Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-01-25
DEFENSE IS NOW
TAKING EVIDENCE
Stste Finished Its Direct Tes-
timony In the BlydenSurgh
Trial Today
DEFENSE HAS MANY WITNESSES
DEFENSE HAS MANY WITNESSES
Now Expected That the Trial Will Last
CE.i. *. Eas-sl Il. l-S
The State Believed to Have Made
Stronger Case Than Defense Expect.
Special to Times-Repuolican.

Special to Times-Republican.
Eldora, Jan. 25.-The cold weathe
affected the attendance at the Blyden
burgh trial today. but the court nous
was comfortably filed this afternoon
The states evidence was about com
pleted Saturday and after the introduc
tion of a few minor Witnesses the de
Tense was given an opportunity TO pre-
sent It's side OF the cas-.
Sheriff Mitserer spent a portion o
last night securing the country for ney
witnesses for the defense.
This morning the state put on Mrs
Keller for few minutes and then It'll
county attorney announced, that tn
state rested. The defense at once be
gan the examination of It's witnesses
Three witnesses have been examinet
thus far. They were Mrs. James Walk
er, Mrs. Jane Watson and Miss Ids
Althouse. Their evidence was malnl,
for the purpose of disprovlng some o
the statements made by the states wit
nesses in regard TO Mrs. Blydenburgh':
general health and her condition dur.
ing her last Illness.
States Evidence Reviewed.
The state has established the fact
that Mrs. Blydenburgh's death was
caused by corrosive poison being IN
troduced into her stomach during her
life time and by special chemists have
proven that there was no other poison
GUS substance present in the stomach
at the time of the autopsy excepting
arsenic. The only evidence that the
state has been able to produce tending
to show that the defendant was in
posse ssion of the poison at any time
prior to Mrs. Blydenburgh's death. was
that he had purchased Rough on Rates
and that this was poisonous sub
stance and cotained not less than so
per cent OF white arsenic. That during
the sickness of Mrs. Blydenburgh.
which first manifested itself in nausea
followed with vomiting. she was finally
attacked with commissions and that TO
relieve her from hsr distress a prepar-
atfon was injected by her attending
physician which caused the patient to
fan into stupor. from which she never
Recovered, but died In about twenty
minutes thereafter. AS further circum-
STANCES Indicating that the defendant
Vas guilty OF having administered
poison to his wife 1t has been shown
that there was undue haste upon his
part in having her embalmed by the
use Of fluid containing arsenic In
large quantities as one OF its proper
ties. That the wife died between
and O'Clock in the afternoon and the
defendant attempted to have her body
embalmed, prepared for shipment and
shipped out OF town on the o'clock
train that afternoon. That when he
got to Ohio he discarded the rough box
in which the casket was conveyed and
procured burglar-proof vault In
which to place the casket and espec-
tally exhorted the undertaken to sea
to it that the vault was in fact locked
and well cemented down in the bottom
OF the grave.
Thought He Was Safe.
That the day OF the funeral he stat
ed referring to his wife) "Jennie's lips
are sealed: she can never tell nothing.
That afterwards when the statement
was made in his presence that the peo-
ple accused him OF having been guilty
OF foul play and thus. having caused
his wife's death, he stood mute and
made no answer. That the next Sum-
day after the funeral of his wife. he
having returned to Iowa. In speaking
OF his wife's sickness. said that he had
prepared the dinner she ate on the
Sunday she was taken ILL., That she
was we'll done up before burial and
buried in burglar proof vault that
was good for 100 years. That no one
could get 1t open. That her lips We're
sealed. She could tell nothing.
Attorneys Worried.
At the beginning of the trial the at
,torneys for the defendant assumed APP
parcntly an Indifferent air, but as the
evidence was being introduced grad
'ualiy fastening the crime upon their
client the effect was manifested by
q continuous line of objections and
technical positions taken by them to
such an extent that toward the close
OF the week scarcely a sentence was
pronounced by witness on behalf OF
the state without an interruption being
made In the form Of an objection or
motion to strike on the part of one OF
the attorneys for the defendant, and as
the record now stands, great deal
more space Is occupied in the reporters
notes setting forth the objections made
by the counsel than Is occupied by
the questions put to the witnesses and
their answers. The impression made
upon the spectators by this proceed
ing has been that the attorneys for
the defendant are impressed with the
strength OF the case that the state
has made against their client and that
they are In desperate straits and in
great fear of the results. The facts
arc that the defendants attorneys are
determined to exclude as much of
plaintiffs testimony as possible from
record.
Eight Witnesses.
During Saturdays proceedings the
state examined eight witnesses. DR..
Gethman being recalled and interrpga-
ted in regard to written statement
the defendants attorneys claim he had
signed in regard to the condition of
Mrs. Blydsnbursh when he was called
20 treat her, by way of explanation
stated that he refused to sign the
FIRST statement presented to him and
told DEFENDANTS attorneys at the time
to not press him 90 hard or he would
be obliged to say that In his Judgment
Mrs. Blydenburgh had died frof arsen
was guilty.
=. B. Gould testified to convensa-