The Jersey City news., 1898-09-27
ON TRIAL TOR ARSON.
August BrIlhweiler and John
Baden Accused Of Fir
ing a Saloon.
KEROSENE SEEN ON THE BAR
Premises Were Insured for
Much Beyond Their
True Value.

August Bruhweiler and John Baden
are on trial in the General Session Court
today for arson. Late last April Adriatic
Hall was sold under foreclosure of mort
gage by the Schaeffer Brewing Company
The building was not sold. only the saloon
and fixtures. The purchaser was JOAN
Baden one of the defendants, and he en-
ployed Bruhweiler as bartender The
transfer was made on May 10, and Baden
took possession, paying $3.50 down and as
suming mortgage of $l,100 On the same
day Baden went to Gustave Pfngstens
real estate and insurance office. at No.
l26 Congress street, and arranged for an
ir surance of $500 on the stock and fix
Merchants Insurance Company of New
ark, and the policy was delivered to-
BIuhweler on May 20.
Assistant Prosecutor Van Winkle re-
cited these facts n his opening and then
went on TO tell about the fire He said
| that the Schaeffer Brewing Company had
an insurance on the stock aud fixtures
for 500. which was their actual value.
Bruhweiler, Mi. Van Winkle said, was in
charge OF the place on Sunday night The
fire broke out at three A. M. on Monday,
the 9TH An hour before that Policeman
John Gehring, who was on that post. saw
light in the saloon, and, going in found
Bruhweiler asleep. He awoke BruhweilerH
and the latter told him that Baden was in
Brooklyn. After the policeman went
away Bruhweiler went across the street
to bakery, woke up Louis Rusch, the
baker, and invited him overt to the saloon
to have a drink. Rusch accepted the in
vitation, and after he had put away a
schooner and pony of beer he returned
to the bake shop. Three-quarters of an
hour later he saw the fire and woke up
his employer who ran to the house of
Engine Company No. II and gave an
alarm. When he was in the saloon Ruschs
saw a broken lamp on the bar and some
kerosene oil about the size of the seat Of
a chair He called the bartenders atten-
tion to, the oil and asked him why he
didn't clean it up. Bruhweiler said he
wouldn't clean it up as that was the boss
business.
When Rusch left Bruhweiler locked the
door. BruhWeiler was seen a block away
from the saloon at $40 o'clock. He told
a policeman that he had been to Hobo
ken visiting soae friends and had a.
good time. Bruhweiler had told the boss
baker that he was upstairs asleep when
the fire occurred.
when Mr. Van Wrinkle concluded his
opening Lawyer Joseph M Noonan, who
represents the defendants. asked the
Court to direct an acquittal on the
ground that the State had not claimed
that the defendants were guilty Of any
thing. Mr. Van. Wrinkle said that the
evidence would show what they were
guilty of. Judge Blair declined TO take
the responsibility of directing an acquit-
tai,
Gustav Pfngsten. the insurance
agent, testified that after the application
had been made for insurance he went to
the saloon and looked at the fixtures.
The policy was delivered to Bruhweiler
on May 20. The morning of the fire,
about nine clock, Bruhweiler called at
his office and said he understood that
there had been a fire down at the sa-
loon. A man on a horse car, he said,
told him about it. The witness suggested
that Bruhweiler had better go and find
out about 1t. Bruhweiler told him that
he had been in Hoboken after he closed
the place. The witness went to the Sa-
loon and found it gutted.
Louis Rusch, the baker, told the story
of his experience with Bruhweiler just
as Mr.. Van Winkle had told it in his
opening. On cross-examination he admit
ted that he had been drinking in the sa-
loon nearly all day and that he was
drunk when he left at P. M, that he
was unable to do his work.
William Barrett. bartender in a saloon
two blocks away from Adriatic Hail. tes-
titled that he saw Bruhweiler between a
and 1880 O'Clock ON the morning of the
fire. Bruhweiler took a drink and went
out again.
Policeman Rockford testified that he
saw Bruhweiler at $40 o'clock on the
morning of the fire when he went to pull
his signal box. Bruhweiler told him that
he had been in Hoboken. The witness
did not hear of the fire until 4:l0