The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1908-05-12
p,ssENsloN BETWEEN COUNTY
AND CITY OFFICIALS.
WILL SLUlCE THE ASHES
More Evidence That Body Found Was.
That Of Mrs. aunness-Buekls Of
Money Belt Woman Was Known 70
Wear Found in Ruins.

sions which have been brewing among
the officials Of the city and county Of
Laporte interested in the solving OF
the mysteries Of the Guinness farm
broke out today. It Is openly charged
that the political Affiliations Of some
of the men concerned had much to do
with their attitude toward the labors
Of the sheriff and the prosecuting at
torney, and a fractional fight in the
party to which the latter belongs Is
blamed also. 81
The widespread reports that evil
dence had been found tending to.
prove that the corpse supposed to be
that Of Mrs. Bella Guinness IL In real
ity the body Of another woman are
said to have had their origin In the
camp of the defense. the members Of
which are Of opposite political faith
to the sheriff and the faction opposing
the prosecutor.
Denies Making Statement.
These reports had their origin in q
statement said to have been given
out by DR.. H. H. Long, a former cor
oner, and n Of the four physicians
who performed. the '%autopsies on the
bodies found in the ruins Of the Cum
ness home. DR.. Long. however. said
today that he had not issued such a
statement, but had merely expressed
d personal opinion that he was not
satisfied as to the identity of tbs
&C rpse in question.
Two other members OF the board re-
fused C be drawn into the contro-
versy. but DR. ]. H. William Meyer.
the fourth member, said that he had
no doubt but what the corpse. was that
Of Mrs. Guinness. He, too, declined to
reveal the findings Of the physicians.
The attitude OF the coroner as between
the two factions has not become mani.
fest. At the prosecuting attorneys
Office, however, 1t was asserted that
DR.. Hack, the coroner, had changed
the first report as to the identity Of
the Guinness body and an inspection
Of the documents showed this to be
the case. All four doctors were unani-
nous as to the facts and conditions
surrounding the bodies taken from
the Guinness home.
Body Was That Of Mrs. Guinness.
"There was absolutely NO difference
among US" said one of the doctors,
and this was confirmed by the other
members Of the board. There Is alb
~solutely no indication inst the skull Of
any of the bodies Of this three chill
dren bore penetrating wounds. II
has been asserted that fractures caus-
ed by some, blunt instrument had
been found on these skulls. Neither
was there any kind Of brain hemor-
rhages. and the heart and lungs Of at
least two Of the children revealed the
same conditions found IN these organs
in the body Of their mother. The
hearts were all dilated and full Of
clots and the lungs had collapsed.
This condition is found in the case Of
persons who have died from sd6oca-
ton. and the circumstance is taken
as another evidence that the theory
regarding Mrs. Guinness having Gre
mated her children, substituted an
other woman's body for her own and
then escaped after setting fire to the
house is not tenable.
Heat Made II. Look Smaller.
One of the alleged circumstances
upon which that theory is based is the
fact that the body Of the woman is
much smaller than Mrs. Guinness was.
The intense heat to which the corpses
were subjected, according to DR.. Myer,
would. however, have fully accounted
for this circumstance.
Mrs. Guinness was an abnormally
large woman in every particular.
When the corpse was cut open .
layer OF fat two inches thick still ex-
listed over the abdomen.
Still further evidence that the body
was that Of Mrs. Guinness was found
in the fact that the remains Of q
finger ring which IL known to have
worn were found in the ashes several
days later. The buckle Of . money
belt such as the woman Is known to
have used vas also picked up, and
later a key which corresponds to the
lock on her safety deposit box was dis
covered in the basement.
No More Bodies Found.
For the first time since Sheriff
Shutter began work on the farm he
failed today to discover at least one
additional body. Excavations were
made at several points IN the barn
yard, but in none Of them was there
indications Of human bones or aesh.
The search for bodies Is to be aban-
doned for q few days. the sheriff an
nouncing that he will endeavor to se-
U.s. 49,