Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-11-21

eventually destroys all VINO ally Them
selves with him, found another victim
yesterday. William A. Shoemaker, a
young attorney whose first association
with the case is obscured in mystery,
passed through an ordeal yesterday as
severe as any his client has been
called to face and the crisis came when
he was held under $1,000 bail 10
answer to the charge of subornation
of perjury. This means that he man
ufaCtured evidence tending to prove
that Benjamin Pietzel, for whose muir
der Holmes was convicted, had COM
mitted suicide. Briefly told, the de-
tails of the charge are these:
The trial for the Pietzel murder was
not two days old when Shoemaker ap-
preached a private detective named
Schweichler and asked him to procure
woman who lived around Twelfth or
Thirteenth and Callow Hill or Vine
streets who would swear to certain
fact in connection with the finding of
PietZePs body at 1916 Callow Hill
street. Schweichler assented, but in
sisted on getting the woman to tell her
story to Detective Geyer. Later he
submitted it to District Attorney Ora
ham, and a most skillful trap was pre-
pared-the trap which brought about
the ruin Oh the opposing attorney. I'm
der instructors Geyer went to Mrs.
Margaret Reah, matron of the fourth
district police station, and she, under
I, =
taken to Shoemaker by Schweichler.
Meantime, Shoemaker had prepared
an affidavit stating that dcponenr had
known Pietzel, and that to her he had
expressed his intention of committing
suicide. Mrs. Hannigan readily signed
and swore to this and Shoemaker gave
her two so bills for so doing. On
each bill she mai ked the initials "B.
A. H." and yesterday exhibited them
in the court.
Shoemaker walked into the trap
blindfolded. When he read the af-
fidavit to the court, he declared that
it's contents had been dictated to him
by a woman. A moment afterwards,
the irrefutable testimony was pro
duced showing that he had himself
made up the affidavit and dictated it
TO Stenographer before he had even
asked Schweichler to procure the wo-
man to sign it, and that he had not so
much as read or explained its purport
to Mrs. Hannigan.
Judge Arnold, who was upon the
bench during the trial, had called in
Judges Thay4r and Wilson to hear
and decide with him on the merits of
yesterdays 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 gravity Of the accused law
yer's situation. Judge Arnold after
wards 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 that
this is not a time for him to talk.
Rotan, his associate, expressed his
confidence in his colleagues final ex-
oneration, but he admitted that the
evidence of his guilt is overwhelming.
Rotan himself is unsmirched.
A strange story is whispered about
Shoemakers initial appearance in the
case. A little over year ago, it is
said, he first came to Philadelphia.
Whence he came no one seemed to
know, but the tale is that he had been
for some time in a little town in
Indiana. Upon his arrival here he is
said to have spoken of the receipt of a
letter from Boston, signed "H." 1t is
stated that the writer desired to re-
tain him as counsel in a case which
would soon afterwards come up in
Philadelphia and enclosed 500 as
retaining fee. A few days afterwards
Holmes was arrested in Boston and
the story of his manifold crimes came
out. Now, it is said, the little town
il, which Shoemaker lived was but a
short distance from another town
where Holmes had lived and fostered
his nultifarious schemes. 1t is said
that in Shoemakers office was found a
map of the county in which these two
towns lie, and that line is drawn in
red ink between the places, but so
drawn as to avoid railroads and set
cutting through a bare coun-
try. This curious story is not given
out officially, but with those who
know it there is a unanimity as to it's
Ia+a i1c
first Shoemaker tried in Philadelphia.
1t is probably also the last.
Chicago, Nov. ia local paper
says: James McNeary, conductor
on an electric line has sprung new
sensation in the Holmes case by stat
ing that Benjamin Pietzel is alive and
that he recently talked with him on
his car. McNeary claims there could
be no mistake, as he worked nine
months for Pietzel and knows the pc
of his voice. According to
McNeary, Pietzel boarded his car a
few days previous to the Holmes trial.
PietzePs beard had grown around the
greater part of his face, SO that he
was completely disguised. When ad-
dressed, however, he admitted his
IDENTIFY and asked as friend that
weNeary keep silence, as he was on
lis way to Philadelphia, but McNeary
,alled in Motorman Letterman, and Re,
90, claims that he had conversation
With PietZel Robert Corbett. who has
,een following the case for months in
,ehalf of the Farmers & Mechanics
National bank, of Fort Worth, Texas,
.lairns. that he also has seen Pietzel