The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1905-09-27
'SCRAP-PAPER EVIDENCE
.0uFFlcIENT OFTEN TO PUT
ROPE ROUND CRIMINALS NECK.


Wad as Proof Of Crime-Torn Sheet
of Note Paper That Led to Discov-
cry of a Murderer--BureIar's Fatal
Oversight.
"And this, gentlemen, is what you
are asked to hang man on!" said
Sergeant Ballantine, addressing
jury at the Central Criminal court.
He held up in his fingers little
piece of paper, only few inches big.
you are asked to return verdict
which will send that man standing
there before you to the gallows, on the
strength of q scrap of paper!"
The scrap of paper was enough,
says London Answers. Ballantine's
client was condemned. | have known
numberless cases in which a scrap of
paper has sufliced to place the halter
round the criminals neck.
In a case tried at Leeds some years
back prisoner named Mountford was
charged with a peculiarly diabolical
offense. Having conceived a murder
GUS hatred Of a man who he imagin-
ed had done him an injury, Mount
ford set to work to plot his death
few weeks later parcel was deliver
ed at the intended victims house. The
parcel, which locked innocent enough,
was tin case holding several pounds
of gunpowder so packed as to ex-
MI mhp,, nnnnnh Rntwnnn two
pieces of paper was some decorating
powder, Connected with ingeniously
arranged matches at the top and bot
tom of the box.
The attempt failed, the internal
machine did not claim its victim, and
the police we're called in to discover
the would-be assassin. Underneath
the brown paper in which the box was
wrapped the detectives found scrap
of newspaper portion of the Leeds
Intelligencer of July 5. Other circum
stances led them to suspect Mount
ford, and on their visiting his house
and searching it they found Leeds
Intelligencer of that date with piece
missing. The scrap of the Internal
machine fitted it exactly. Mountford
was found guilty.
Newspaper used as a wad in fire
arms has over and over again sufticed
to convict a murderer. A youth nam
ed John Toms was charged at Ian
caster Assizes with the murder of a
man named Culshaw. Culshaw had
been killed by pistol shot, and the
weapon had evidently been discharg-
ed from close quarters. The evidence
against Tom was meager and unsatis-
factory until there was produced In
court terribly bloodstained piece of
paper. 1t was handed to the jury and
examined by them, and on it were
still plainly discernible the words of
a north country comic song.
The piece of paper had been recov-
cred from the fatal wound in the dead
mans head and had been the wad for
the assassin's pistol. A songbook
was found in Toms pocket and part
of one page was missing. The piece
found in the dead mans wound cor
responded with the lost part exactly.
Tom was, of course, found guilty and
hanged.
In a Scotch case, in which young
lady was charged with the murder of
her father by poisoning him at the in
stigation OF her lover, a scrap of pa
per played a most important part,
The old gentleman had most emphat-
ically refused his consent to his
daughter marrying her lover and had
threatened to disinherit her if she
did so. His wealth was considerable,
and the young fellow, after some
time, succeeded in persuading the in
fatuated girl to administer arsenic to
her parent in slowly increasing doses
One day a servant surprised the
wretched girl while she was prepar-
ing some food for the old man.
The girl seemed dismayed by the
servants sudden appearance, hastily
threw a piece of paper which she had
crushed into a ball in her hand upon
the fire, and then disappeared with
the little tray in which the food was
standing. The servant, as soon as her
mistress had left the room, rescued
the paper from the fire. 1t had been
crushed together so tightly that only
the outside portion was consumed by
the flames, and in the creases of it
the servant detected kind of white
dust She kept the paper, and when
her master died and her mistress was
arrested and charged with his MUIR
der, it was produced in court. The
analyst had no difficulty in ascertain
ing that the white dust was arsenic,
and the murderess was condemned to
death and was executed.
Who was the murderer of Mary
Weber? was a question which some
years ago sorely perplexed the Ian
cashire police authorities. Weber
was servant, and left her mistress's
house one evening to keep an appoint
ment with respect to which she had,
her mistress subsequently remember
ed, appeared peculiarly anxious. Mary
Weber never returned home. Her
dead body was discovered the next day
in n lonely snot near a wood. There