The San Francisco call., 1897-06-07

| dealing or in any other speculative ven-
ture.
This morning at 9 o'clock the Coroner g
Jury will visit the premises OF Hoffman,
Rothchild & Co. in order TO view them
and be able to more intelligentIy rem der a
correct verdict when the inquest is held.
An important witness in the case VOL
UNFAIRLY came forward yesterday and
made a statement which should relieve
Theodore F gel, the cashier, from any
more insinuations and innuendoes.
He is Leopold L. Korn, who has a
clgar-stOTe at 120 Ca ifornia street. He is
a young man and did not desire to get
himself mixed up in the case, but af er
reading the evening papers on Saturday
night his conscience troubled him, and he
MADE up his mind to tell what he knew
and le,.ve the police to decide what it was
worth.
Accordingly, accompanied by DR.. Bun
nell, of the Receiving Hospital, he called
upon Chief Lees yesterday afternoon and
made his statement, which he had pre-
viously made to reporter OF THE CALL.
II closed up my store Tuesday even
ing" he said, "between 6:26 and $3.50, and
accompanied by friend walked slowly
along Front street to Market, and along
Market westward.
"As we were crossing the gore atIBat-
terry, Bush and Market streets l noticed
two men standing talking in front of
Hoffman, Rotbchild & Co.'s store; but
what first attracted my attention was the
fact that the front door of the store was
open.
Il looked around and saw Ferrenbach,
the watchman, in front OF Meyer TENS
new building on the northeast corner.
His back was toward Hoffman, Rothchild
d Co. store, and he was walking aWay in
the opposite direction.
Il remarked TO my friend that Ferren-
bach was nice sort OF watchman not
to see that Hoffman's store door was open
as l knew that all the wholesale stores in
that neig ghborhood are closed between 5
and 6 o'clock.
81 don't know Hoffman; neither do /
know Flgel, so l cannot say who the two
men were. / could not give any descrip-
ton OF the men, as my attention was at
tracted more by the open door than by
them. | don't think they were talking in
an excited manner, because if they had l
presume l would have noticed it.
There was 10 wagon nor dray near the
place, so one of the men couldn't have
been Lauer. The two men on the one cor
ner anu Ferren bach on the other were the
only men within my range of vision in
these directions.
ITO the best of my recollection this
would be between $3.50 and 6:35 P NJ,
nearer the latter than the former l should
think.
81 did not want to get mixed up in the
case, but when | saw that Figel was being
talked about and having read that he took
the $50 P. NJ. boat to San Rafael, thought
1t was only just to him that l should tell
what saw
Ii one of the two men seen by Korn
standing In front of the store was Hoff-
man, as 1t is natural to suppose, Figel was
al that time On board the ferry-boat and
was not, therefore, the last person seen
taking with hoffman, even if Lauer, the
drGy man, should be wrong as 10 the time
he saws he spoke to Hoffman and loaned
him $50 which he still sticks to as correct.
Assuming that Hoffman was one of the
Two men who was the other man. and
why has he not come forward and frankly
admitted that he was conversing with
Holman ii he has nothing to be ashamed
of?
1t was stated by Ferren bach that il was
the fact of finding the door in a condition
which indicated that some one had at
tempted to lock it but had failed to secure
t. though the bolt of the lock was fully
thrown, that ed him to make an investi-
CATION resulting in the discovery of the
uying merchant stretched out on the floor.
1t is possible that after Hoffman. if
Holman it was, had parted with the man
he was talking to when seen by Korn he
had closed the front door behind him on
entering the store, leaving it n the condi-
ton found by Ferren bach.