The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-11-19
Accused of Bribing a Woman to Sign
a False Amdavit, and the AIIega-
tien Sustained by Witnesses.
PITEZEL SAID TO BE ALIVE
IN CHICAGO RECENTLY, but NOW
LIVING IN PHILADELPHIA.
What "A Conductor and n Lawyer Say
Holmes Was Convicted.

H. Holmes, king or mufderers. and event
ually destroys all who ally themselves with
him, found another victim to-day. The first
swift turn this extraordinary case took
was on the first day OF the recent trial.
when the arch-criminal dismissed his law
yers and the prisoner at the bar be-
came counsel for the defense. To-day the
tables were turned and senior counsel for
the defense became prisoner at the bar.
William A. Shoemaker, the young attor-
ney. whose first association with the case
is obscured in the mystery which envelops
its every detail, passed through an ordeal
to-day as severe as any his client has
been called to face, and the crisis came
when he was held under $500 bail to
answer a charge of subornation of perjury.
This means that he manufactured evidence
tending TO prove that Benjamin r. Pitezel,
for whose murder Holmes was convicted
two weeks ago. committed suicide and that
he (Shoemaker paid woman $40 to sign
and swear to this. But the Commonwealth
had supplied the woman. although Shoe
maker was ignorant of this, and after he
had produced this important "after-discov-
cry evidence and read 1t. with great en-
pressement to the court, he asked that the
argument on the motion for new trial,
which had been fixed for to-day. be post
poned to give him and his associate coun-
sci, Samuel p. Rotan, time TO run out this
and other clews recently obtained. Then it
was that District Attorney Graham arose
and exploded the plot His declaration
came like thunderbolt. The court stared
i'm wide-eyed amazement; the spectators
turned in their chairssand gasped; the ac-
cused lawyer lay back in his seat livid and
tremulous. while his innocent associate
glared at him with unveiled horror, but
the prisoner in the dock rested his cold
blue eyes the shrinking figure of his
legal representatives and smiled with
scorn.
Briefly told, the details of the charge are
these: The trial for the Pitezel murder
was not two days old when Shoemaker
approached private detective named John
Schwechler. and asked him to procure a
woman who lived around Twelfth or Thir-
teenth and Callowhll or Vine streets, who
would swear to certain facts In connection
with the finding OF Pitezers body at No.
1916 CalIowhll street. Schwechler assented
but, instead of straigbtway getting the
woman, he told his Atory. to detective
Geyer, who, for the Commonwealth,
brought to light the evidences of Holiness
murder of the children. Geyer submitted
it to District Attorney Graham and a most
skillful trap was prepared, q trap which
has brought about the ruin of the oppos-
ing attorney. Under instructions Geyer
went to Mrs. Margaret Reah, matron in
the Fourth district Police Station, and she
under the name of Blanche A. Hannigan
was taken to Shoemaker by Schwechler.
Meantime Shoemaker had prepared an affi-
davit stating that the deponent had known
William Pitezel and that to her he had
expressed his intention of committing sui
eide. Mrs. Hannigan read it, signed and
swore to this and Shoemaker gave her two
$40 bills for so doing. On each bill she
marked the initials ''B. A. H." and to-day
she exhibited them in court
LIKE A BLIND MAN.
Shoemaker walked into the trap blind
fold. When he read the affidavit to the
court he declared that its contents had
been dictated to him by the woman. A
moment afterwards irrefutable testimony
was produced, showing that he had HIM
self made up the affidavit and dictated it
to-a stenographer before he had even asked
Schwechler to procure a woman to sign
| it and that he had not so much as read
or explained its purport to Mrs. Hannigan
! Judge Arnold, who was on the bench dur
ing the trial, had called in Judges Thayer
on the-merits of to-day's arguments for a
new trial. AS the strange revelations came
the three judges did not hesitate, by their
bearing and words, to manifest their sense
! of the gravity Of the accused lawyers sit
uation. Judge Arnold afterwards privately
stated that disbarment proceedings would
! be considered after the disposition of the
! pending charge against Shoemaker.
Shoemaker had nothing to say. He was
stunned and shocked beyond measure, but
said this was not the time for him to talk.
Rotan, his associate, expressed his conf
dence in his colleagues final exoneration,
but he admitted that the evidence of his
guilt was overwhelming. Rotan himself
was unsmirched The witnesses the dis
trict attorney and the court were careful
to make that clear and the young barrister,
who has fought practically single-handed a
battle against tremendous odds with some
skill and much fortitude, was vIsibly af-
feoted.
A strange story is whispered about Shoe
makers initial appearance In this case. A
little over a year ago. it is. said, he first
| came to Philadelphia. Whence he came no
| one seemed to know. but q tale is told
that he had been for some time in a lit
tie town in Indiana. On his arrival here
| OF a. letter from Boston, signed III" 1t
| stated that the writer desired to retain
| him as counsel in case which would
| soon afterwards come up in Philadelphia
| a1d inclosed a 500 note as a retaining fee
| A few days afterwards Holmes was arr
| rested in Boston and the story of his mani
| fold crimes came out. Now IL is said that
| the little Indiana town in which Shoemaker
| lived was but short distance from an
| other town where Holmes had lived and
! fostered his multifarious schemes 1t is
even said that in Shoemakers Office has
! been found map of the county I'm which
these two towns lie and that a line is
drawn in red ink between The places. but
so drawn as to avoid railroads and set
Elements. cutting through the bare coun-
| try. This curious story is not given out
officially, but with those who know OF IT
| there is a unanimity as to it's details.
/ The Holmes case was the first
Shoemaker tried In Philadelphia. 1t is
| probably also the last.
THE FALSE STATEMENT.
| The proceedings were begun by AR Shoe
maker, who asked that the argument be
postponed He urged that since the ver-
dict had been rendered the defense had come