The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-03
WITNESSES TELL OF INSANITY IN
 CHISOLM FAMILY Lawyers Contest Every Inch of Case and Long WrangIes
 Are InduIged In EXPERTS BELIEVE ALEX LAB0RS UNDER DELUSI0N Walker Percys Review of Discovery of the Big Shortage Is Feature of
 of the Days Proceedings.
 Court Tonight.

Yesterday there was battle of legal
 acumen in the Chisolm case and Capt l Frank s. White for the defense, con | tested every inch of ground in the ad- mission or exclusion of testimony by
 different witnesses. Few witnesses were 1 examined who were questioned and 1 quzzed by the opposing counsel until
 every shred of evidence was exposed to view and each of them was greatly re- 1 lieved when the word came to stand
 aside
 The prosecution put on it's strongest
 witness yesterday morning in Walker 1 Percy, whose testimony in loud clear
 voice, was heard by everyone and whose examination lasted fully two hours. The l defense presented It's star witnesses in l the afternoon, Dr. Searcy of Tuscaloosa l being on the stand oyer two hours, fol- lowed by Mir and Mrs. Robert Chisolm | and Dr. Rosser all of whom gave i'm | portant testimony bearing upon the men tai condition of Alexander R. Chisolm
 at the time of his cotton speculations
 and thereafter.
 Expert Witness Appears. new witness appeared in the case yesterday who will appear for the prose- cuton today if he is permitted to ex- | anime the defendant as to sanity. This witness is Dr. W. A. White, superintend- ent of the ElizabetL Hospital for the Insane ateWashington, D. C., who was hu ha to O
 and testify as a brain specialist upon
 the mental condition of Alex Chisolm.
 Dr. White has a wide reputation as an expert on mental troubles and has been at the head of the Elizabeth hospital for five years. He was employed by coun- sel for Harry K Thaw, to testify in that
 celebrated case and spent three days in New York on that mission.
 Dr. White wished to examine the de- fendant last night, but his counsel had other engagements so the matter could
 not be arranged. The examination, 1t
 is understood, will take place some time | today
 When court was convened yesterday 1 morning Attorney Lee Bradley read to
 the court an agreement between counsel on both sides of the case that the testi- mony of l.. A. Butterfeld of the Southern 1 Steel company, J. A. Shook of the Pratt Consolidated Coal company, and Russell Hunt of the Sloss-Sheffield Stee, and
 Iron company, relating to the charge tickets made out by Chisolm, would be admitted without testlfying, so these wit
 nesses were excused.
 l J. H. Wetmore, general bookkeeper of | the First National bank, was examined 1 briefly upon certain entries made in the 1 books of the bank
 ! H. B. Urquhart, former cashier of the 1 American Trust and Savings bank testi- | fled that he had signed the cashier s
 checks, drawn in favor of s. M. Web
 ster, one for s12,0O0, the other for $20,OoO
 Perey's Testimony Is Graphic.
 Walker Percy next took the stand and I related in detail all the facts relative
 to the shortage of Chisolm and the dra-
 matic manner in which the defendant was
 confronted with evidences of his guilt. MT. Percy's testimony was very graphic
 and in a loud clear tone, which held the
 attention of everyone in the room from
 beginning to end
 MT. Percy told how the dedication was | discovered and the gathering of the bank i directors In his office in the First Ma | tional Bank building at o'clock in the
 morning of August 1s. Here Chisom I came and was confronted by the bank of ficials, and MT. Percy said that he at l first denied his guilt, but when con- fronted with the evidence in the letters
 and the little memorandum book, which were found in his suit case he admitted l that he took the money. MT. Percy said
 that the examination of Chisolm on that morning consumed about four hours and | that defendant admitted that he had be- l gun his speculations upon his own money l but that he afterwards used the bank S
 money, and continuing to lose, had grown reckless and plunged heavily Witness said he asked defendant. Alex, how did | you keep the bank examiner from dscov- ] ering your shortage in htayr' He said | that Chisolm replied, "Oh, that's too easy l foolng the bank examiner" and then told 1 how he had made out the charge tick | cts" against big firms and covered up | his tracks the next day. During MT. 1 Percy's testimony, counsel for defense of l fered frequent objections, which were l generally overruled by the court, who told l Captain White that he should, however, I have the benefit of all his objections 1 throughout the case.
 | With MT. Percy's testimony the gov 1 ernment rested.
 Mother of Defendant Called. | Mrs Robert Chisolm, mother of the ac- ! cused was the first witness called by the ! defense. She testified that her son, the 1 defendant, was "A years old a' the time | of his arrest. She said that John Rut- | ledge, former chief justice of the United l States, was her great-great-g t-grandfather, l and that he died insane. He had a grand | son, she said who was insane, and had a l mania for blowing up houses. Witness | told of others of her family who were mentally affected.
 Testifyng as to her son, l1rs. Chsolm