The Washington herald., 1911-09-02

Chesterfield Court House. Sept. I'm!
the Beattie trial to-day the prisoner
brother Douglas took the stand at lO:o0
his morning.
Taller and heavier by many pounds
han his three-year-younger brother
DOUGLAS first told of the members of
The household in which he and Henry
lad lived up to the time of the murder.
Both Henry and his wife were per
:ectly happy" he said. Henry kissed
mis- wife when greeting or parting.
never saw the slightest lack of harmony
between them in their married life.
II first heard of the trouble through
Or. Mercer, and l gathered from MIN
that Henry had been shot
MY father and l went to Tom owen
house with a bottle of whisky that had
,een telephoned for Henry was in
-oom to the right Of the hall. My father
and sister went in first. When l entered,
Henry was crying and sobbing and
Wrinkfng one of Louise's shoes in his
rand 1t was too much for me, and
got out.
Saw Blood on Seat.
Il didn't examine the automobile until
I was asked to run it up the road to
aunt the gun. There vas cover on the
eft seat. sat on it, and got my clothes
'ulI of blood. There was no cover or
blood on the right, the chaufteur's seat"
The witness said that the next morn
ng he saw traces of considerable blood
on the running board of the car. but that
traces IF it had been partially obliter-
ated by the hard service the car had
1ad the night before.
Attorney Smith thereupon asked the
court to allow his witness to examine
he Beattie automobile. The court grant
ID the request.
Douglas Beattie had testified that
when he raised the cushion on the left
'front.' seat in the car, he had found the
compartment underneath full of blood,
and the purpose of permitting the de-
lenses witness to examine it was to try
% substantiate its contention that Mrs
8eattie was killed in the car. At this
ooint the defense asked the court for
permission for Attorney Smith to go to
the telephone. stating it had suddenly
received information having vital bear
ng on the case, and that ii probably
would he necessary Immediately to sum-
mon another witness. The request was
rranted, and there was a temporary IN
eruption in the court proceedings.
Resumes, His story.
When court was again called TO order
filter a forty-five minutes recess, At
torney Smith told the court he had been
endeavoring to get his Richmond office
on the telephone and had been busy
every minute of the time
Douglas Beattie resumed the chair,
continuing his story of the hard usage
to which Henry's automobile had been
put on the night Of the crime.
He told of finding a hat on the Mid
lothian turnpike while hunting for a gun
in the road that same night. taxi
Sab with a number of boys who had been
to a dance at Ben Air followed them.
We ran directly through the blood
spots and then stopped" he said. Cor
oner Loving had previously ran through
It in his car"
The day following the murder, heard
my brother Henry say to J. c. Talley
that he had sounded his automobile horn
and 'hollered' for help after the shot was
Hred.
''TaIley replied he had heard the shot,
shouts, and automobile horn. but paid no
attention to it because so many 'niggers'
we're always using that road and getting
nto trouble"
This was in direct refutation of Tai
ley's testimony, which yesterday was i'm
0eached by several witnesses for the de-
tense to the effect that he had heard only
Womans scream and a shot while sit
ling on the back porch of his home with
n 800 feet Of the crime on the fatal night.
Did you have a pistol"
Yes; 1 kept one in the desk in my
room and Henry had access to it, as he
had been occupying my room.
CrOss-examinatIOn Begins.
The witness was then turned over to
the State.
Attorney Smith left the court room
again in an endeavOr to get the mysteri-
GUS witness into court, while the cross
examination proceeded.
The witness made one bad slip. which
was seized upon Immediately by Attor-
ney Wendenberg. He had been telling
Of having the blood washed off the left
fore seat Of the car. and was asked why
he hadn't had the right or chauffeur S
seat washed.
Because I didn't have time. and
didn't know the car was going to be
taken into custody. If had the car
wouldn't have made more than one
trip"
What do you mean by 1hat?" snapped
up Wendenberg.
For the first time the witness was nom
Plussed, and finally had to be admonish-
ed by the court to answer.
We'll, l wouldn't have permitted the
car to be placed in position around the
blood stain by Scherer."
Would Have Destroyed Evidence.
Would you have destroyed what look
ed like evidence against your brother -
Il certainly would have"
Did you carry a message at the coro-
ner's inquest from Henry to Beulah Bin
ford?"