The San Francisco call., 1897-09-08
GRILLIuG THE
SAUSAGE MAN
Leutgert Has a Day Of
Embarrassment in
Court.
His Letters to Widow FeIdt
Are Very Amusing to
the Crowd.
A "Greedy Attorney to Whc m
They Refer Enjoys the Hum
orous Situation.

CHICAGO, ILL, Sept. Two stron e
points were scored by the prosecution in
the Luetgert trial to-day, and unless the
defense is able TO mpeack the testimony
OF the witnesses their evidence is likely 10
have considera BILE weight with the jury.
The two witnesses we're \ .cholas Faber,
who testifie that on the night of May
he saw Luetgert and his wife enter the
sausage factory, and Charles Hengst, who
swore that on the night OF May he passed
the factory and heard cry from within,
as though soma one was IN pain. At the
hearing before the Police Justice by whom
Luetgcrt was hell TO await the action OF
the Grand Jury Hengst said he could not
tell whether the Cry was of human being g
or OF animal. To-day Ge said how
ever, that he was contd ut the cry came
from a human being. The defense rely
greatly on the statement ne made before
the trial TO imp ach his testimony.
Faber grew confused somewhat on cross
examination, and could not tell whether
the moon shone, or whether it was a
cloudy night when he saw Luetgert and
his wife enter the factory on the night of
May /; but he stuck stoutIy to his story
that he had seen the people enter the
factory shortly after 10 O'Clock on the
night of May /.
The reading of the love letters which
had been written by Luetgert to Mrs.
Feldt was great fun for the crowd in the
courtroom, and was very en- barras sin e
for the defendant, as in several OF them
he had spoken in a sighting manner OF
the lawyers who are now conducting his
defense, saying that they were greedy"
and not able to handle trial OF such i'm.
portance.
He laid particular stress on the incom-
patency OF Judge Vincent, who is now the
leading counsel for the defense. When
these portions of the letters were read,
the lawyers laughed and nobody enjoyed
them more than Judge Nincent; putif
was not pleasan for Luetgert, who twisted
around in his cHai-, uopped his face with
his handkerchief and vas very uncomfort-
able generally.
The defense made strong fight against
the introduction of the letters, and when
the court decided that they were proper
evidence the defense asked that they be
read in German, as they might lose some
of their original meaning by being read
in English. This the court oyerruled,
and the letters went before the Jury as the
swearing that the translation was entirely
correct.
Assistant State Attorney McEwan pro-
ceeo ed with the direct examination, which
dealt largely with the financial relations
between Luetgert and Mrs. Feldt. She ad-
miTed having received funds from Luet-
gers prior to his arrest, and said shs had
WITHDRAWN the money, at bis demand,
from a safety deposit vault for his use. The
sums she had Withdrawn footed up to $4,000,
thee entire amount she had received. She
asserted her Ignorance of how this money
was used by the prisoner, but admitted
that portions of it had been re aimed by
her, on his order, for the care Of his chill
dren. She asserted that she had refused
to lend Luetgert her own money upon the
requests she had received from him in the
letters.
Rhe State regards Mrs. Feldt as one of
its. most important witnesses. as through
her testimony it expects to esta bish Luet-
gert's motive i'll the alleged m urder of his
wife.
Nicholas Faber, an mploye of Luet-
ger, was next put on the stand. He tes-
tined to having seen Luetgert and his wife
enter the factory on the evening OF May L.
Under ton Faber was forced
to admit that he did not know anything
that happened OH any other particular
date near May 1. He was also unable to
tell whether 1t was moonlight night or
cloudy. He simply stuck to the fact that
he had seen the woman and heard the two
talk. The defense expects to eontroyert
many MINOR points of Faoer's testimony.
An incident occurred during Faber's
testimony that showed that Luetgert was
possessed of high temper when aroused.
Bailiff Reid, the colored officer in whose
custody the pr soner is placed, attempted
to restrain his charge from CT 1ssing to the
witness-stand with his attorneys for the
purpose of watching Fabar designate on
the map the loc ,ti0n where he asserted
he saw Mrs. Lue;seit enter the factory.
Luetgert would not brook the restraint
and turned on the bailiff, his face flushed
with anger, and denounced the attem pit
70 deprive him of what he considered his
rights in the trial.
Attorney Vincent appealed to the court
and Judge Tnthili permitted the big de-
fsnd ant to examine the maps in company
with the attorneys.
After Faber left the stand the court took
q recess.
Charles Hengst, who was the first wit
ness at the afternoon session, is an honest
appearing German, and one of the few
witnesses who rendered his testimony in
English. He told about having heard the
cry of person, but was conslderably
confused when cross-examined by Attor-
new Phelan as to his testimony at the pre-
limiuarv hearing. 1t was shown from tn
record OF the hearing before the Justice
that Hengst had shown his ignorance
to whether the cry was that of human
being or an animal. To-day he said he
was quite positive it was tho cry of
human being.
Fritz Figel, who worked for Luetgert on
May 4, told how he had empiied a barrel
of ashes in the alley and Officer James
SIN tn testified to having found particles
OF bone and two corset steels in the pile of
debris where the ashes were empted.
Frederick Augustus Scbuelz testified as
to former quarrels between Lueigert and
his wife, III which Luetgert had threat
cned TO take her life. The witness is II
years old and fee ole. He is so deaf that
Interpreter Liebig was coul PEELED to stand
close to his side in order to repeat the
questions of the attorneys.
The defense felt that they bad under
mined his testimony 10 a large extent
when they gained an admission from the
witness that he was 100 leet away from
Luetgert at the time of the quarrel. Bow
so ceaf a man could hear low tones 100
feet away considerably mvstified the de-
Tense and they felt exutant over securin,
the evidence.