The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1895-11-19
THE "ENENING HERALD'' Is READ F
SHOEMAKER IS A PRISONER
Holmes Counsel Arrested for SubOrna-
tiOn of Perjury.
SENSATIONAL SCENE In COURT
The Accused Lawyer Fell Into a Trap Of
His own Making Lawyer Rotan, the
Junior Counsel, Not Implicated
in the Attempted Fraud.

PHILADELPHIA, Nov 10-The evil spirit
that presides over the destinies of H. H.
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 at the barr became
counsel for the defense Yesterday the
tables were turned, and senior counsel for
the defense became prisoner at the bar.
William A. Shoemaker, the young at
torney whose first association with the case
is obscured in the mystery which envelops
its every detail, passed through an ordeal
as severe as any his client has been called
upon to face and the crisis came when he
was held under 81 800 bail to answer a
charge of subornaton of perjury. This
means that he manufactured evidence
tending to prove that Benjamin f. Pite-
eel, for whose murder Holmes was con
victed two weeks ago, committed suicide
and that he, Shoemaker, paid Il woman
$50 to sign and swear to this.
But the commonwealth had supplied the
woman, although Shoemaker was ignor-
ant of this, and after he had produced
this important after discovered evidence"
and read it to the court he asked that the
argument on the motion for new trial
which had been fixed for yesterday, be
postponed to give him and his associate
counsel, Samuel P Rotan, time to run
out this and other clews recently.
Then it was that District Attorney Gra-
ham arose and exposed the plot. His
declaration came like thunderbolt. The
court stared in wide eyed amazement; 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-
veiled 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
Schwechler and asked him to procure a
woman who lived around Twelfth or
Thirteenth and Callowhill or Vine streets,
who would swear to certain facts in CON
nection with the finding of PitezePs body
at 1916 Callowhill street. Schwechler as
sented, but instead of straightway getting
the 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
it to District Attorney Graham and most
Bkillful trap was set.
Under instructions Geyer went to Mrs.
Margaret Reah, 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
nigan readily signed and swore to this,
and Shoemaker gave her two $40 bills for
SO doing. On each bill she marked her
initials and yesterday she exhibited them
in court.
When Shoemaker read the affidavit to
the court he declared that its contents had
been dictated to him by the woman. A
moment afterward irrefutable testimony
was produced showing that he had himself
made up the affidavit and dictated it to a
stenographer before he had even asked
Schwechler to procure woman to sign it,,
and that he had not so much as read or ex-
planned its purpor5 to Mrs. Hannigan.
After this sensational incident Mr. Ro-
tan made the argument for a new trial,
after vainly endeavoring to secure a con-
tinuance. His argument was an able re
view of the reasons on which "a new trial
was applied for, and at its conclusion the
court announced that they would give it
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
nished by his fatherin-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 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 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.. Rotan's
innocence in the whole affair