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Accused Womans Lawyers Try to Keep Notes Husband Says She Wrote Out of Evidence
BITTER FIGHT IS WAGED OVER GRACE “DEATH LETTERS 1 '
Prosecution Trying to Show Woman Had Notes
Written to Cast Suspicion on Fictitious
Friend—Typewriter Experts Called.
Continued From Page One
discussing the admissibility of thi*s>
letters. Solicitor Dorsey contended
that the letters were not communica
tions between husband and wife, be
cause Eugene Grace had had no hand
In their preparation—save possibly a
mechanical one—that the preparation
and the mailing was done by Mrs.
Grace.
Mr. Rosser said that the state would
have to prove this more clearly before
the letters could be admitted—that the
burden of proof was upon the state
and not the defense.
Woman s Lawyer
Escapes Grilling.
Mrs. Daisy Grace achieved an impor.
tant victory when her chief attorney,
Luther Rosser, placed upon the stand
by the prosecution, was upheld tn de
clining to answer any questions con
cerning his knowledge of the type
writer at the Grace home upon which
was said to have been written the mys- |
terious and sensational “alibi” letters.
Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey
sought to question Mr. Rosser in an
evident effort to prove that there was
a typewriter in the Grace homo, and
that Mrs. Grace might have written
upoh it the letters signed by Grace
which told of their happiness and of
Grace's departure and of the "bum”
that he took home from the station
after seeing her away. The obvious
inference was to connect Mrs. Grace
with these letteris through her use of
the typewriter.
Rosser said:
”i decline to answer any question
concerning the typewriter because it
would be a violation of confidence with
im client.”
The judge upheld the lawyer, and the
prosecution, balked once more, again
delayed its promised production ol the
sensational 'alibi” letters which, It
says, were forged.
While the trial went on. Eugene (trace
• fumed at the Piedmont sanitarium. The
superintendent said ho was no worse
this morning than when he came to
Atlanta from Newnan two days ago.
and was perfectly able to be taken to
court.
He was kept in the .sanitarium await
ing word from bis counsel to attend
the trial again
The prosecution will probably close
its case today. The defense will be
very brief. The case will reach the jury
either tonight or each tomorrow, and
the verdict should be know n before to
morrow t vening.
Mrs. Grace May
Take Stand Today.
As large a crowd as usual was in
the court room today when the case
opened. More women than on former
days were present, expecting to hear
Mrs Grace tell her own story on the
stand. Whether or not they will be dis
appointed remains to be seen, for coun
sel for the defense refused to state
when the case opened whether they
would introduce Mrs. Grace or any wit
nesses whatever. They have kept the
state’s counsel absolutely in the dark
as to the line of defense.
That the defense has made prepara
tions to introduce witnesses In ease
they deem it necessary is indicated by
the fact that Mis. Martha t'lrleh. moth,
vr of Mrs. Grace, lias been put "under
the rule'* and excluded from I lie court
room during the proceedings Mrs. ll
rlch and Mrs. Louise Wilson, trained
nurse of Mrs. Grace, sit in an ante
room near the court chamber all dav.
Grace Better,
Says Lawyer.
Lamar Hill, Grace * personal counsel,
said today that Eugene was better to
day. and was expected to return to
court.
At the opening of court today. Solici
tor Dorsey asked the court to make re
newed effort to secure the presence of
Clarence Bell, subpenaed by the state
a witness, who is quite ill. It being
agreed that Bell was too ill to be pres
ent, Mr. Dorsey asked that it appear on
the records that he desired Mr. Bells
presence to add a certain link to the
chain of evidence
Louis Wellhouse was the first wit
ness called. He is in the paper busi
ness. and connected with Paul A. Clem
ents, a witness of yesterday.
It was at his mother's suggestion that
Wellhouse found out who was Mr.
Clements' attorneys.
Mr. Dorsey desired to swear Luther
Rosser and put him on the stand. Mr.
Rosser objected to being sworn, but was
put on the stand, not on oath.
Another Victory
For Mrs. Grace.
Mr Rosser declined to answer any
questions. He was questioned as to
whether he had a Smith Premier type
writer obtained from Paul Clements,
the man who occupied the house at
one time occupied by Mr. and Mrs.
Grace. Mr Rosser claimed immunity
from testifying, as one of counsel. Mr
Dorsey said be wanted to bring out the
fact that the Graces had such a type
writer. obtained from Clements
A sharp colloquy between Dorsey and
Rosser followed. Mr Rosser, in the
witness < hair, argued points of law with
the court.
Mr. Rosser escaped questioning upon
the ground that his information was
confidential as between lawyer and
client
Paul Clements resumed the stand
He was asked whether or not he de
clined to give directives any Informa
tion n« to the typewriter. The defense
objected and v.istaim-il
B 1 **• uolicltor is incorrigible, said
Mr, Rosser. "He doesn't regard your
honor's ruling '
A long argument, with the jury pres
ent, followed. Mr. Dorsey was making
a strenuous effort to prove that the
Graces possessed a typewriter formerly
owned by Paul Clements, and upon
which two mysterious letters had been
written. The context of these letters
has not been made public, but they are
a part of the state’s evidence to prove a
carefully prepared plan to kill Grace
and provide a false clew to set the po
lice on the wrong trail. The witness
was dismissed without the state having
gained the Information desired.
Lewis Hill took the stand for life
third time.
He said that Mrs. Grace told him at
Newnan on March 5 that she wanted to
spend the night al her home in West
Eleventh street. She knew at the time
that her husband was at St. Josephs.
Sensational Letters
Now Looming Up.
Witness identified a letter ak one he
had seen at St. Josephs on March 7,
two days after the shooting, it had
been in an envelope Identified by wit
ness yesterday. The two typewritten
letters were then shown him. He said
one of them' had been In the same en
velope with the note be had just Iden
tified. No clew as to the real impor
tance of the letters could be gained
from the questioning. The seems
to place tremendous importance upon
these documents.
Mr Rosser asked whose handwriting
was on the note The state objected.
Witness could only state his opinion.
Defense tried to prove the note was
written bj- Grace.
Legal authorities were read to settle
the point. Witness had identified
Grace's writing yesterday. The steno
graphic report was consulted, after a
hot debate. The state was vigorously
combatting any effort to have the writ
ing on the pencilled note identified as
Eugene Grace’s.
Witness was permitted to testify. He
admitted knowing Gtace's signature,
but couldn't sav as to his writing.
Rosser Accuses '
Dorsey of Tyranny.
Witness couldn't swear that signa
ture to letter In evidence was that of
Grace. He didn't believe it was.
He had never seen a letter just
signed "Gene." All he had seen had
been signed "E. H. Gtace." The word
'■Grace' was the word by which he
could identify Grace’s writing.
A half hour was consumed in argu
ing whether the witness could compare
the letter with others known to be
< Irace's
Mr. Dorses protested at tlie defense's
producing letters of which the state
had not been informed. He claimed
that the jury would be misled. The de
fense would not state whether or not
they intended to offer the letters in
evidence.
Mr. Rosser Insisted that he wanted
to show the witness Grace's signature
and ascertain whether or not the pen
tilled note was written by Eugene
Grace. The court seemed in doubt as
to the proper ruling. Mr. Rosser
charged that Mr Dorsey was using the
title as thq "grossest tyranny" against
the defense.
Mr, Dorset said lie merely wanted
'he rule of the statute on evidence ap
plied. He didn't want the court to be
confused
Defense Loses
In Letter Fight.
11 came out in the discussion that
one of the mysterious letters, "Exhibit
B." was one wiltten by Grace to Paul
Elements in reply to one written to
Grace by <’leme>ts. It Is presumed
that this letter is merely in evidence as
a basis for comparison with a letter of
real importance and Asserted to be a
forgery.
Mt . Rosser said he wished to offer
the witness one signature of Grace to
refresh his memory. He wished to
make the witness prove that lie really
did know Grace's signature. The court
ruled against the defense and the wit
ness was dismissed.
('. A. Beauchamp was the next wit
ness (’alls for "Bokamp" failed to get
him Neither did calls for "Beecham."
He was not in the court house. The
bailiff was sent to the Remiiigton
Typewriter Company's office for him.
Mrs. Grace Weeps
At Sight of Letter.
The pencilled letter, which the state
Is trying to discredit, Is a note written
and signed by Eugene Grace to his
wife, saying he was sorry for certain
things he had done and expressing his
love for her. The state Is trying to
keep the defense from proving the sig
nature to ba Grace's
The brief typewritten letter, "Exhibit
A," Is also signed by Grace and is said
to be a message of similar nature.
The fi r ft trace of tears In Mrs
Grace's eyes were noticed when the
pencilled letter was handed to the wit
ness. though It was not read. They
welled in the great brown eyes of the
accused woman and began to trickie
down her cheeks. She wiped them
away with a lace handkerchief and
bent low over the table, in a few mo
ments she had recovered herself and
resumed her conversation with (’. W.
Burke, a private detective who has sat
by her side at every moment of th,
trial.
A recess was taken while the bailiff
searched for the missing witness.
(' A. Beauchamp took the stand and
■ ti Remington typewriter wax placed on
a table before him.
i Witm - claimed to bi a typewritci
THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. WEDX7SDA Y. .TTLY 31. 1912.
| MRS. GRACE AND HER MOTHER
///Bm * *
//B L,.
■ .
SB • mMO
iMBKa ” I - BRW
'HS ' I
Bi
'i,. '
I *
__ ga oo
Ails. Daisy Opie Grace, on left, and her mother, Mrs. Martha 1 Irich, on their way to court.
expert. He had judged typewritten
documents only from a salesman’s
standpoint. Ho handled three ma
chines— Smith Premier. Monarch and
Remington. He was shown the type
written letters, Exhibits A and B. Ho
said ho hail been shown the letters be
fore'
Witness bad examined letters under
a microscope. He testified thht thetv.o
letters were written on the same ma
i chine, because the letter "D” was light
er on one side than on the other, and
; there were other marks to prove the
■ statement. There were no two used
machines alike, any more than any two
grains of popcorn are alike.
Witness said "B” was written first.
, They were both written on a Smith
, Premier, model 2 or model 4.
«>n cross-examination witness said
he believed the two Were written on
. the same machine. No, lie couldn’t
swear positively.
Mr. Rosser offered him a document
and asked whether it had been done
on a Smith Premier.
' Witness couldn't say. The testimony
i was much the same as that of H. M.
Ashe on the previous day.
Witness admitted he couldn’t tell
which was written (list. The ribbon
might have been changed. He was dis
, missed.
; Says Grace Has
' Not Improved.
> Dr. Willis Jones, one of Grace’s sur
geons, was called to the stand.
Dr. Jones examined Grace yesterday,
i He was asked Grace's condition. De
-1 sense objected. His condition today
was irrelevant. The objection was over,
ruled.
> Grace was absolutely paralyzed yes-
■ terday from his waist down. He has
lost ground srinve March 5. A pistol
> wound was responsible for his condi
» tlon. The bullet was stiil'in the man’s
1 both Dr. Jones was dismissed.
1 The state tendered in evidence a le
gal document. .The defense objected
1 and the jury was ordered out. It was
. a lease signed by Grace anti Mrs. John
t Kiser. Mr Rosser held it was not rel
evant. Mr Dorsi x contended that the
signature of Grace hud been proved,
f Mr. Rosser denied this. Mr. Dorsey
couldn't remember which witness had
I proven the signature. Defense insisted
tt the lease was not in order. Mr. Dor
sey insisted that It was, because it had
t stipulations us to the cute of furniture
and because it appears to have been
written on January 9, 1912. and two
days after this, at least, Mrs. Grace
knew she was going to occupy 29 West
Eleventh street. He wanted to prove
that Mrs. Grace was responsible for the
furniture and that she expressed more
solicitude for its ilamage than she had
for her wounded husband.
Dorsey Says She
Thought Out Plans.
Mr. Dorsey insisted that the woman
was so mercenary that she had thought
out all her plans for shooting Grace
even before she left the Boulevard
home, where the typewriter was at
hand. He asserted that she had used
the typewriter even then, long before
the shooting, to forward her plans. He
argued that her worry over her hus
band’s financial welfare and the dam
age to the furniture was a matter of
evidence in the chain against Mrs.
Grace. He held that her use of doubled
sheets, her oilcloth on the bed. was a
mercenary care for the furniture far
above her love for her husband. "This
woman showed 100 times the solicitude
for the furniture and property that she
did for her wounded husband," de
clared the solicitor."
The court ruled out the lease.
Marriage Certificate
Offered in Evidence.
The state tendered a marriage cer
tificate. The defense said it could not
be offered as evidence, but offered n’o
objection to the certificate being ten
dered. It was dated at New Orleans
on May 10. 1911. It was shown to the
jury. This was the real marriage, the
ceremony performed in New York hav
ing been, it is alleged, a false and il
legal ceremony.
Mrs. Lewis Hill was sworn. She said
Mrs. Grace told her. during the holi
days. that she was going to leave her
home on the Boulevard.
Mr. Dorsey again desired to tender
the noted letters as evidence, and again
the jury was sent out while the dis
cussion ensued.
The papers in question were:
The lease of the Eleventh street
home.
Two letters, A and B, and their en
velopes.
The letter "A” was, in brief. as fol
lows:
My Dear Wife Daiay:
After saying good-bye to you at
the station today I ran into an old
friend fellow of mine from Charles
ton, S. C. He was down and out.
My heart went out to him. He
was dead broke. It is a pitiful
story. He is out of a job. I'm go
ing to take him home with me. give
him a bath and let him sleep all
night with me. He can wear a suit
of my clothes, for he is a tall fel
low.
I'm sorry I was delayed and
missed my t"ain to Philadelphia,
which will throw me a day late
going and coming back You bring
mother hack to Atlanta with you
instead of waiting for me to come
to Newnan. Hope you wrote to
your mother. With all my love,
GENE.
This letter was hot dated and the
text and signature were written on a
type write r.
The note in pencil was then read to
the court. It said, briefly:
My Own Darling Wife:
After I put you on the train I
got left. I shall be a day late
getting back. Shall bring you
something nice. Dear girl, my
friend is here at the house with
me now. I've been telling him how
sweet you are. I'm sorry for every
thing I said. I shall be as good
I know how. With a billion kisses,
GENE.
This itute was written and signed in
pencil.
Declares Mrs. Grace
Wrote the Letters.
M . Dorsey argued, in the absence of
the July, that he desired to prove that
these letters, written he contended, by
Mrs. Grace and not by her husband,
constituted a part of her plan to shoot
her husband. He maintained that the
typewritten letter had been written as
eat ly as January, before the Graces
left their Boulevard home, on the
Smith Premier machine in that house.
He as.erted that this letter, in the
i same envelope with the pencilled not,,
were sent io N'wnan on the da> Grace
was shut, addressed to Mrs, Daisy
Glare They went by mistake to Mrs.
Cleveland 1 >rr.
Was She Betrayed
By An Accident?
Instead of sending them to Mi
ll lie, she Sent them to Mrs. Hill I’
Atlanta and the-, wire turned over to
liiig'ln Grin! at the hospital and
Luck Breaking
For Mrs. Grace
/
"If Mrs. Grace had had the benefit
of the most learned counsel to guide
her movements, she could not have
plotted her crime more skillfully," said
Lamar Hill, of counsel for the state,
today.
“It seems that the rules, of evidence
are balking the state at every turn.
Mrs. Grace is protected by them in
point after point.
“If we can place those letters before
the jury our case will be won. There
could be no more convincing evidence
that she had planned a murder.
“Yes, I am convinced that she shot
Eugene Grace. I am convinced from
what he told me and from the evidence
we have obtained."
DR. J. T. GORDON FINED
FOR BEATING HIS WIFE
” Dr. J. T. Gordon. 48 Larkin street,
arrested Sunday a.fternoon charged
with beating his wife, was fined $25.75
in police court this morning. He paid.
Mrs. Gordon swore her husband
knocked her unconscious. Dr. Gordon
declared that his wife struck him with
an ice cream freezer, thiexv tomatoes and
dishes in his face and cut his head.
Dr. Gordon’s chauffeur testified that
Mrs. Gordon hurled a churn, which
n»rtowly missed the husband.
thence came into the hands of the state.
It is the purpose of the state to prove
that Mrs. Grace wrote these letters in
the hope of fixing the murder of he.
husband upon this unknown friend who
was, as shown in the letters, taken into
his home. The failure to kill Grace and
the accidental going astray of the let
ters sent to Mrs. Grace by herself, as
the state claims, exposed the plot.
Here’s the Plot
As State Sees It.
These letters constitute the most sig
nificant testimony yet offered by the
prosecution. It will be the purpose of
the state to show that the letters were
prepared by Mrs. Grace; that "the man,
Grace's friend,” was brought into the
letters so that suspicion would fall upon
him (“Grace's friend”) when Grace's
body was found.
It is the claim of the prosecution that
these letters were mailed by Mrs.
Grace, went to Newnan and were sent
back to Atlanta by Mrs. Cleveland Orr,
of Newnan, and fell into the hands of
Mrs. Hill. The letters reached Newnan
the day Grace was shot, the postmark
of receipt being 7:30 p. m.
Mr. Rosser in objecting to the let
-1 ters as evidence claimed that no evi
dence had been introduced which
showed directly or by circumstance that
Mrs. Grace wrote or supervised the
writing of the letters.
Mr. Rosser contended .that the letters
would show that they had been mailed
after Mrs. Grace left Atlanta, which
ruled out the possibility of her having
mailed the letters.
Mrs. Cleveland Orr
Reported Missing.
Examined on the face, said Mr. Ros
ser, the letters were clearly written by
Grace and not Mrs. Grace.
“There is no evidence as to Newnan
carier of this letter except this,” and
Mr. Rosser referred to the mere post
mark. How Mrs. Orr got the letter
and what became of it in Newnan did
not appear, he said. It next appeared
in Atlanta at the Marion hotel. The
substance of Mr. Rosser's objection was
that the letters could not be connected
with Mrs. Grace by any evidence pre
sented. The letters were sealed and
■ sent under the authority of Grace and
were, therefore, his letters under the
law. To substantiate his claim, Mr.
Rosser quoted the “Georgia Reports,”
citing three cases to prove his point.
It will be remembered that Mrs.
(’leveland Orr. who received the let
ters, has disappeared and can not be
located by the state, which summoned
her as a witness.
Grace Suffers
From a Chill.
When the afternoon session opened
today it was seen that fully half the
crowd had kept their seats throughout
the hour of recess. going without
luncheon or eating from packages they
had brought with them. A trio of
young girls in front seats had been
there since shortly after dawn, never
leaving their seats for an instant,
through fear of losing the precious
places. The men are quickly tired out.
but the women are immune to heat and
suffocating atmosphere. Some of them,
in the rear, stood in their chairs
throughout the long session to gain an
occasional glimpse of Mrs. Grace.
Grace had not been brought into the
court room. His negro servant told
reporters that Mr. Grace had suffered
from a chill since being brought to the
building.
When the afternoon session was re
sumed Colonel Rosser again took up
his argument seeking to exclude the
letters as evidence.
Mrs. Grace Wears
An Old Costume.
Mrs. Grace's costume, when she put
in iter appearance at court this morn
ing. was the same she wore the after
noon she returned to Atlanta from
Philadelphia.
She wore, on that memorable occa
sion. a brown coat suit, brown slippers
anil stockings and a new brown hat
which she purchased in the Quaker city.
When she removed her coat this
morning, the women in the audience
gave a gasp. A marvel In the shall
ot a peek-a-boo lace shirtwaist was ex
posed. The lace work was intricate jn
its creation. She wore a simple locket
about her neck and diamond t at t ing-
Ashe Makes Study
Os Typed Letters
H. M. Ashe, the typewriter agent-ex
pert, who went on the stand for the
prosecution in the Grace case yester
day and testified that two letters whit
promise to figure sensationally in t
case were struck off by the same ma
chine' said today that he could not on 1
have told they’ were written by t',.
same machine, but by the same person
if he’d had his glasses.
"A typewritten letter displays just
much the individuality of its author :
a letter written with a pen,” said Ashe
"I didn’t have my glasses on y(-s
--terday when I testified. But even with
out them I could tell that those tea
letters were struck off on a Smith Pre
mier. One of them had been written
about three weeks before the other I
Could tell that from the blur of the
letters’ imprint, which showed how the
ribbon had been worn and cut by oth
ers pounding on it in the meantime.
Then I could see that they were Smith
Premier letters from the clean-cut typo,
and the especial curves of the 'm’s' and
‘r’s’ that no other machine made has
like the old Smith Premier'No. 2
How He Tells Time.
“Even without my glasses, I could
swear that the same machine had been
ribbon worn tiAt about enough to ac
count for thiJ time that 1 had said
elapsed between the two letters. I know
a Smith Premier like I’d know my own
baby. I’ve been operator and agent of
that machine for a good many years
until I took up the L. C. Smith type
writer, a little time ago. I can't only
take ’em apart and put ’em together,
but I can make ’em. And I can tell
whichever one of my stenographers
wrote a letter on one—just from seeing
the letter.
“The lawyer for the defense got me
yesterday because I said a letter he
pulled from his pocket was -written on
an Underwood when it hadn’t been.
That was because 1 didn’t have my
glasses to show the little curves and
blurs and letter lines that ought to
make any typewriter’s name a simple
matter to an expert. When I go upon
the stand today, I’M going to ask the
judge to show me those two letters
again. I'LL have my glasses with me
then. I'll be able to see whether the
person or persons that wrote those two
letters hit the keys harder with their
left hands or with their right hands.
“I’l know’ whether the same person
wrote both those letters from the way
he imprints the period at the end of
the sentence; and, after finding
whether he hits ‘a,’ ‘s,’ ‘r’ and *e' harder
or softer than he hits ‘l,’ T and 'p.' That
first series of letters he strikes on thu
keyboard with his left-hand fingers, and
the others with his right.
Also Tells by Margins.
“Then I’ll r know', too. by the kind of
margias the writer made on those let
ters. You can tell a typist by his mar
gins as well as by his 'strokes.'
“I have never been In court as an
expert typist, but I’ve been consulted
in many cases. Lawyers have used me
many times to tell them the authorship
of typewritten letters, and they’ve used
the opinion I've given them in proving
witnesses liars. When I've got my
glasses I defy anybody to fool me about
the make of typewriter that was used
to write the letter. 1 think that, with
the same opportunity a handwriting ex
pert has to study a certain piece of
penmanship, I can tell the author of a
typewritten letter just as well as he.”
Ashe goes upon the stand again in
the Grace trial today to prove his abil
ity to distinguish typewriter “makes’
aixl authorship without mistake.
Mrs. Grace to Take
Stand Tomorrow
Mrs. Daisy Grace will take the stand
in her own defense as the climax of
the case, probably tomorrow morning
She is in mortal fear of the ordeal «'£
undergoing the terrific cross-examina
tion and of facing her wounded hus
band. She soon is to become a mother
Mrs. Grace has suffered greatly un
der the strain of the trial. She dans
not permit her mind to dwell on what
may be as the result of the strain on
the witness-stand. A trained nurse, a
physician and a table are waiting in a
room across the corridor. C. W. Burke,
private detective, and a strong man sit
by Mrs. Grace’s side. He is ready to
bear her from the court room to the
waiting physician and nurse.
Dr. Samuel H. Green, physician at
the Tower when Mrs. Grace was a
prisoner there, will testify she will be
come a mother within a few months.
He has been present at the court house
all day, but remained outside the room
during the proceedings, being kept un
der the rule.”
Says Grace Answered Phone.
Rebecca Sams, a negro seamsti'->
who was at the Grace home the >1 -■
before the shooting, will testify as “
Mrs. Grace’s condition then.
The defense will produce a will’’
it is reported, who called the <>' !
home by telephone on the day "t “
shooting, about 10 o'clock in the mor' 1 '
Ing. He will testify that Lug'
Grace himself answered the phon’
that there was nothing to indicate
thing Bpt of the ordinary.
Grace said he was shot early In
morning—about 7 o'clock, he tli”
Martha Ruffin, the negro servant. !■
lied that Grace was groaning w>i’
made the fire that morning.
The defense had given the ~’a'
inkling of its intention to intr"-
witnesses when the morning
closed today, Il had been though
perhaps Mrs Grace would not I"
duced as a witness. The state I
ei less to force her to testify, I
she Is put on the stand by !>''
eounscl, the state may cross q* 1 ’
her to its heart's content.