The Irish standard., 1911-09-09
FARM HAND WRITES THAT HE
SAW YOUNG WIFE KILLED
By HER HUSBAND,
SAYS HE WAS BRIBED TO LEAVE
Statement lmpresses Wendenberg-
BeuIah Binford Likely to Be
Charged With Being
Accessory.

against Henry Clay Beattie, Jr., which
may, at this last moment of the trial,
halt proceedings so that the sender OF
it may be produced before the court
to tell an alleged tirst-hand story OF
the crime.
For the writer (and from all indi.
cations he is no crank or notoriety
seeker) declares in his missive that
he actually saw the crime committed
by Henry Clay Beattie, Jr., and was
bribed. subsequently, by young Beat.
tie to keep silent and leave this part
of the country. He is being watched
by the authorities of the section to
which he fled, and will be brought here
at once.
Mr.. Wendenberg would not put the
exact wording OF the letter, but he
was willing to give the correspondent
it's contents summarized. In effect
the letter was as follows:
Abstract of Letter.
"On and before the night of Tues.
day, July IS. 1911, l worked as a
farm hand for Oh the Mid
lothian turnpike. That night when
was about to go to bed heard that
one of our COWS was missing, and
went to hunt for it in the woods along.
side the turnpike.
when ! got to the roadside
heard angry voices, ii man and a
woman We're talking. | got to place
where | could see them sitting in an
automobile that had stopped. Then
hid behind a tree. The man said.
I'm sick and tired of this sort of
thing. I'm going to put an end TO it,
THE woman pleaded with him. She
talked about how they had loved each
other and how happy they had been
together. She was begging for mercy.
But the man kept on being angry.
Finally she got mad, too, and said,
Well, how are you going TO end it?'
1.-THE man said, I'll show YOU He
got out of the machine and walked
to the side of the road. When he
started to come back he had gun in
his hand. The woman screamed in
fright and started to get out of the
machine from the left hand forward
scat. where she had been sitting dur
ing the argument.
"He hit her over the right side of
the head with the gun and she fell
into the road on her face.
THE man stood there for some time
looking at her. | was still behind the
tree. saw, and he saw, that she
gave a little movement of her body.
Then I heard him say, Damn you,
you're not dead yet; but I'll fix you
Then the man--he was young and
with clean-shaven face--pointed the
shot her
He stood for another moment
looking down at her body. Then I
got over my first scare and came out
from behind the tree. l walked up to
him and he said:
| "'Well, did you see this?'
Il told him | did. He said, What
the hell are you going to do about it,?
THE young man had gun and
was unarmed, and l told him | was
not going to do anything He threat
ened me for a time with his weapon.
Then he told me he was Henry Clay
Beattie, Jr., and said he had lots Of
money. and lots of friends with big
influence. If | should say anything
about this affair, he told me, people
would believe him and would say that
Ia poor farm hand-was liar. Aft
er little talk he told me to come to
his fathers store in South Richmond
the next day and see him.
II went there and he gave me
money. prosecutor Wendenberg said
that the letter named the exact
amount Of money! He bought me a
suit of clothes, too, and railroad
ticket
81 hung around Richmond and
South Richmond for couple of days
until heard they were going to ar.
rest Henry Clay Beattie, Jr, then |
went away. I didn't intend to tell
anybody about this, but my conscience
got to working and so | wrote you
this letter"
The first thing Prosecutor Wenden
berg did upon receiving this mssive
was to send out Detectives FARRELL
and Wiltshire to the farm of the man
for whom the writer worked on July
10. The farmer said: yes, ! had
man named -- working for me
He disappeared on July 10. The night
before had sent him out to look for
a lost COW and he never came back.
Not in "Bug" Class.
This statement, in Wendenberg's
opinion, positively removed the let
ter from the bug" class. Then the
prosecutor wired to the town from
which the letter was sent and in
CURED of the authorities if they knew
of man bearing the name signed
to the message. He got reply tina
such a man had recently come to thu
town. Thereupcn he telegraphed t,
the authorities to hold the strange
and also directed a firm Of attorney
in the town to examine him and i
his story was sane and plausible Il