The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1895-11-19
SHOEMAKER APRISONER.
Holmes Counsel Arrested for Sub
y >ornation Of Perjury.
SENSATIONAL SCENE IN COURT.

Tho Accused Lawyer Tell Into n Trap of
His Own Malsing-Lawyer Rotan. tho
Junior Counsel. Not Implicated In tho
Attempted Fraud.
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 19-Thc evil spirit
that prosides over tho destinies of H. II.
Holmes, king Of murderers, and eventually
destroys all who ally themselves with him.
found another victim yesterday. 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 ut the bar" became
counsel for the defense. Yesterday the
tables were turned, and senior counsel for
the defense became q prisoner at the bar.
William A. Shoemaker, the young Mt
torney whose first association with the case
Is obscured In the mystery which envelops
its every detail, passed through an ordeal
rs severe as any his client has been called
upon 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 4. Pite-
gel, for whose murder Holmes was con
victcd two weeks ago, committed suicide,
and that he, Shoemaker, paid woman
$50 to sign and swear to this.
But the commonwealth hnd supplied the
woman, although Shoemaker was ignor-
ant Of this, and after he had produced
this important after discovered evidence"
and read 1t to the court he asked that the
argument on the motion for new trial,
which had been ilxed for yesterday, be
postponed to give him and his associate
counsel, Samuel p. Rotan, time to run
out this and other clews recently.
Then 1t was that District Attorney Gra-
ham arose and exposed the plot. His
declaration came like thunderbolt The
court stared in wide eyed amazemcnt; the
spectators turned in their chairs and
gasped; the accused lawyer sank back In
his seat, livid and tremulous, while his
innocent associate glared at him with un-
yelled horror; but the prisoner In the dock
rested his cold blue eyes on the shrinking
figure Of his legal representative 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 ap
preached private detective named John
Sohwechler and asked him to procure q
woman who lived around Twelfth oI
Thirteenth and Callowhill or Vine streets
who would swear to certain facts in con
nectlon with the finding Of Pitezel's body
at 1915 Callowhill street. Schwechler as
sented. but instead Of straightway getting
tho woman he told his story to Detective
Geyer, who, for the commonwealth
brought to light the evidence of Holmes
murder OF the children. Geyer submitted
tt to District Attorney Graham and a most
Skillful trap was set.
| Under Instructions Geyer went to Mrs
Margaret Renh, matron In the Fourth dis
trict police station, and she, under the
name of Blanche A. Hannigan, was taken
TO Shoemaker by Schwechler. Meantime
Shoemaker had prepared an affidavit stat
ing that the deponent had known Pitezel
and that to her he had expressed his in
tention Of committing suicide. Mrs. Han
1igan readily signed and swore to this
and Shoemaker gave her two $40 bills for
90 doing. On each bill she marked her
initials, and yesterday she exhibited them
An court.
When Shoemaker read the affidavit tc
the court he declared that its contents had
been dictated to him by the woman. A
moment afterward irrcfutable testimony
was produced showing that he had himself
made up the affidavit and dictated it to d
stenographer before he had even asked
Schweohler to procure a woman to sign it
and that ho had not so much as read or ex.
planned its purport to Mrs. Hannigan.
I After this sensational incident Mr.. Ro-
Nthn inhue bhe hpBulnenb Tor u new trial
after yainly endeavoring to secure q con.
tinuance. His argument was an able re.
view of the reasons on which q new trial
was applied for, and at its conclusion the
court announced that they would give 1t
the gravest consideration.
Then Judge Thayer held Lawyer Shoe
maker In 81 500 bail to answer the charge
of subornation of perjury, which was fur
pished by his father-in- law, Milton Jack
son.
Judge Arnold, who was upon the bench
during the trial, had called in Judges
Thayer and Wilson to hear and decide
with him on the merits of yesterdays ar
Gument for 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 situation. Judge Arnold
afterwards privately stated that disbar-
ment proceedings would be considered
later.
, Public declaration was made by the
court and district attorney Of Mr. Rotans
Innocence in the whole affair.
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