The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-10-27
Durrett the Once Missing Wit
ness, Tells OF Find
NEGRO SKINNER a f
VALUABLE WITNESS!
Or. Early Repudiates His Sand
Bag Theory Presented at the &
Coroner's Inquest and S
Spitted BY Counsel Efor.
the Defense Out Of
His Own Mouth. I


His Own Mouth.
M Especial from a staff Correspondent 81
y CIIARLOrrEsVILLE, Al, Octobe 20. &
Two days Of herculean effort have given
the Commonwealth no appreclable advan- !
tage in Its prosecu ution OF Nc Cue, the al
legged slayer Of his wife.
Witness after witness has appeared upon 4
the stand, only at the crucial. moment
to quail and weaken before the searching
point OF Lees nimble wit. Some few,Sa q
minority amazingly small, have escaped
sunscathed but as for the rest nearly
every man has furnished to the defense
some crumb Of comfort. The compelling
and imposing wall OF expert testimony &
carefully built up, has been ha atterad into
an unrecognIzable heap, the heavy guns
of the State have more than once been q
turned against Itself. s4{g gsfss:3
58 Out OF the smoke OF the battle the de-
Tense has withdrawn Its forces with com
lmanding skill, and seems ready on the
morrow to throw Itself into the thick Of y
the fray a so in,ss cnntidcntr Sexpectnnt and
even ea ger. The CommonwealthEls ii for Il
more. and a: good deal OF 1t, and wlat@
the coming days may develop 4 no man
can foretell, but IN The first assaultaits
progress has been tntionary and its ad -55
vance firm stand, practically where
1t began. WI 4 5{55 hi llSsf5
I. The Ladies Warned.
At a late hour this AFTERNOON the court
did strange thing. The Judge leaned Il
over his desk and solemnly advised the n
ladies to avoid the session tomorrow. s
Counsel on both sides called upon him \
to do It, and he did not finch, though u
his hesitation was manifest. ts
q There was an oninous rustic of skirts 8i
when the court uttered It's Significant
words. Bonneted heads were craned while 81
the men folk stood and looked wise. III
The genus loci reports 1.-THE Scoun-
trysideis already swarmsng; that string
Of caravans Is headed even now for the N
courthouse; that the stufry room viii ss
burst tomorrow with Its c.Wn contents-8
such Is the effect Of n ell-mcant warli-sS
ing. ili " 3 s itE
AS an indication of what Is expected In e
tho way OF evidence. the attitude Of theS,t
court points clearly. Much has been 81
written and much more whispered about H
the woman s. phase Of this murder %
trial, Such OF II as can be dragged into
court Is likely to find It's wny5,there to- #
81 3s,s
+ The Commonwealth wlllAflght hard |; itH2
will have to fight hard. There Is said to
he q lot OF documentary evidence III the
shape OF letters. Ernest Crawford. the d
brother Of the dend woman, Is said to bo 81
in possession OF much OF It. But to get It III
before the court anhth jury; to have 1t t
laid forth as exposing n motive for a IS
hldeous icrimc-thls is a iffefan matter
Tho connection will have to be close,
clear and convincing, Thereis the grav- @s
est doubt If SUCH n connection can BIO IN
Not "a single one Of the al-5
legged women has been summoned 5to ssa
testify. VI s;.s II IL
Willie McCue to Testify.
Tomorrow morning Willie AIcCue, the II
eldest son OF the accused, Will 20 upon IA
the stand. He is perhaps the leading wit q;
ness OF the Commonwealth, Much Il Ge- n
pends on what he will say. The issue XII
may tu,n, according TO the testimony OF
this young boy He Is an unusually
bright lad. with plenty OF hard sense #
stored away behind his youthful face,
IIls countcnanca is frank and open; his #
,eneral appearance more than usually
1t will be q striking moment M
when he responds to the call OF the prose-
cutnrs or his father. lfsi 4.
From what can be gathered the Com-
expects to rest Its case aboWt "
noon Friday, The programme may be ri
unset sUy- u iluIluItu piS"SiA
single witness--and there are severai I'M q
portant ones yet to come--may cause q
days delay. But at this time the work
Ia fixed here and everything ls bending
In this direction. The case for the de-
fense will begin promptly ana proceed sfttt
with rapidAy, There Is scarcely any Ike
lihood that McCue will 80 on the stand. Y
So much for the prospect, Tie retro
spcct while devoid Of the CHARM Of uil-
certainty is none the less interestIas ~
It's way.
Notable Features.
There were many notabio features 70 ]
the second day In court. a rapid review Il
Of the work calls to mind dozen points
Of more than ordinary importance.
+ TO the chief Of these--the failure Of the "
Commonwealth to speed its course--refer- A
ence has already been made. ntiet
summary Of the others may prove help &
full. The bloody shirt Figured ags'n In Il
the proceedings 1t Is probably Of iess a.s5
Importance than the public realizes, H
Ever yhOdy comedies that the gun-shot
wound that caused the death OF Mrs.
aIcCue was almost. II not quite, blood
loss until the cavity WAS opened " the
final examination OF tho body
One OF the attorneys limited to-nlsht
that this to large extent nalilfled tha
value OF tho bloody SHIRT to tie prose
culIan. experts were introduced to-day
Z ~ z n r. u 4 q