The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-09-23
DO EXPERTS EYER ERR?
Cnirographic Sharps Very
Positive About Dr.. Alba
nesius' Handwriting.
SOME POINTS FOR TIE DOCTOR
he Gays the Doorkey to q Firs-
man = More About That
Powder Can.
t
SOME POINTS FOR TIE DOCTOR

-
was resumed Prosecutor Winhelo was
the first of those Immediately interested
in the trial to make his appearance.
was soon ioined by Chief of Police NUT
phy. Assistant Prosecutor Noonan ar
rived a few moments later with one sHue
of his face SWOLLEN. He is suffering
from an attack of neuralgia. When Judge
Hudspeth took his seat on the bench at
ao:15 the defendant had not arrived, ana
the only one of his counsel present was
LAWYER John DENIM. Albanesius ana
ex-Judge Hoffman came in shortly AFTER
ward. y aea srs
The State fred one of Its big guns yes
terday afternoon. Daniel, T. Ames, the
noted exper in handwriting, was called
to the stand and testified in a most posi-
tive manner that the letter to Miss Lllllafa
Beck and other letters which We're preSeu
to have been written by Albanesius ana
the anonymous threatening letters "eie
written blythe same hand.
Prior TO that Mrs. Freund was caiieu,
and testified that at the time OF the hre
she lived next door to Albanesfus, that Is
the windows of her house looked INTO ms
yard. Mrs. Freund fed the defendants
two ferocious mastiffs about eight O'CLOCK
thai night. There was nothing the mat
ter with them then as far as she couid
see. The dogs were of a very VICIOUS
temperament.
. Chief of Police Murphy told in detail all
the steps in ~unraveling the mystery OF
the crime On the Sunday following the
fire he made an investigation. Inc de-
PENDANT came to his office with Fire Snlel
Conway. Chief Conway brought the
bursted powder can with him. The WI
ness said to Altanesius, Doctor ! sent
for you so that you can help US to eiear
up the mystery about this fire. Tel US
all you know about 1t. Give us all the
information you can and tell as whom
you suspect"
A~lbanesius replied: "Chief, you know
I've been getting these threatening let
ters."
How do you account for them?"
the Chief.
We'll" Albanesius replied. you know
I'm a single man and single men some
times do things to make enemies
The defendant handed the Chief a postal
card and said that he suspected a man
who formerly served him with news
papers of having sent it. The witness
the told about all the letters he had re-
ceived concerning the case. On was from
an insurance man named Drake written
to Tillie Schaub, who is now Mrs. Al
banesius. Another was from Mr.. porr.
He also received the letter written by
Albanesius to John e. Muller and the fotr
letters written to Miss Beck. The ChieL
submitted all these letters and the anony-
NOUS letter to Professor Daniel 7. Ames.
The professor subsequently informed the
Chief that the letters were all written
by the same person. The witness Ssub-
mitted the evidence to the Grand Jury
and Albanesius was indicted. Captain Nc
Nulty arrested him and brought him to
the Chiefs office. The Chief told AL
banesius that ne had been indicted. "On
what evidenced" he asked. The Chief told
him that he had submitted the lstters to
an expert, who said they were written by
the same hand. Albanesius saw the Beck
letters in the Chiefs hand and asked:
Where did you get those letters2 e
are mine,'' he continted, somebody must
have stolen them"
Albanesius oNQ*the witness that on the
night of the fire he left his Office at $50
o'clock with his brother Paul. He lived
there alone with his brother. His father
and mother had moved to Rutherford.
and he proposed going there himself; IN
fact, he had already moved some of the
things there. After leaving the house
Paul went to North Hudson, and the de-
PENDANT went to Tony Larsen's saloon,
about two blocks away from the house.
The witness called his attention 10 the
fact that a trail of straw from the, barn
to the house and straw saturated with
kerosene oil had been found. He said
~ a r Av4r 1T 0rnGnn0 uy0 I1CR6E1nWTt MA
house. The colored porter used some, but
only in small quantities. n witness
asked him about the powder can, and ne
said that he didn't know what it was
and could not account for it's presence in
the house. Z
The letters were offered in evidence.
Professor Ames was called after recess
A blackboard was set up and the witness,
with a piece of chalk, demonstrated the
similarity of certain letters of the alpha
bet in the standard and anonymous let
tiers. Nearly an our was spent in this
work and then the witness gave his posi-
tive conclusion that the whole warp and
wool of the two writings are the same
so far as the unconscious -charaeteris-
tics are concerned.
There Is no doubt whatever In my
mind" said the witness, that the writer
of the anonymou letters and the letters
signed DR.. Albanesius' are the same"
you have been in some cases Pro-
3essor, in which decision was against your
judgment, = asked ex-Judge Hoffman,
Occasionally" replied the witness.
81 beat hin myself in Elizabeth" re-
marked Prosecutor Winfield in a stage
whisper and laughing.
Yes, and you've been sorry about it
ever since retorted the Professor. He
admitted that he had made a mistake in
the Whitman and other cases, but vas
positive that he was right this time"
Professor" asked Judge Hoffman, IF
you take on hundred million people could
you ind two whose handwriting would
no. sir, not in q Thousand million peo-
How is it possible, Professor that you
could make 2 mistake # this Is an exac
g have,tsaid It was an exact science.s
John e. Muller was recalled this; MORN
ing. He testified that he is agent for the
Fire Insurance Association of Philadel-i
phia. Albanesius had his personal
property insured in two companies for
David Carvalho, the States other big
gun, was called next. He has beer an
expert in disputed writing for twenty-five
years. The witness had made the same
kind of an examination and. arrived at the
same conclusion as Professor Ames. He
had no doubt thar all the letters were in
the same handwriting. s
Prosecutor Winfield offered the letters
and the powder can in evidence and the
State rested.
Lawyer Alexander Simpson made a pow
erful opening for the defence. He said
would. prove b defendants inno-
cence beyond a doubt H
George M. Horenger, Andrew Moran,
ward C. Stack, all members Of the Silvia
Athletic Club, all testified that Albanesius
was bowling in Tony Latsen's on the
night of the fire.