The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-08-28
Slowly and Surely the Com
monWealth is Weaving
its Web.
SATURDAY WAS WORST
DAY ACCUSED HAS HAD
Dairyman Sydnor Confirmed
in His Evidence of Seeing
Beatte at Spot Early
in Evening

Slowly. surely, mercilessly. strand
/ ~ strand. the Commonwealth is
weaving its web around Henry Clay
Beattie, Jr
/ Notwithstanding untiring vigilance
Of able counsel, the electric chair
looms large on The horizon of the
f handsome youth who stands charged
with the murder Of his wife,
Seemingly conscious Of its strength
the prosecution is proceeding with
the greatest deliberations And strong
as Is some of the testimony already
aaGueed, there Is promise that even
/ stronger Is yet in store leaving out
of consideration the evidence of raui
Beattie and the mute but eloquent
/ testimony of one single-barrel gun
+ OF ancient pattern, the existence Of
which no amount of objection, or
legal lore or hair splitting can ex~
PLAIN away.
Bad Day for Bcattie
Saturday was the worst day the
accused has had, The testimony Of
/ Datryman Roland 81 iH0r, insofar as
II referred to seeing a man who lock-
I'd like Beattie with an automooils
like Beatties at the scene OF the
/ crime about $50 O'Clock on tn,
night of July Is, was generally sup
posed TO- be unsupported by other witt
mess. This was an important feature
II the case. The theory that the
accused had gone to the spot and
hid the gun at soma time prior 20
tn actual commission Of the crime
had been the theory Of Detective
ScEerer from the start SNdnor's tss-
timony upheld the theory in that II
located the accused at the scene OF
the crime more than two hours be-
fore its occurrence. But Sydnor wa.
but one man. So far as the public
knew, there was none to confirm his
story. whom, behold. another witness.
one who started late 70 that Bon
Air dance, which may have so 20
tent an influence In .tne trial Of this
case, comes into view
This witness was seventeen year-old
F. T.. Adams. of Richmond He left
Richmond for Bon Air in a taxicab
about $50 O'clock on the night of
the murder. At the scene of the
murder, at the very point where Mr.
Sydnor had seen the same man and
the same automobile n few minutes
| before, Mr.. Adams saw the automo-
bile standing in the road.
I lie would not swear to the man nor
10 the make Of the automobile but, as
confirmatory Of Mr.. Sydnor, his evil
dence was of unusual Importance.
+ A'f'1hI If4H = ~ IdtIAt, OUTSIDE or thai
of Mr.. Scherer, was almost wholly
confined 10 several of the Young men
who We're in the automobiles which
, made the trip to Bon Air on that
fateful night
Those who testified were L. *.
Moseley w, r. Sydnor, Roland Las
sitter, Il. J.. Zacharias. J. r. Paschau
and f. +. Adams
All bur the latter were In the two
q n ffgTV1 .f.a rg.s,
1880 O'Clock on the night of July
Is. The evidence of these Young
= men we're 10 the effect that shortly
before eleven O'clock they saw an
. automobile standing at the spot later
, SHOWN 10 nave been the scene of the
crime A man whom none OF the
boys would venture to describe stood
near the front of the machine, one OF
them SAYING that he seemed TO be
, peerlng under The front Of the car.
All Describe Mrs. Beattie
They all saw lady with a tan
, eolorets rain coat or automobile buster
around her standing on the left rum
; ming board Of the car.
one OF the automobiles slowed up
ana the other stopped To offer as
slstanee, supposing that the machine
was BROKEN down. but their offers
We're declined,
:
, Identified the automobile as the on,
, then standing on the court green
, w. X, Sydnor making oath to the
. tact that II was identical with tn.
. beattle machine and Roland Lassitel
having made the remark at the time
, he saw II on the night of the murder
, Ihere Is an old Buick IN trouble"
me attorneys for the defense en-,
, deavored TO shake the bows testt
nlyA
, had made the trip from Bon Air &c
richmond In record speed. one OF
the machines having covered the
distance In twenty-five minutes, ant
/ that. travelling a such speed, the,
, could not have recognized the ma,
chine However, the fact that bott
parties had either slowed down o,
come to, stop TO offer assistance
, eNeetuaHy defeated the attempt al
the defense to discredit their test.
mony in that fashion.
The gtst Of the testimony Of the
several young men of the party show.
ed that the machine they saw in the
road had no doors on it. Beattie':
had no doors.
That the machine was standing a.
the scene Of the murder when the,
passed. Eeattie's story was that the,
We're halted at the scene by a high.
wayman.
That as Poland Lassiter affirmed,
the machine he saw was a Buick
: Beattie's is one Of the few Bucks
in Richmond and vicinity
That the man they saw was then
, sttnding on the ground and the wo.
man, dressed in the tam colored gar.
ment' vas standing on the left run,
ming board of the machine.
Tho combined evidence of ths
, young men was of startling signtf
canoe and made a visible Impression
upon the jury The defense attempt.
cd 70 prejudice tho bury to some ex.
tent by closely questioning the wit
nesses as To their frequent confer
, ences with Special Agent Scherer. the
obvious inference being that their
marked agreement as to these dam
aging details was the result of such
conferences.