The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1922-11-19

experts solemnly averred, might have
come from COW.
| The Circumstances That
Caused Daughters Arrest
There never was any sort Of conclusive
evidence against Lizzie Borden There
was circumstantial evidence amount
/ ing 70 this: She had not been on very
] good terms with her stepn1other; she
was in the house when the murders
were committed: no stranger. so far AS
anybody knew, was in the house; she
| was unable to tell who sent the note
which she believed had taken her
mother from the house on a sick call
and the sender thereof never made
himself known; Morse. the uncle, had
a perfect abb; Bridget, faithful fam
! lily servant of the old fashioned sort,
was beyond suspicion. District Attor-
ney Knowlton and the police in their
process of elimination eventually fig
| ured 1t to be IAN inside job" There
was some conflict between Lizzie Bor-
denis original story and that told at
the preliminary hearing--naturally
| enough for a woman in her state OF
mind but weighing against her as the
authorities sought this way and that
for course on which to proceed. She
was, besides, an unusual young woman
rather masculine in build and cast
of counternance, but either voluntarily
or by reason Of parental discipline,
which was strong in the Borden house
hold, one who Stunned masculine soci-
ETY.. She was reserved, silent, stolid,
at times morose. But the people IN
the CONGREGATIONAL church Of which
she was a member respected her. and
she had. despite her eccentricities, real
| friends.
| There was medical examiners in
curry, then q secret inquest before
Police Judge Blaisdell. Eight days
after the murder Lizzie Borden was
arrested. charged with having killed
| her father She stayed I'm the Taunton
! Jail until the trial, which did not begin
until June S, 1898 Her friends-most
of them--were loyal. They dwelt on
the weakness OF prosecutors case
which rested on the hypothesis that no
one else could have perpetrated the
murders, with no direct evidence
against the person accused. They in
! sisted that the factors which had been
| mentioned as pointing to her guilt
were not Inconsistent with innocence.
The Borden case" went around the
world The trial, which took place in
New Bedford, was termed "the trial
| of the century" IL attracted tourists,
including cranks. from all parts Of the
country. The court consisted of three
! judges-Mason, Blodgett and Dewey.
Miss Borden was defended by ex-Gov.
Robinson, Andrew ]. Jennings and
Melvin A. Adams. The State had Dis
| trict Attorney Knowlton, afterward
Attorney General OF Massachusetts.
and his assistant, William II. Moody,
with medical experts galore.
A sensation was sprung by Moody
In his opening address. He said he
would prove by witnesses that Lizzie
Dorden three days after tho murders
burned the dress she had worn on the
morning OF the tragedy. Tho State In
troduced as one OF It's first witnesses
Bridget Sullivan, the servant. She
said that when she was trying to open
the refractory front door to let Mr..
Borden in upon his return from the
bank she uttered an exclamation and
heard Lizzie Borden laugh at the head
of the stairs near her mothers door.
She could not recall what dress Lizzie
wore at that time, but remembered
that she put on a pink wrapper soon
after the discovery OF the bodies. She
had never heard any auarreling In the
family. The question of the dress fig
1 ured largely in the trial One neigh
tt~-f44 at Nsarsu
and Lizzie herself said II was a dark
blue Lizzie Borden was quoted by a
woman neighbor as having told her
the day before the murders that the
family had been sick the preceding
night; that CHE thought the milk was
poisoned: that her father had had
trouble with tenants, and that a
strange man had been hanging about.
This witness was Mrs. Russell. She
was the States "star witness" She
swore that on the Monday following
the day OF the murders she saw Lizzie
at the kitchen stove with skirt and
waist OF n pale blue dress and heard
her speak of burning them because
they were all covered with paint"
Statements made by Miss Borden In
the Fall River inquest were excluded
from the trial on the ground that, as
she was virtually in custody at that
time. whatever she said could not be
used against her. The States case
took another tumble when Prof. Ed
ward s. Wood of Harvard University
testified that the hnir on the Ratchet
exhibited 10 the jurors was not a hui
man hair, and that stains on the dark
blue dress which Lizzie Borden and
other witnesses swore that she wore
on the morning OF her parents death
were not blood stains. Against this
the State could only offer testimony
that the defendant had spoken bitterly
OF her stepmother, and while In jail
had been heard accusing her sister
Emma OF giving her away There
: was no evidence that she had ever
seen or known of the existence OF the
broken handled Ratchet. The State,
when II rested. had failed TO indicate
motive except for tho vague talk OF
- ~nfrftry fn..rH tA~ - ago,7 Hav md