The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-05-28
TRYING c. VON T|EDEMANN
John II. Fiddler, a Folsom Prison
Convict, Declines to
Testify.
other collie HutChings"
Case.

The trial of Carl Won Tiedemann, accused
of forgery in connection with a real estate
swindle, was commenced yesterday in
Judge Belcher's court. Won Tiedemann
had relations with Guy Whitcomb, Lin
coin Carr, r. II. Fletcher and others who
were implicated in half-interest scandals.
Won Tiedemann had an Office at 957 Mar
ket street, with Carr, and on March 5,
1894, he took woman to Notary Lee d.
Craig and introduced her as Harriet P.
Cristy, the owner of land on Lake and
Fifteenth avenue. She wished to acknowl-
edge the transfer of the land to Horace G.
Pratt Later Won Tiedemann introduced
a man as Horace g. Pratt, who executed a
mortgage of the property to one Alonzo
Thayer, who is still missing. Upon the
attempted recording of the papers the
fraud was exposed. The woman PERSONAL
ing Mrs. Cristy is not known, but it is be-
lieyed that the defense will attempt TO
show that it was a Mrs. Sarah r. Owen,
now in Little Rock, Ark, and that Won
Tiedemann was victimiZed by her. The
case is similar to that of Wells and Pilger,
who induced one Ollie Hutchings to per-
senate Miss Emma Dick in real estate
transfer.
II ndu Utcn Ca pCCtco lidJ tlC Adll-lAtSI-
est swindler, Fidler, who is serving six
year term in Folsom, would testify for
Won Tiedemann yesterday IN corroboration
of a confession of the defendants inno-
cence alleged to have been secured from
him, but when called to the stand Fidler
was disappointing. After admitting that
he knew the defendant, he was asked
whether he had had any business dealings
with him.
Il decline to answer" replied Fidler in
faltering voice.
"On what ground?" asked the Assistant
District Attorney:
son the ground that an answer might
tend to incriminate me-" was the low
reply.
This objection was sustained, the only
admission by the witness being that he
knew Won Tiedemann two or three months
before March 5, 1894, when the alleged
fraudulent transaction took place.
Then as the assistant district attorney
asked that Fidler might be kept in reserve,
Won Tiedemann's attorney, Campbell,
raised a storm by asking that the court in
| struct the Sheriff that no one should COM
municate with his prisoner on this case.
! 81 am afraid of inducements being made
| to him to testify" said Campbell, adding,
II know such inducements have been
made all day."
! This brought Peixotto to his feet with a
! hot denial, and it was with difficulty that
he was prevailed upon to sit down while
| the witness-prisoner was removed to the
dock by the deputy sheriff, who was given
no special instructions.
After that five witnesses testified that as
far as they knew Ven Tiedemann's charac-
ter was good, but that they did not know
much about him. Thirteen other witnesses
who were to testify as to character were
not called, the assistant district attorney
admitting that that testimony would be OF
the same value as that of the others.
Then Julia Pullen testified that she had
put some property in Won Tiedemann'
hands for sale, and that Carr and Others
had wanted her to personate Mrs. Cristy,
but that she had Indignantly refused. Won
Tiedemann did not have anything to dc
with the offer. They had told her there
was $4,000 in it for her.
Under cross-examination she admitted
that she had told the conspirators that il
was no use her going to Won Tiedemanr
as Mrs. Cristy, since he would recognize
her. Won Tiedemann had been talking
with her constantly in the past six weeks
| Mrs. Pullen's cross-eXamination had no.
concluded when the court adjourned unit
| this morning.