Semi-weekly herald., 1910-12-29
TELEGRAPHIC NEWS

TELEGRAPhlC NEWS
LOS ANGELES, Cal. Dec. 26.-The
L1ewellyn iron works was partially
wrecked by an explosion. presumably
OF dynamite. early this morning. The
force of the explosion tore out the
dows more than a block distant, and
awakened people in the residence dis
tricts more than two miles away A
night watchman was injured. The po-
lice have no clew to the perpetrators
of the deed.
HARRISBURG. Pa, Dec. 26.-The
advance guard of a large army of
teachers who will hold possession of
the capital this week has arrived in
readiness for the opening of the an
pnal convention of the PENNSYLVANIA
State Educational association and its
several affiliated bodies This morn.
ing the high school department met
and discussed college entrance require
ments. The general sessions and the
meetings Of other departments will
begin tomorrow. The proposed new
school code will be one of the princi
pal subjects discussed by the conven
ton. Prominent educators from all
sections of Pennsylvania and from sew
eral other states will be included
among the speakers.
LUNENBURG. Vt. Dec 26.-With
the approach of the time for the trial
of Mrs. ]. Marshall Dodge, this towns
wealthiest woman, who is charged
with the murder of William Heath. a
painter, who was shot and killed while
at work in an upper room of Mrs
Dodges residence, early In Septem.
ber, the interest in this mysterious
case is steadily increasing. The trial
is to come up week after next, and
IN the meantime, Mrs. Dodge is at lib.
erty, under $4,000 bail.
This case, apparently simple and
devoid of sensational complications,
has baffled the authorities, the law
yers and detectives more than any
case in the history of criminal cases
in this state and 1t would cause the
most general surprise, should either
the prosecution or the defense sue
ceed, in the course of the trial. to
solve the mystery surrounding the
death of William Heath.
All the men at the disposal of the
attorney general of this state have
been at work for several months, faith
ering evidence and preparing the case
for the state. The case of the gov
ornment is believed to be extremely
weak. as there were no witnesses to
tn crime and. in spite of the most
diligent search, the prosecution Is said
to have found nothing that could be
construed as motive for the deed.
The known facts in the case can
be summed up In few words. One
day in the early part of September,
William Heath, painter, who had pre-
viously worked for Mrs. Dodge, was
engaged in painting the woodwork in
one of the upper rooms of Mrs. Dodge's
residence. While STOPPING over his
work, Heath was killed by three shots
from a revolver which belonged to
Mrs. Dodge. No one could be found
who was in the house at the time when
Heath met his death, except the own
Ell. Mrs. Dodge herself gave the alarm
to the neighbors, saying that Heath
had committed suicide. She was ar
rested and charged with the murder
of Heath.
According to Mrs. Dodge's story at
the reliminary hearing, she was at
work ironing in her kitchen, when
she heard the shots. She admitted
that the revolver, from which the
fatal shots had been fired, was her
property and mad formerly belonged
to her husband, but asserted that she
had not touched the weapon since her
husbands death and had not even
known that it was loaded.
The utter lack of a motive seems
to be the weak point of the theory
that Mrs. Dodge committed the deed
with which she is charged. The de-
fendant is by far the wealthiest and
socially most prominent women in
this town. There has never been
breath of suspicion concerning her
character, there seems to have been
nothing in her previous career that
even family suggested scandal or any
entangement Mrs. Dodge was not
only prominent in society, but also IN
church work and enjoyed an excellent
reputation On the other hand, Heath
the victim of the murder, was hard
working, sober and industrious work
man, quiet and inoffensive, without
the slightest suspicion against his mo
raj character or his honesty. He was