The Cairo bulletin., 1911-01-30

this Is not c0NSlueTeu upsoiuNtif hVNNS'
sary to swing the accused.
II work largely for attorneys. Bates,
Wakeley & Scrimser have given me
lot of work to do, and have fur
nished them with facts that have
enabled them to win a number Of
cases. They are criminal lawyers, and
most of the evidence | have given
them has been used. am happy to
say, to secure the acquittal Of persons
accused Of crime. | don't know any
thing that gives me more satisfaction
than saving an innocent person from
punishment.
zone day Mr.. scrimser sent for ma
and said
1--WE have been retained to defend
Mrs. Edith Townsend, charged with
poisoning her husband. a man she was
induced by her parents to marry when
she was eighteen years old. Townsend
was very rich and miser. His wife.
who Is only twenty four years old. Is
a beautiful woman. At the time Of
her marriage she had been engaged to
young man not able to support her.
and she loved him instead OF her hGs-
band Her husbands relatives, who
would like to secure his property. have
worked up the case against her. a
note she wrote the man she had been
engaged to, Horace Truesdale, telling
him she would not see him SO long as
her husband lived, is all the evidence
they have been able TO adduce to
prove her intimacy with him during
her married life. But they have
proved that on one occasion IL month
previous to her husbands death SHE
bought drug that was found upon
analysis in her husbands stomach
She said that when she bought this
drug her husband sent her for
prescription the nature OF which she
knew nothing. believe that be
was taking drug for slimulGnt and
that It eventually killed him. Here is
the technical name for it, He gave
me a slip Of paper I wish you to dis
cover II he was not in the habit Of
buying IT, Remember that u woman's
good name, perhaps her life. depends
upon your efforts.
IL went at the matter systematically.
first procuring a list of the drug stores
within reach Of Mr. Townsends resi-
denee. He had lived in his country
place surrounded by villages in which
there We're drug stores. II he wished
to conceal the fact of his purchases he
had only to drive to one OF these towns
sufficiently distant that he should not
be known there, buy his drug and car
rs 1t home himself Though 1t was Il
poison when taken in large quantities.
1t was prescribed by physicians. and
an order for 1t was not In all cases es-
sential.
Il visited every drug store within q
radius Of twenty miles from his home
and talked With every proprietor and
clerk In all Of them. Not one of them
could remember any person answering
to my description of Dir. Townsend,
and all declared that no such person
had ever To their knowledge visited
their store | hit upon the place where
his wife had bought the poison she
was charged with having procured,
but this had all been worked up by
another detective.
II went to Mr., scrlmser and re-
ported my failure.
"'Try the wholesale druggists, he
said.
"'N'hy should the man have bought
the drug at wholesaler I asked.
"'He was mean enough to buy his
table salt Mt Wholesale he replied.
ITO make search of the wholesale
drug stores was quite another PROPOSE
ton. 1t was equivalent to a hunt IN
every wholesale drug house In the
United States, and Mr.. Townsend
might have bought the drug IN Can
ada. Indeed. II be wished TO conceal
his purchases Canada would be tho
better field. first looked into the ex-
press offices in the places where pack
ages might have been delivered TO him.
NUtHliiB scul I'LL Lhut NoAiiA Aia' N pNFSi
a drug appeared on the books Of the
express companies, nor was any such
receipt on file.
'sThe only hope left for Mrs. Town
send was that her husband had or.
dered the drug sent by mall. ! pro
cured list Of all the wholesale drug
houses In the United States and Can
ada and sent letter to each asking If
they had ever filled orders for the drug
found in his stomach, giving also the
reason why ! wished to know 1t was
nm enormous work for fhem to hunt
the matter up, but since a life might
hang upon their etfo-s nearly I'LL re-
/ piled that they would make il thorough
| search.
do you know that three different
drug houses, two in the United Suites
and one In Canada, wrote me that on
several occasions they had sent Tow.i.
send pound packages OF the drug III
question
"That settled the matter. Mrs Town
send was discharged"