The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-10-28
LEXOW SCENES AND FACES.
THE SETTING OFTEN As IHTEREsT.
ING As ri INQUIRY ITSELF.

n - IL wv W. -
ING As THE INQUIRY ITSELF.
NJ. coz Assisted ny = Corps Of Deteettvs.
a.a Experts" :. Crtse-Tke variety ef
witnesses-U.eie Dss'l bradley = Fee
ture or the Hnauiry-The Spectators.
The theatre in which the Lexow drama is pro-
duced is often as interesting as the drama itsslf;
or, a better illustration, the s~upernumeraries are
frequently as interesting as those who have
speaking parts. The committee meets in q lofty
court room sixty feet long by forty wide. The
committee never sit on the Judges bench, 10 the
left of which and on the same level IL the Wit
meas chair, and further TO the left, as they sit, II
a long reporters table; also on the left are the
raised and enclosed chairs provided for the jury.
but which. in this Investigation, are occupied By
reporters and newspaper illustrators.
Directly in front of the bench a narrow space
IL rallied OF. which has for regular occupants
the Official stsnographers and Father Ducey.
Chairman Lexow's father frequently sits in
there, and other distinguished visitors have
chairs placed for them there. In front Of this
rail are two long tables. one end of which,
that opposite the witness chair, Is occupied by
Mr.. Goff and Mr.. Moss, and the rest Of the space
is used by reporters. The latter, with their IL
Illustrators. number between thirty-hve and forty.
To the right of the bench is a square space
within the rail which divides the bar from the
bench. and here the female witnesses and per-
sonal friends of the committeeman sit.
Running the full length of the bar, between
the counsel table and the spectators seats, are
two long rows Of chairs where Mr.. Gofr's agents
and detectives and male witnesses sit Outside
the bar the space is packed with . mixed crowd.
friends Of the witnesses, friends Of the indivi-
dual policemen who are being investigated, and
curious idlers who. on one pretext or another.
succeed In passing the doorkeepers. There
are always many witnesses in attendance
who are never called. II the cafes with
girls are being inquired into, twenty.
thirty, or perhaps more proprietors OF
such east side resorts are subp1naed,
although only half a dozen may be PUT on
the witness stand. So II is with stoop line soda
fountain keepers, with keepers Of disorderly
houses or inmates Of such houses. will Bowery
and Park row lodging house keepers, with pos
Icy shop keepers. When the clubbing police
men were being made a show Of, ninety were
called but less than a dozen questioned. So IL u
that whatever disorderly. and frequently GRIM
inal, class is supplying evidence the witness
chairs hold from thirty to forty witnesses; but
they are not all that go to make up the general
"toughness" of that part OF the crowd.
Mr.. Goff has a number Of expert witnesses and
gatherers Of evidence. These are green goods
men, policy writers. police court sharks, bunoo
steerers. and men who do the.best they car" as
they uteCTlDc uOiuB bhy pcsey Otihhhn bhss
promises a profit. These men find a profit Just
now in selling this information TO Mr.. Con. and
using their special or expert knowledge Of
crime and criminals in assisting the counsel for
the committee In preparing evidence. They are
q decidedly unpleasant lot of instrumental, but
even Mr.. COTS enemies have not condemned
him for using such tools as the work demands
for accomplishing results.
"Young mon eminent only in Sunday school
- --a NJ ~ -A 1911 A.. l.
new about green goods, cafes with girls, or
police court bail bonds. remarked one observer.
Into this crowd. chiefly foreign, generally
criminal, mostly unwashed. and invariably un-
pleasant personally. are wedged now and then
MISUNDERSTANDING, steamship agents, and
others-who are so unfortunate as to possess in
formation the committee wants. They look
frightened first, then disguised, and finally I'M
utterably bored. They had so much rather read
the newspaper accounts OF the proceedings than
hear them first hand. shouldered on one side by
aman who keeps q sevcn-cent lodging house on
Chatham square. and is bathing the carpet
at his feet In tobacco Juice. and on the other.
perhaps, by a negro who Is to go on the stand
as q living picture OF what II looks like to
be dubbed" Many of the witnesses can
neither speak English nor understand It, yet
their breathless interest seems never to wane.
Except rs TO the women, these, the foreigners
VINO cannot speak or understand English, blt In
their allotted space sullen, solemn, silent, some
times for day after day. They wait until they
are called to testify, and then go to the witness
stand much as il IL were the fatal chair In Sing
Sing. take the oath as II Is interpreted to them,
wonder vaguely, perhaps, what by resolution
OF the Senate Of the State of New York. with
amendments thereto" can possibly have to do
with their wretched lives, and then tell just 80
much as the ingenuity of counsel can corkscrew
out OF them, and no more.
The oath is administered by Chairman Lexow,
but 1t Is a function In which Uncle Danl Brad
ley. whose chair is next TO the witness. figures
and shines to his satisfaction. He always handles
the Bible. IL the witness is a Jew. Uncle Danl
opens the book at the Old Testament, calls the
attention Of the witness to that fact, and then
says. Kiss the Bible. Sit down." This Obuer
dictd seldom being Interpreted. the witness
usually regards Uncle Danl with alarm, but
with no understanding. II the witness is q
Catholic Uncle Danl produces a Bible with .
cross on the cover, and he always regards with
suspicion the witness who kiss their thumb, as
1t holds the book. instead of the book itself.
In examining a witness Mr.. Con Is aided by
the one of his detectives who has worked on the
case under investigation. These detectives, as
distinguished from the experts, are a clean "
and intelligent lot of young men. They In turn
have been assisted In each case by one orstwo
experts" and II is plainly seen that the amount
OF detail thus gathered and placed at Mr.. Cons
disposal is the means of inducing witnesses to
speak candidly. They see that their examiner
has much information, and he is clever in i'm
pressing them with the belief that he has much
more than he actually has so thew decide that It 10
useless TO attempt to conceal anything. Any one
who likes TO study comparative morality or. say.
comparative backbone. as opposed in the sexes.
will be interested in learning that It is the men.
not the women. who soonest and most frequently
weaken under Mr.. COTS familiar bluff OF know
ing il all, and wanting the admission of the wit
ness for purposes of record only. An ignorant
woman can preyaricate more cleverly, more
consistently. more persistently, and with a bet
ter appearance than a well-educated man. IL
was a gentleman that is, a well-educated.w we'll
bsthed man-whO was first bluffed from his at
tempts at cOncealment by the production OF a
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