The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-12-23
MADE CONFESSIONS
Interesting Evidence at the
Counterfeiters Trial
at Trenton.
MRS. KNApP's STORY OTHER CRIME
Senator Daily Fights Hard to Keep
Out The discriminating
Documents.
Special to the Jersey cstu Nsws.

TRENTON, Dec. %, 1sa6.-It was the
second day yesterday of the trial of Geo.
Sands, alias tsDr. Clark and the mys-
teriousIy yelled woman, Mary Knapp.
the couple charged in he United States
District Court with making and circulate
ing counterfeit coin dollars. The woman
who was George Sands tool and passed
the money for him, was arrested IN Ho-
boken in July. Sands was arrested in
New York City a short time afterwards.
The day was n Of long waits, as
was Monday. and Judge kirkpatrick re-
marked:-tsI used to think / did a good
deal of waiting in Essex county court,
but it was nothing to this" The result
of the days work, in short, was to have
introduced as evidence and read from the
stand by secret service officers confess
sions alleged to have been made by both
Sands n his stool pigeon, Mrs. Knapp.
victor Schmidt, No. 80 Washington
street, and John Cuddy, No. s24 Wash
ington street. Hoboken, the former a
drug CLERK and the latter a grocery
clerk, started the ball rolling. but did not
roll it very far. They admitted having
been imposed upon on July l by a woman
who passed bogus coin dollars upon
them, but much to the District Attor-
ney's surprise could not identify Mrs
Knapp as the woman. Even after the
Court ordered the defendant to loosen
her black boa and further raise her veil
the duo in turn failed to identify her as
the woman who entered their stores.
John J. Meyers, of the fioboken Police
Department. had eyes more TO the Dis
trict Attorneys liking. He emphatically
testified that the defendant knapp had
been Swallowed by him in the stores
above mentioned, as well as others, and
that she had eventually been arrested by
his orders. He had secured her black
bag which contained the many petty
purchases made throughout the day. The
woman at the Hoboken police station
had refused to give her name. and it had
been put down as Jane Doe the regu-
lation legal cognomen for unknowns.
George r. B4gg, the head of the New
York department of the Secret Service,
and the star witness of the day, was then
called. He told OF a private interview at
the Hoboken police station at which
in addition to himself. Mary knapp:
Alfred O.. Knapp, her legal husband, and
owen Owens. a secret service man, and
a stenographer were present. This was
shortly after the Woman's arrest, and
everything she said or anyone else was
taken down py Owens. A copy of the
conversation or confession was pro-
duced.
Agent Bagg then told of the arrest of
George Sands in New York City. He was
taken into custody on the street, and
took the secret service, seemingly with
out hesitation, to his room, q Irving
place. A quantity of good dollars, said
70 be used in making mouIds, a collection
Of files, cloths, gloves and other para
phernalia alleged to have been used in
the ounterfeiling Business by Sands and
others were found in a trunk in a corner
the court of the alleged confession Of
Sands TO him, which was objected to by
Senator Daily, but the objections were
oyerruled.
The confession in the main was that
William Sands. his brother. Mrs. Mary
haapp, his mistress, and Sands himself
had been engaged in the counterfeiting
business in rooms on Wabash avenue in
C11cago early in the present year. They
were practically forced to it because the
business Of the faith curists, of whom
Sands was one. and was known as 'sDr.
Clark, was very bad in Buffalo. and the
oupie had gone west, where thew met
1WlA2am Sands especially to make 1c to
successfully in Chicago. and after getting
e good stock on hand had come east,
several cites had been worked and
everything went well until the arrest Of
Mrs. Knapp in Hoboken. William Sands
nad stayed out west and he and Jerry
6arnes. a son-in-law of the defendant.
NItoSs were nov III Kansas plying their
eneap money trade. When he heard of
MRS knaDps arrest he had taken 2 FER
TyDoat 10 New York and en- route had
sunk several hundred of the bad dollars.
Sands also confessed to have been in the
counterfeitAng business some twenty years
Owen Owens. the secret servica man
VINO n3d acted as s~tenogrgpher at the Jer-
sey City jail confession Of Mrs. Knanp.
was put on the stand to read the confess
fien IN fun. TIE document was closely
typewrirten II questions and answers in
mos part covering the ground already
gore over by other witnesses. Mrs. Knann
hed met Sands in Buffalo. August Z, 1895,
ana had been treated by him as a faith
cnrizt fer throat trouble. She said later
fhey h5d lived together and almost al
ways went by the name CT Mr.. and Mrs.
HAIL Her lawful husband. she said.
knew It and did not enter any protest
Ire faith cure doctor, Sands. had a legal
vile Of his own who had convenientlv
gene away on q visit about that time and
never came back. She now lives in Chit
cage under her maiden name, Moilie Har-
rs, Tne Knapp woman admitted buying
tna eounteTfeiting tools in CHICAGO. and
fles the like. and said about l,Ga1 bad
cellars were made. Over $50 of these she
mad parsed Ia Chicago and 200 or SO of the
remainder had been worked off before her
arresE.
The case will be continued hts morning
ana viii probably consume tins enough
10 make 1t lapse over until after Christ