The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-10-08

mony in a case for murder.
Mr.. Shafer had spoken for one
hour and thirty-four minutes, and
closed at 1924. n defense was
dressed by Mr.. T. T. Hicks, Of Hen
derson.
Counsel Hicks For The Defense.
Mr.. T. T. Hicks in opening dis
cussed the matter Of law being su-
preme and king and then proceeded
TO the question Of showing that
Strange's death was from a natural
cause and not from poison, as It was
from heart disease, Of which occurs
one death out OF every ten in North
Carolina. and that the evidence
showed clearly hat his caused the
death of Strange, the letter of his sis
ter telling that he had heart disease.
as did the testimony and prescription
of the Memphis, Tenn, physician. The
CINE finally Overtaxed the diseased
heart and doing extra work after an
attack IT brought death.
AS to aoonitine, ma held tLat its use
vas for good. as was used s~trychnine,
morphine and other poisons. and that
Or. Rowland had used 1t in other
cases. a matter that needed no ex-
PLANTATION, as Strange died of heart
disease. The circumstances are ac-
hIlO WleOBeu by the SUIT 10 Dt pSCd-
liar and mysterious, and there is tes-
timony that they are ambiguous, The
| just conclusion is that the death was
from a natural cause. and that DIR.
Rowland bought aconitine to treat the
case of Mr.. Joe Correil. If Rowland
had not married Mrs. Strange he
would not have been accused Of muir
der, but marrying is not murder, and
this is not a case of murder, but a nat
ural death in which no trace of poison
was found, and to which no testimony
points.
Mr. Hicks urged that there was
nothing in the case, that the visits of
DR.. Rowland in the section where
lived Mrs. Strange were to see his pa
tients, hat she went to the skating
rink and not to RoWland's office, that
Dr.. Rowland bought aconitine to cure
the sick. As to the charge that the
night before their marriage they used
one bed room at the hotel in Norfolk
he turned and said to DIR. Rowland
that he congratulated him that he
had been smart enough to save the
cost of two rooms by using one as
he was to be married so soon. and
any way that marriage is a matter Of
consent and agreement between a
couple, publicly announced and cer-
tilted to in order to protect society.
Mr.. Hicks closed his remark at
three minutes TO twelve o'clock, and
a spoken for an hour and twenty
three minutes. Judge Long gave the
jury a breathing spell Of ten minutes
for a walk, and at ten minutes past
twelve Mr.. Walter L. Watson began
his argument for the defense.
MIR. Walter l.. Watson For Defense.
Mr.. Watson first argued as to the
necessity of the State to absolutely
prove guilt. as the law regards all as
1nnoceDt till they are proven guilty,
the presumption always being OF in
noceace. AS to circumstantial evil
dence every link must be there and
the whole chain must be such as to
convince that the defendants are
guilty, this without or beyond a rea-
sonable doubt. In this matter the
State has failed entirely to make out
its case, and every reasonable con-
struction will show these defendants
to be innocent.
The corpus deficit must be proved
without a reasonable doubt, and the
State cannot do this, it cannot prove
that it was By unlawful means, or that
the death was caused by these de-
PENDANTS. Not only, however, have
we shown the State to be wrong, but
the innocence of the defendants. Every
circumstance that has been set out,
even if true, would only prove i'm
proper conduct. Evidence shows DR..
Rowland was not with Mrs. Strange
in the surf at Oceon View. that she
was not in DR.. Rowland's office here.
that DR.. Rowland was not slipping
around Mrs. Strange's house. but was
going to the homes of patients. that
she was not calling him over the
phone, that Strange was not poisoned,
that death was from heart disease.
and that all this has come from
scandal mongers and is lot based
upon the facts. The strongest evil
dence that Strange was not poisoned
and hat there was no improper con-
duct between DR.. Rowland and Mrs.
Strange is that they married. for if
she knew that Rowland had poisoned
Strange she would have been afraid
to marry hi.n and if she had been
improper in her conduct with him
DR.. Rowland would never have mar
ried her. In a brief ,eview of every
circumstance cited against the defend
ants he declared these meant moth
Ing. and closed his argument at q. few
minute before one o'clock, having
spoken for 1orty-eight minutes.
AT one o'clock the cour took a re-
cess until twenty minutes past two
O'Clock at which time the session was
resumed.
Solicitor Jones for State.
Solicitor Armistead Jones addressed
the jury for the State after the court
resumed It's SlttIngs, and early in his
remark stated that as the Solicitor he
was responsible for the Investigation
into the death Of Charles r. TRANCE
winch took place on the sixth of April
OF this year. and in view of the re-
ports OF foul play that he had the
coroner to investigate the matter and
the findings for murder followed.
Then the Solicitor began with the
testimony Of the first meeting OF DR..
Rowlnad and Mrs. Strange in the surf
at Ocean View in August 1905. 1t is
not alleged that this was in August
1906 as the defense would have l.
seem from the prescriptions OF DR..
Rowland at the Johnson Drug Store
in Augusf 1906. traced it through the
phone calls to Rowland of Mrs.
Strange, the meetings of these on the
streets. the going towards RowlaDd's
office Though side streets and alley
way, the visit to it when Mrs. AIRING
ton saw her, the death of strange. tie
funeral. the tri9 to Norfolk and the
marriage.
Solicitor Jones said that he uisiiket
t. have to speak of anyone. blt he
the jury had heard the testimony If
Mrs. Eidridge Smith and the best th1+
could be said of it was that the lady
MaS mistaken as to her. VT 20 II,
ROWland'S office. thai she Nal nail