The morning journal-courier., 1908-03-14

cepting for a light covering of dried leaves, and 1t was in this open space, at distance of about tWenty-one feet from the rear door in southeasterly direction. that the revolver was found.
 Any boy who has taken an article which is heavier at one end than the other and thrown it for a distance of twenty odd feet through the air, knows that it will travel, after it leaves the hand, heavy end first and when it strikes the ground will strike heavy end first. However, this pistol which is much heavier at the butt than at the muzzle, was found with the muzzle to the southeast and the butt pointing directly toward the rear door, from which, in accordance with Coro- ner MiXs theory of suicide, as l un- derstand it, MT. Edwards must have thrown it-also when found there was dirt in the muzzle and in the cham bers on the side nearest the ground. indicating that the pistol had been pushed under the leaves, muZzle first, and not that it had fallen. Again the rust on the pistol was principally on the lower side as 1t was found lying on the ground, there being only slight amount on the upper side. Had this pistol lain there from the morn- ing of the Sd, when the body was found, until the morning of the 9th, when the pistol was finally discovered, under the weather conditions which prevailed for those days, during which it is shown by the records of the Weather Bureau in New Haven that there was in the neighborhood of nine- teen and half hours intermittent rain, one would naturally expect the great CT quantity of rust to be on the upper surface. However, had the pistol been pushed under the leaves after the worst of the rain had passed, it would naturally have rusted more extensively on the side next the wet ground.
 Dr. Wolff Placed in Wrong Light.
 At no place in his opinion does Doc tor Wolff in any way intimate that it is possible to distinguish the blood of one person from another as Dr. Bart lett is made to say in your report of his interview that "Dr. WoIffs report would seem to intimate" On the con- trary Dr. Wolff has repeatedly stated to me that 1t was impossible to do so.
 have tried to marshal the facts in this case as I know them, leaving the weaving of those facts into theory to those who may read. However, there are certain features of the suicide the- ory which to my mind seem to make it impossible For instance, you report Doctor Bartlett as saying in effect that Mir. Edwards must have walked up the blood-stained rear stairs, along the hall, up a second flight of stairs, wash ed his hands and gone to bed, and this with wound in the left ear which was dripping blood. Why then is there no mark of blood on the left shoulder of either the underwear or the body. and why is 1t that the blood follows the natural course leading from the ear | to the front of the chest as the body is found lying in bed and does not run down irregularly as you would expect | II llt Hldi lidb bttfi WdlhlllS u or even partially upright and stagger- 1 ing upstairs? Next, how were the 1 bloodsmears made on the wainscotting of the lower back stair leading to the dining room? Why are they less dis tinct near the foot of the stairs than they are near the top, and how, If they were made from the top of the stairs downward (and I have heard no one who has made or professes to have made any careful study of these bloodstains question Doctor Wolff's conclusion in this rcspect) could Mir. Edwards have made them while going upstairs? Again, if he did make them, how could he have made them from any blood which appears upon his right side, unless as Doctor Bartlett is made to suggest in your report of his interview, he washed his hands after reaching his room? We must remem- Der that there was only one drop of blood on the right hand, and we have Doctor Bartletts word for the fact that it gave no appearance of having been rubbed, and no traces of blood at other points on the hand were discovered Does not this in itself call for some other explanation of these bloodstains 1 and the method by which they were made, even if Doctor Phelps opinion l is not conclusive. How again could the finger print on the heading of the cas- ing of the door from the front hall in- to the library have been made? Had 1t been made by a man passing from the head of those rear stairs through the library to the front hall. it would have been an impression of the palm of his hand and not his finger tip in going through, while, If made by a man passing in the opposite direction
 it is easily explainable? Why, if MT
 Edwards is the one who left the blood stains, did he stop to unlock the iron, door. leaving a bloodstain that from its appearance must have been made by a finger tip. although there is nc blood found at that point on his hand
 Taking into consideration these few details, together with the opinion of Doctor Phelps, one is forced to the conclusion that in attempting to sus. tain the coroner's suicide theory, it is necessary to do so entirely on remote possibilities, to state it mildly, while in such case it is necessary to base any theory which is indulged in upon the reasonable probabilities deducible from the facts which are at hand as a foundation for the theory.
 The Wash Bowl.
 I notice in your report of Doctor Bartletts statement that he speaks of wash bowl containing either tobacco or bloodstains. It would be Interesting to know if the authorities ever took steps to ascertain which these stains were. blood or tobacco. If tobacco. they would again negative the suicide tlle- ory since Mir Edwards used tobacco | ia no form whatever