The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-11-12
Denies Under Oath Story
Printed Here That
He Lied at Trial.
DID NOT SEE ANY
NOTARY PUBLIC
Witness Against Wife Murderer
Claims That Washington De-
tectives Undertook to Trap
/. Him While Pretending to
Give Him Work-Asked
to Sign Letter.

Accompanied BY his wife. Paul D.
Bea;ttc. cousin of Henry Clay Beattie,
Sr.. and principal witness against him
in his trial for wife murder. went TO
police headquarters yesterday after
noon Immediately after readi:-s in an
afternoon paper an account o; an al
legged confession made by him. and
there. before Magistrate j. A. Purdie,
notary public, took oath that the Gve
statements. all parts OF the alleged
confession. were absolutely untrue and
without a particle of foundation in fact.
Paul Bchttic's Amdavit
In the presence of Captain Mcmahon
Detective sergcant Keilam, his wife and
newspaper man. Paul Beattie swore
20 and signed the following paper:
~ Paul BcnttIe, do hereby soiemnly
svear and declare that on nccouut of
The Issue of the Richmond Evening
Journal, of this date, pertaining to nj
legged statements made by me in Wash
lnEt"n' ID. C., at once came to police
Headquarters for the purpose Of cor
rectins these alleged statements, which
arc, EotL>c:
"uD lie did not give the shotRun 10
Henry on Saturday night before the
murder
"t:D He PnuD had the gun In his
poHEession from twelve 10 eighteen
hourx after he claimed TO hive given
u to his cousin
"t3) 'iie was In tho cement house at
the bridge With the shotgun the sum
day before the murder
40 Henry made no confession to
aim and did not say, az uish TO God
hadn't done it."'
"tSJ lie wa. led to testify as he did
nciore the coroner md mt the trial
because he feared prosecutions
"And hereby soiemniy swear that
such statement" were never made by
NC 10 amy ono, much less TO n notary
public, ms stated Tn this issue of tn.
Richmond Evening journal.
fsigned) 'PAuL d. BEATTIE.
"subncribcd and aworn TO before me
this nth day of November. 1911.
tsiEned) -. A. PURDIE,
ANotnry public in and for the city of
Richmond, W."
Handled by Stranserp.
Immediately after signing this pa
per, Paul Beattie signed his name TO
statement nc had given TO Captain
McMahon several days ago. This state
ment was In connection with trans
actions Beattie had had in Washington
with several men who represented
themselves to be agents OF a type
writer company. and who offered him
a u
salary of S35 week and expenses.
Beattie was with this man In Wash.
fnSton for nino days. He was never
employed by the typewriter company,
received no position whatever, though
no tried at several other places 10
get employment. and returned 10 his
wife and child in Richmond
Beattie first met one of these repre-
sentatives OF the typewriter company
Richmond a toll,
phone message to call at Murphy's
Hotel. There he was offered employ
ment. and consented to go to Washing
ton. In Washington he met several
other men. and was taken TO a place
where several typewrlting machines
were shown him. He was Informed,
he says. that the company was to open
branch ONCE in Washington. and that
he was to be placed in charge.
Asked to Write BcattIc, sr.
lie waited-waited for nine days,
and then. he alleges, inducements
We're made to him to sign a 'sympa-
thetlc" letter to Henry Clay Beattie,
ST.. father of tho convicted man. He
was Informed, he says. that It would
result TO his financial betterment to
Sign the letter.
Chief among the statements made in
this letter was that he was armed with
q gun on Mayo's Bridge on the Sunday
preceding the murder. He refused at
hrSt to make such statement, but was
told that IT was meant to show only
that he was armed with a pistol. The
letter was signed and dispatched, and
was, It Is stated, afterwards received
by Mr.. Beattie.
Captain Mcmahon was Informed sew
eral days ago of this letter, and had
interviewed Paul and got from him a
statement in regard to the communica-
tion. At that time 1t was alleged that
an attempt had been made to blackmnil
Mr.. Beatte. and Captain Mcmahon i'm
mediately made an investigation. He
interviewed Harry NJ. Smith, Jr.. at
torney for Henry Clay Beattfe. Ir.. in
the latter's trial for murder and was
informed that no complaint had been
registered and that there were no
grounds on which TO take action.
AS to the alleged confession. Paul
Beattie denies 1t In its entirety and
declares that he never saw notary
public while in Washington.
Snys He Was Doped.
Paul Beatue told q reporter for The
4imes-Dispatch last night that the
three men who claimed to be type
writer agents were confidence men, who
sent for him Immediately after the
State Fair and took him to Washington.
He related how they had framed" up
blackmail scheme and forced him to
sign paper the nature OF which he
does not know. When he got away
from them and returned to Richmond
he said he went to see Chief OF Datec-
fives Mcmahon and informed him of