The San Francisco call., 1897-09-03
EVIDENCE OF POLICE
is HEARD.
Officers Tell How the Accused
Failed to Aid Them in
Their Search.
WAS ANXIOUS TO SAVE
HIMSELF.
Employees In the Factory Where the
Murder Is Said to Have Oc-
CURED Also Testify.

CHICAGO, Ill, Sept. 2.-The indiffer-
ence of Luetgert after his wife had disap-
eared was the principal fact brought out
against him to-day. 1t was shown by the
testimony of Police Captain Herman
SchuttIer that Luetgert did not show any
concern regarding his wife, and never took
the trouble 10 ask the police whe her they
h ad found any trace of her or not. Only
on one occasion he called at the police
station to protest against an article in
daily paper saying that his first wife had
not died a natural death. The police at
this time were out dragging the river.
p0king into clay holes and patroliing he
lake in the hope of finding some trace of
the missing woman, but Luetgert, after he
had com planned of the papers, left the sta
ton without even asking If the police had
found any trace of his wife.
When the police first became aware OF
the disappearance of Mrs. Luetgert
through her brother they asked Luetgert
what theory he had regarding her disap-
pearance, and he said that in his opinion
she had become insane and had wandered
away from home. He had not reported
the going away either to the police or his
ueighboIs, because, he said, 1t was dis
grace to have an insane wife and he did
not want people to know anything abou
it. Captain Schuettler said that in all the
police did on the case before the arrest of
Luetgert they never received any help or
suggestions from the husband, and he
never seemed TO care whether they found
her or not.
Luetgert to-day announced that he in
tended TO take the stand and testify in his
own behalf. He said that he had talked
the matter over with his attorneys and
they had consented that he should do SO.
He said he would tell all about his actions
on the nights preceding the disappear
anee of his wife, and would convince the
jury that he had done nothing wrong.
The interest in the case increases every
day and this morning it was almost an
impossibility for the court officials and
the attorneys to force their way through
the crowd that blocked the Railways out
side of the courtroom.
" The court opened with Frank Odorafsky,
Luetgert's smokehouse man, still in the
witness chair. Yesterday..O dorafsky gave
his testimony in German. This morning
he abandoned that language for Polish.
his native tongue, and a new interpreter
: was necessary. His direct testimony was
concluded in Jew minutes, the State
showing him q tin box containing caustic
soda. This the witness said was like the
stuff which he took from a barrel in the
shipping room and, underthe direction of
: Luetgert, broke up and placed in the mid.
IDLE vat.
=" Odorafsky was turned over to the de-
.fense for .cross-exam ination, and ATTORNEY
Vincent questioned him first about his
*connec ion with the police since the arrest
of Luptgert. The witness said an officer
has been with him nearly all the time.
No money. he said, had been given him.
and no position promised him, but his
wife has received money from Inspector
Setback. -
just a few cents" said Odorafsky, "to
pep:body and soul together. l am not
giving my testimony but for conscience"
Qdorafsky was : subjected TO severe
questioning with the object of showing
that there were discre pancies between
his testimony now and what be had
gwen at Luetgerts preliminary hear
ing and in the habeas corpus proceed.
ings before Judge Gibbons. The smoke
house man declared candidiy that on
those former occasions he had been ex-
amlned in German, a language which
be does not spsak we'll. Some of the
questions, he said, he did not understand
thoroughly, but had answered to- the best
of his ability. To all of ATTORNEY Vim
fo
. he answered that he did not remember
what he said. Odorafsky said he only
took al bout half shovelful of the red sub
stance out of the vat. He did not scrape
out the vat or examine its bottom thor.
oughly.
FRANK Sewandowski, also a Pole. was
called next. He is at present employed
as laborer by the Northwestern Railway.
. Sewandowski was EN- ployed in the Luet-
CERT factory up to May last, when the
Sheriff took possession. His work was
the building and wra piping of hams, and
TO distinguish him. from Odorafsky, who
was called "Smoke Frank" he has the
nickname of Ham Frank" Sewandow-
skis testimony was mainly corroborative
of Odorafsky's. He assisted the latter in
DrtdkIHg up the CeuSLlS SOOd duu putIAH s
it in the vat. When he saw Odorafsky
had burned his hands with the stuff wit
ness said he covered his hands with rags
and also put cloth over his face to pro-
tect himself.
The witness assisted Odorafsky in clean
ing the floor ABOUT the vat on the Monday
following the 1st of May. He said he ex-
amined the red substance which had come
from the vat and found 1t mad an offen-
sive smell. There we're two smokehouse
doors near the vat which were wet and
had this red substance on them, showing
that they had been used to cover the vat.
There were also a number of sacks near
the vat, some of them hanging on the vat
next to the one in which it is alleged the
body OF Mrs. Luetgert was destroyed. The
sacks. were wet and the theory OF the