The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-01-21
ATTORNEYS Tits
ENL|VEN HEARING
Court Compelled to Rap for
Order at Trial OF Mrs.
Schenk.
PROSECUTION SCORES
Effort Of Defense to Impcach
Testimony OF Nurse Ruled
Out.

Wheeling, W. Va. January 2o.-The
defense In the trial of Mrs Laura
Farnsworth Schcnl< to-day introduced
testimony to show that her husband
John c. Schenk. whom she is charged
with poisoning. had been i'll for long
time before the State alleges the wo-
man administered poison to HIM To
support this claim, the lawyers for
Mrs. Schenk put on the stand Charles
Hughes. a railroad man, and DR.. a. b
Best, the Schenk family physician.
The afternoon session OF the case
was enlivened by several tits between
the attorneys. The defense sought 10
put on the stand DR.. Robert l.. Sloppy.
| Of Pittsburg, to impeach the testimony
of Miss Eleanor zoecklcr. or Mrs.
Klein the detective nurse, who tcs-
tined for the State that she had been
offered $1,000 by Mrs. Schenk to ad
minister poison pill to her husband.
Evidence Ruled Out.
Attorney Boyce said that lie wished to
show by this witness that the detcc-
tive nurse was addicted TO the use OF
| morphine. The State objected and was
sustained. the court holding that this
is not proper contradictory evidence.
When the defense failed in this at
tempt. it put on the stand Charles b.
Hughes, a railroad man. who testified
that Ions before Mr.. Schenk's trip to
Europe he had told the witness that no
was suffering from nausea. vomiting
and abdominal Palms. the same symp-
toms the physicians for the State had
! testified that Schenk had been suffer
ing from when they attributed the
| cause as due to poisoning.
DR.. Best testified that he had treated
Schenk in September 1909, and also
had attended him on other occasions.
The doctor. answering the Hypothetical
question for the State. was of the opin
ion Regarding the symptoms described
that they were those of lead and arse
mic poisoning.
During the whole morning and part
of the afternoon DR.. j. j. Osborn the
first witness for tho defense. was under
the fire of cross examination. The tes-
timonv was chiefly In reference to the
witness experience in lead and arsenic
poisoning aud the prosecutor succeed
cd IN bringing out that from the symp-
toms as told by the physicians who at
tended aIr. Schenk IN tile early part
of his last Illness lead and arsenic
poisoning was Indicated.
Sensational Scenca.
Sensational scenes between the attor-
neys marked the first night session of
tho trial rho defense introduced Wit
neSScS to impcach the truth and vcrac-
ity of Dr. j. W. Myers. who tcstifZi
, FOR the State that Mrs. Schenk had pro
cured sugar of lead from him. and who
also stated that he refused to sell
Fowlcr's solution of arsenic when shd
applied to him for the poison. The
States attorney protested against q
number of questions and their form, and
this brought on lively Tits between
the attorneys on several occasions. II
was necessary for the court TO rap hard
Will! his Eavel numerous times to quiet
down the lawyers and the crowds In the
courtroom.
1t has been decided by the defense
that 1t will not place Mrs 'Schenk on
the stand. The court has asked for the
instructions from tho lawyers for to-
| morrow, but 1t is likely that they viii
not be ready. The lawyers for Mrs
Schenk say they may be able to con-
ciudc their side OF the case by Satur-
day.
4, IrI,. n,