The Washington herald., 1911-09-05
BEATTIE WEAKENS
UNDER GRILLING
Continued from Page One.


Also, the defendant skilfully denounced
Beulah Binford at every possible op-
portuntiy; swore that he never loved
her; went out of his way whenever he
had a chance to say: She was a common
woman: she lived in a common house"
This was to forestaI anything. she may
say II she is put upon the stand.
But the alert prosecutor was quicker
to realize this, and his first counter
play was to find just a single break. a
single lie, that he might point out to the
jury, so that he might call into play the
legal maxiom 'falsus in unum, falsus in
omnibus" and declare that a man who
lied at one point would lie in everything.
He may or may not have got what
he wanted in Henry's denial that he
met Paul on the Thursday night before
the crime, or in Henry's broken story
Of how his wife fell after the alleged
shot Of the highwayman. II neither of
those grains were SUFFICIENT, wenden-
berg may get others, for he announced
at the closing time tonight that he was
only half through.
Chesterfield County and Richmond
City, idle because of the legal holiday
made grand big picnic of the trial
Men and women by hundreds. carrying
lunches, cameras, and camp stools and
soap boxes, whereby they might raise
themselves to the level of one of the
windows of the dollhouse court building
began to swarm upon the place as early
as o'clock, though court did not con-
vene until 1890 o'clock.
Every automobile in the city, every
hack for hire in the country, was char
tered. Many walked the five miles from
the nearest railroad station, Centralia.
After the court room was filled, places
were literally fought for at the windows
and in the OLD oak and sycamore trees
that give view into the little room.
The young defendant has to walk the
fifty yards from the Jail to the court
house through more than 500 gaping
curiosity seekers. who formed for him
narrow human line. He gazed neither
10 right nor to left, but marched along
with his shoulders back and his head
held high. He was dressed scrupulously
in a blue serge suit and a white silk
tie, ornamented with a green jade pin.
Beattie shows Nervousness.
He was very pale and his face
tWitched nervously. Only by the great
est effort did he hold himself together
His father and brother patted him on
the back as he sat down beside his
lawyer
was called as the first witness. He con-
tradicted a statement made by Paul
Beattie, his nephew. to the effect that
old Mr.. Beattie, on the night after the
tragedy, indicated to Paul that he feared
Henry, Jr.. might be arrested.
Then James Paschall one of the young
society boys who had testified that they
saw a halted car on the Midlothian turn
pike containing a man and woman, was
Id
license was D11. This is the number OF
one Kastleberg, whose car, he said. with
woman in il, might have been mis-
taken for Beattie's.
Just at 10:45 o'clock came the long
waited call
Henry Clay Beattie, jr.. take the
stand"
fumbled with a handkerchief between
both hands, and in rapid. jerky voice
told his full name, age, occupation, and
other routine matters. He did not gaze
directly at the jury, but mostly out the
window at a tree whose every limb was
black with spectators.
The. first important question was:
Were you ever an intimate of your
cousin, Paul Beattie?''
No, sir; the only times I've seen him
in the last year or so was when he came
to the store to get money, and then he
was always watched
Neither you nor your father placed
any trust in him.
No, sir"
The line of questioning was then
a abruptly switched.
BeuIah'a Name Brought In.
The name of Beulah Binford began to
igure Incidentally the 100 or so women
In the court room that surrounded
the defendant began to scramble for
seats. Several of these seats, which were |
made of boxes, broke down. The women |
1T must be said in justice to the State |
were not Virginia ladies'"
Il first met Beulah Binford in August |
1907" said Beattie. 1T was in my ma
CLINE with five other fellows. She and !
another girl hollered to us on Broad /
street, and asked for a ride. Four of |
the fellows got out. and the two girls |
got in. We went for a ride out in the |
Here young Beattie made a voluntary |
thrust at the girl for love of whom,
the State charges he killed his wife |
One of the fellows warned me against |
her at the time-told me she was a bad |
and common girl, and was running |
around town with anybody"
The boy was nervous. He constantly |
His voice was a bit higher than normal |
and somewhat shaky. Between answers
he displaced that convulsive gulping in
the throat which has been his chief sign |
Of emotion.
His relations with Beulah, he went
on, began almost at once, and lasted |
until she and her mother went to Wash
ngton a year later. Then her mother
wrote to him and declared he was the
father of her child.
Il guess they thought they could get |
more from me than any one else" he
II refused to give them
anything. But they got a Richmond
awyer after me, and there was moth
ng to do but to cough up the money"
He smiled wanly and volunteered, 'I
was the laughing-stock of the town. 1
knew I was not responsible for what
they said, and the boys guyed me for
having coughed up"
At this point he seemed to take a grip
on himself. His voice went down to
normal. and he stopped playing with his
handkerchief. He was asked:
How did you regard Beulah Binford? 81
Regarded Her aa PIaythInE.
Like any man regards a girl OF her
,lass-as a plaything." was his quick
'eply. Il never had any real honest love
or her. She knew that. She did not