were read by Patrick's counsel:
 Tt 0he new wilD need not oe long and can be easily changed If necessary, and if 1 live several years longer l may make another will"
 On redirect examination Captain Ba- ker told of the assets of the William NJ. Rice institute. All of them came from Mir. Rice. They included 800 900 in money and nearly 100000 acres of land in Texas and Louisiana
 Tried to Get Will Admitted.
 The prosecution made two more at tempts to secure the admission of the will of 1896 one while Baker was still on the stand and the second after Norman Meldrum, banker, was called, but each time the. recorder ruled against it. Mel drum testified that the signatures on the checks for $65,00O and $25.O0O were forger- ies Meldrum related a conversation he had with the accused January 25 after Rice died.
 Patrick said the witness testified, that we making a lot of that would in- terfere with much more important bus mess. He said that he and Jones had all ready been to police headquarters and tho district attorneys office and the morning papers woui- be full of 1t. He regretted the notoriety because he had about arranged to settle the contested will case for s2O0,000 but he was afraid the other side would back out in conse- quence of all the publicity. He said it was foolish for the relatives to start trouble because they had received much more under the will of 1900 than they did under the will of 1896. He referred to Mir Rice's brother who would get $15O,O00 in stead of sSO.o0O."