Omaha daily bee., 1896-09-25
HAS A FEW HOURS OF LIBERTY.
George Hhus Gives the omcers at the
city Jail the slim.

81 have nothing to say. | don't know
anything about it. The woman must be
mistaken"
George Haus, the man who stands charged
with attempting to assault S-year-old Kath-
leen Rossiter, wrote this answer in police
court yesterday morning when his prelimin-
airy hearing was finished. He persists in
maintaining that he is deaf and dumb so
successfully that the police are beginning to
doubt that the man is shamming.
Gentlemen, II | should leave this world
and stand before God as | am before you
now. | could say that | am innocent OF that
crime. God Is my witness. l trust in
God" wrote Haus.
Haus closed his written defense with the
foregoing sentences. He asserted strongly
that he was innocent Of the crime and main
tanned that the mother of the little girl
was mistaken when she swore that he was
the man whom she pursued and captured
Immediately after the attempted assault, He
alleged that he had never seen either mother
or daughter before.
A strong point made by the prosecution
was based upon the fact that the girls
assailant left with her a card upon which
was engraved the deaf and dumb alphabet,
HGus had a bunch OF such cards in his pos
session when arrested. The only explanation
that Haus could offer for this suspicious
circumstance was that the assailant must
have purchased one of the cards from him
and given 1t to the girl.
The defense was short, but strong. Be
sides denying the charge, Haus wrote that
he never would. have thought of attempting
the crime because his days were numbered,
as he was a sufferer from heart trouble.
The document had been compiled by him
in his cell and was well written and worded.
1t was considered strange that the man wa,
able to use such excellent language, as he
had been in this country but five years,
but he stated that he had attained his pro-
fiCienCy by self-study.
At the conclusion of the hearing. Judge
Gordon bound Haus over to the district
court in the sum of 50, 900 to answer to the
charge against him. The prisoner was
remanded to jail, as he was unable to offer
bail.
Haus was turned over to the jailer and
turnkey, Dooley ana Marshal. Marshal also
acts as conductor on the patrol wagon. and
just as he started down stairs to lock Hans
in a cell a call for the wagon came in and
Marshal mOtioned to Haus to go down below
and at the same time told the jailer to lock
him up. The jailer says he was busy at
tho time and did not go for a minute or so
and when he finally went down in the
cell room the prisoner had vanished, and
nothing was left to tell the tale except a hole
in a corner of the areaway lighting the Jail,
where a board had been knocked off.
This areaway opens on Jackson street and
the escaping prisoner must have been in full
view of passersby. but no one has yet been
found who saw him. The police say the
blame for the escape rests upon the system
which compels them to operate the Jail
without a turnkey, the patrol conductor being
required to do duty as a turnkey when not
on the wagon. 1t is said hat this throws
all the work upon the jailer. who has his
hands fun with the duties assigned to him
as jailer and cannot properly perform the
duties of turnkey in addition. AS soon as
the escape was discovered men were sent
out in all directions to look for the prisoner.
Haus was captured about Q o'clock last
night attempting to cross the bridge in a
motor car to Council Bluffs. He had some
how since his escape secured a 10-cent piece
for his fare.