The San Francisco call., 1897-07-23
FIGEL WON AT
THE RACE4RACK
The Clerks of Hoffman,
RothchiId & Go. Knew
About It.
Bernard Josephs Saw the Young
Bookkeeper's Heavy
Winnings.
Judge Campbell Objects to Admitting
as Evidence Conversation Over
the Telephone.

The examination of Theodore Figel,
charged with embezzlement, was re-
sumed yesterday morning before Judge
| Campbell, Bernard Josephs, the witness
| of the day previous, again taking the
| stand
| The witness, who is a man II years OF
age and a foreigner, gave the court and
the attorneys considerable trouble to un-
derstand MIN.
| AS Mr.. Josephs has already testified be-
fore the Coroner's jury, the transcript OF
| the stenographic report taken there came
in quite handy.
! II didn't know anything of Figels re-
sources only that l knew he was an honest
man." said he.
do you usually loan money that way
on no further security than that a man
honest| asked General Barnes.
~ have often loaned more money than
| l have to Figel and to poorer men without
other security than a note"
did you know prior to June l that Mr..
| Fgel ever played the races2" asked GEN
eral Barnes.
Yes before Attorney Ach's objection
could stop him.
II don't think that the defendant ever
told me that he was going 10 buy horses
with the money | loaned him. In all,
from Oct ober, 1896, to June, 1897, losned
| Mr.. F!gel $1,000, which he has returned TO
me according to his promise from time to
| time when the payments were due.
The boys in the store, all of them, told
me Fige had won lot of money at the
races. | went with him TO the Safe Do
| posit vaults, where l saw him take from
his box six $1,000 and one $500 green back,
l told Figel at that time that | would
drop that sort of business and keep the
monev. HI told me then that he would
keep $4,000 and try his luck on the $500"
Odd it occur TO you,' inquired Barnes,
ito ask him how it was he borrowed
couple of Thousand dollars from you
while he had all that money in the safe p
1T did not, L didn't care; he always
paid me all he borrowed"
The subject of Figel having asked wit
ness after June to say he had seen the
$9500 receipt called forth considerable dis
cussion. The transcript Of the testimony
taken at the Coroner's inquest was read
to witness. In it Josephs states that in
the first story he told to Attorney Ach
and the Chief OF Police he did not make
the statement that Fipel exclaimed,
We'll | will have to take the conse-
quences."
That remark is alleged to have been
made after the witness refused to say he
J, had seen the $500 receipt.
The witness said his memory had failed
him, but that on subsequent thought, at
the inquest, 1t came back to him.
Attorney Joseph Rothchild, brother of
E. S. Rothchild, junior member of the
firm OF Hoffman, Rothchilo d Co., was
called by the prosecution to testify as to
a conversation held by the defendant in
San Rafael and Chief Lees in San Fran
cisco, at other end of the telephone, Lees
being at the time-June l, 10 MIN the
office of Rothchild & Ach.
General Barnes objected and the court
suggested that Captain Lees would be a
competent witness in the matter.
But" put in Attorney Aoh with some
feeling, I'm afraid of Chief Lees MEM
ory. Suppose that the Chief denied hav-
ing said u certain thing over the pho ne
| believe We would be entitled to prove
that he did by witnesses who heard him. -
The ques ion was Withdrawn by Ach.
Attorney Rothchild identified the $9500
receipt Figel claims was given him by
Isaac Hoffman for the money drawn by
the late merchant, and it was filed as an
exhibit, Ach asking that it be not marke
in any manner, but that in all future uses
it be put TO the enlarged photogra phic
COPY of it be used.
Witness was then made to identify a
dozen or more documents signed by Isaac
Hoffman, introduced as exemplars OF the
signature.
| InOSe signatures, tne WitHeSS ueCIdreu,
had been submitted by him to experts
Professors Ames, Horton, Mitchell and
Young, also to Messrs. Reichman, Eisen,
schimmel and kytka.
Just before adjournment until Monday
Judge Camp pbell was about to seal up the
$9500 ipt, to which General Barnes OBJ
jected, saying that insomuch as the prose
cution h had held it in its possession al
this time the defense would like to be
equally favored in the future. Attorney
Rothchild stated that the receipt had been
handed to him voluntarily by FigeI and
that he felt justified in keeping it as he
did.
To this Figel entered a sharp protest,
saying that he not only had not given the
receipt to Rothchild, but that he only
showed il 10 him, whereupon Rothchild
appropriated it and thereafter refused to
return it when requested so to do.
Fearing consequences OF disastrous
nature to the receipt, Figel telephoned fol-
Bernard Josephs, who arrived, and Fig el
renewed the conversation about the docu-
ment, SO that he might have witness
that it was in the possession OF Roth
child.
The court ordered the receipt to be left
unsealed, but that no one be permitted to
see or handle it except in open court.
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New Business interpretations.