The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-11-01
A Letter Which He Wrote to
His Aunt Concerning His
Trying Position,
TESTIMONY AS TO THE
PHONE MESSAGE
A Long List Of Witnesses Tes-
tify as to Cordial Domestic Re-
lations in&McCue Household. b
Coroner 81 Newport News
to Testify as to Action
OF a Sand Bag Blow.

III Especial from StaH Correspondent)efgs fgss
CHARLOTTESVILLE VA. October 81
Will McCue take tho stand s& VII tho !
alleged murderer OF his wife face the jury [
and court and in his own behalf repeat his Z
story Of that September night? tyVill S he
risk the drag x-net that the Commonwealth \
is laying. for liberately, ], carefully,8
esignedly. laying
& It is a question that ell Of Ciiarlottes-,
VILE ponders toni ght, and It Is Q ques-AA
ton without an answer. Conference after
con ference has been held by the attorneys
for the defense. but The u tmost circum--
spection guards every statement issuing
from this official source & .s. s5lS$
Nothing can be learned wi tn any Bdegree9 1
Of posltlveness 7 he wi dcst Y ses are
beieg made but their III timate disconcert-S'
ing quality is an, uncertainty lodged ( III y
the very sterilltyEtof tho actual lln owl,
edge itself. Nobody can tell a hair may 1
tir the scale. In the high councils Of
the q defense itself doub t58 and .perplexlty
are said to exist. s sl5jsS VII
sS.tsW will lude GU X ca Sc by nc on to-
the brief &slgn,tiean til; anl h
nou ncerneilt of Mr.. Lee to- light. g
is all we Il have to say a = presen t.fS our 1l1L
conferences have concerned a5yarlety%oc
matters. - $50 u u :i ss IS 3f IS
Correspondents Prophesy. "
|. AT this writing ( am willing to say
that AIcCue will never become a swltnes
In his own case; that the record Of the
Albelnarle horror Will be written witt no
word from the silent. nconcerned man
upon whom the people OF "a State q look I
as the central, bloody q CURE Of a base
and brutal crime, T o this decision one .is Y
not assisted BY any dtoation ;L', from the }
defender Of the accused. I, is mere n q
prediction that is valua BILE q for he mo-
ment, but that may be worthless a mo-
ment hence.a ;s5 q Ri 4sSs 5Ssis
b Az 8 q clock tonight there Is kreason TO 4
believe that everything has been arr
ranged to close the case without the tess
tirnony OF the chief figure In it; al 10
A Nj. .4 to morrow the situation may be en-
tirely changed, All that It; Is possible to
say, therefore. Is that given to-nlorrow vi
the conditions that prevail to-night the 4
defense will Indeed close by noon, " lcflH
II cannot possibly do II NfcCue ever comes
within range; OF the guns trained on the y
witness chair. i5($t al I Net 5ss
n Much may depend upon this ques lon.is5
1t is a knotty problem-the knottiests that
has arisen yet In connection with the
trial, SO knotty was t. that the session
OF the court came to an abrupt end this
afternoon, while Lee and his associates.
with case all but finished, retired with
their client ito worry an hour about me
next STEP Neither cross ton nor \
argument nor persuasion can draw, from
them the admission that this is really tbs Z
bono over which they fretted, but nobody I
doubts that It was. and is still, for that
matter. 5J
"a Dilemma.
The defense, III fact. Is between a big 4
grInnlng devil and very deep blue sea.
NEnCS,, 6rn ,,ot4 4ern G H. ~
Will the Jury and the people think and
what will be the effect upon the case OF
what appears fear and hestancy to face
thelight? On5the other hand, II he braves y
tho day and crawls into the clutches OF
the kid-goved but lron-clawed cross-ex-
gained ana what might not be lost?
ei OF but two chief things could McCue
speak In his own defense OF his relations
to his wife, and OF the actual occurrences i
within the house on thes3night OF the
murder. AS for the first. his letters the
letters Of his dead wife, the testimony OF
n half dozen witnesses. have done. as \
much, II not more. than he could hope
10 do, AS for the last. he might select
from among the various accounts he has
already given, or no might present an ems \
tirely new one, and the effect Will be 4
but little to be gained The loss, however,
might he more appreciable. 38s5
No man. innocent or guilty, Is at his h
case In the witness chair: no alleged
murderer with his very life hanging in
the balance. could be absolutely calm
under the terrific hrs that will be bent
upon McCue.
What he might say In his own behalf
would dwindlc In proportion to the stake
for which no Is pleading and In this case
the stake Is life itself; what might slip
from him unawares by a mitsake.
Honert or otherwise, as the case may
be, would be magnlhed in the opposite
degree, A sudden trip and fall might
cost him dear: n calm and unshahen de-
.nial. which is the best he could do nigh;
with the evidence against him. avail him
nothing, Besides this much that could i
not be smugsled into court Il no keeps
clear Of tho chair. may be run! In With
impunlly as soon as he begins TO testify.
His appearance would at once open up q
a broad field now closed and would make
possible the Introduction Of the inqnest
Testimony and other things now excluded.
These are some Of the considerations that
- 81