The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1894-10-25
LEXOW INVESTIGATION
ANOTHER SENSATION SPRUNG
ON THE COMMITTEE.
The Witness Who Was To Testify
Against High Officials Abducted by
The New York Police or Their
Representatives.

NEW YORK, Oct. 24.-Counsel Goff
startled the Lexow committee when
they reconvened this morning by say.
ing the police had made away with a
witness who would give the most sen.
satlonal testimony yet produced. Mr..
Coil entered the courtroom and said
excitedly: "For. the first time 1 am
compelled to ask for an adjournment
until II o'clock. am told that our
star witness, a woman who has paid
money to high officials, has been
stolen from US at the dead hour
OF night. We had her under
subpoena and under surveillance in
the daytime, but at midnight the
police or their agents came in q car
riage and stole the woman. 1 now
tell you her name for the first time.
Matilda Hermann. The police or
their agents hurried her to Canada
and then to the large
cities of the West. Our
detectives finally ran her down in
Chicago She consented to come east.
When the party arrived in Jersey
City this morning the police Of New
York got the police of Jersey City to
arrest all our party on the charge of
kidnapping, a trumped up charge
designed to retain her.n
Chairman Lexow broke In with:
SIS she over 81 years of age?n
eyes, and moreover was willing
to come here" answered Mr.. Golf,
"This woman will tell how the po-
lice raised fund to get her and other
women of her class out of the city.
There is colony of them now in Chi.
cago waiting for the committee to ad-
journ.n
"We may never ADJOURN" broke in
Chairman LeXow.
Mr.. Golf said he hoped to prove how
much money had been contributed in
futherance of the alleged police con-
spiracy to spirit away Mrs. Hermann.
The Evening Post says Mrs. Her.
mann refused TO come East and bo-
gus telegram was sent to her with the
information that her husband had
broken his leg and was lying in hos.
pital I'M nIHoboken in a critical condi-
tion. Mrs. Hermann lost no time in
coming!to her hus bands assistance.
She arrived in the Pennsylvania rail-
road station at 1880 o. m. today. De-
tective Wells shadoWed her. He and
Sergeans. at. arms KearneY asked her
to consedtIo go to New York. The
woman became highly indignant and
was gesticulating wildly when Sena-
tor w. d. DAILY of New Jersey ap-
preached her and told her he had
been retained as her counsel. Kesr.
ney and Wells wanted to compel the
woman to go to New York, but Sena-
tor DAILY demonstrated and declared
he would not permit her to be "kid-
Mapped" A crowd collected. The
police arrested the party for di5or-
derly conduct. When Mrs. Herman
was arraigned before Justice Potts in
Jersey City, Senator DAILY appeared
as her counsel. He said he had been
retained for that purpose by Gustave
Kirk of New York, who told him an
Mrs. Hermann upon her arrival from
the West. Senator Daily said Mrs
Hermann told him while the Lexow
detectives were talking with her, that
she did not wish to return to New
York. The detectives tried to force
the woman to 60 with them and they
and the woman were arrested. JUS
tice Potts held upon the evidence of
Detective Kearney that Mrs. Her
mann was fugitive from justice and
committed her to Jail for 80 days un-
der bonds of $4,000 to await extradition
papers. The Jersey City police then
preferred charges against the Lexow
detectives of attempted abduction.
The chairman said that it had been
the intention to examine Po-
lice Commissioner Sheehan to-