The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-01-14
TYPEWRITER men
ARE AT VARIANCE
Question Is Whether Address on
Poison Bottle Was Written
on Certain Machine.
SMITH-PREMIER MEN
SAY YES, OTHERS NO
Defense Makes Rapid Progress
Koch Himself to Testify on
Monday.

Koch Himself to Testify on
Monday.
From = star Correspondent.
New Ulm, Mimi, Jan. 14.-The Koch
murder trial has at last resolved itself
into a battle OF experts. This battle
is being fought to prove to the jury that
the address on a certain box of poison
mailed to DR.. Gebhard a week before he
was murdered was written on certain
Smith Premier typewriter which was
kept in the insurance office adjoining
the office Of DR.. Koch.
The experts sworn for the state said
positively that 1t was, while those
sworn for the defense are Just as posi-
tive that it was not.
Ever since the state swore two type
writer experts from the city Office Of:
the Smith Premier Typewriter company
in St. Paul, who said that the address
on the package Of poison was written
on the machine which they produced in
court, and which was in the Insurance. /
company's office here the month Of .
October, 1904, the defense has promised
to break down this testimony.
Just before noon today the work was
started; when the first expert for the
defense was sworn. He was shown the
machine and asked to point out its de- .
fects He examined it critically and
found that several Of the type bars
were loose and that the alignment was
bad.
Experts Diagree.
He finally examined the address on
the box and said that in his opinion it
was not written on the machine in ques-
ton. E.zs
One Of the strongest points in favor
Of the defense was the testimony OF
this expert that the address on the. bot
tie of poison was written by an expert
enced operator and not by novice.
Several other experts are here ready
to testify in the case who, having e4-
amined The address carefully, say that
there is no doubt that the address was
written by some one who is not "a
novice.
There is no evidence in the case to
show that DIR. Koch ever operated
this will 60 long way toward proving
! that he did not write the address on
! the bottle.
Theory az to Poison combated.
| At the opening of the morning ses-
sion today, the defense took up the att
tack on the poison evidence, introduced
| by the state, and while there is no
way. to show that DR.. Gebhard did not
receive a any poison, the defense believes
! it. has convinced the jury that it is
not evident that DR.. Koch mailed the
! poison.
The state had counted much on the
| testimony of DR.. Stricken, office mate
of DR.. Koch. who swore that he lost
ninety tablets Of strychnine in Octo-
Der. The state contends that the strych-
| s,411> h1yT r Koof md Id
to Dr.. Gebhard. Evidence was intro
duced by the defense to show that the
contention is not true. The strychnine
which DR.. Stricken lost contained only
/ 10 :. per cent strychnine. There were
only ninety tablets Of it, while the
bottle received by DR.. Gebhard, the de-
Tense claims, contained as much pow
der as 700 Of those tablets would make.
u Professor Carel s. testimony was that
the substance he examined was 10 per
cent strychnine. From this it will be
argued that if the ninety tablets which
DR.. Stricken had were pulverlzed and
mixed with some other powder six
times their bulk, the mixture would not
be 10 per cent mixture Of strychnine.
Physicians Testify.
The sore hands that DR.. Koch had.
especially the burning with alcohol on
Friday following the murder, which the
state has asserted was done to hide the
traces Of the injuries he received while
\ committing the murder, received much
attention this morning. The physician
who prescribed the treatment Of alco-
hol for the carbolic acid burns testi-
: fed and another physician, who had a
similar accident, was allowed to tell his
: story.
8 DR.. Koch Witness.
Senator Somerville announces that
DR.. Koch will be sworn as a witness.
His testimony is not expected to be
: sensational. He may be asked to tes-
tify only as to his movements on the
! : night of the murder. In such event
. he cannot be cross-examined by the
, state regarding the bottle Of poison sent
2 to Gerhard.
Attorneys for the defense had hoped
to swear DR.. Koch today, but may not
be able to do so until Monday.
Poison Evidence Attacked.
The defense addressed itself thil
I morning to the poison testimony and w
G.. Alvin, proprietor Of the City Drus
store, was called and questioned as K
i that tablets for hypodermic use arr
! only 10 per cent strychnine. To fill Z
a bottle the size Of the one received by
. Dr.. Gebhard, it would require about 70(
a tablets.
The significance of this testimony j,
- easy to understand. Professor ii. G
! Carel of the state university testified
i that the substance he found in the bot
:, tie contained 10 per cent strychnine
= DR.. Stricken claimed to have lost eight
j. or ninety tablets Of hypodermic strych
nine. If these were pulverized ant
mixed with six times their bulk of sons
other substance like bromo caffeine. tn,
mixture would not be a 10 per cent mix
lture of strychnine, the defense main
tanning that the strychnine contained il
r the bottle received by DR.. Gebhar'
I could not have come from DR.. Strick
Ter q bottle.
Mr.. Alvin was asked regarding tn
, caustic qualities Of 95 per cent carboli
/ !. acid, and said that it would cause
y burn which would leave scar resem
70 bling callous. He said that alcoho
is the chemical antidote for carboli
" acid. He thought that if alcohol wa
!, spilled on the hand and the alcohol ia
It nited a burn to the hand would result.
Il Fritsche Testifies for Defense. IS
Is DR.. g. a. Fritsche was sworn AZ
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