The San Francisco call., 1898-02-18
Will Try to Prove Hoff- mans Wounds Were
 Self-Inflicted.
Attempt to Strike Out Evidence Tending to Supply a
 Motive.
Hand writing Expert Anes of New York Declares Figeps Receipt
 Is Forgery.

The case for the prosecution of Theo- dore Figel, charged with the murder of Isaac Hoffman, his employer, was de- clared closed yesterday morning.
 When the proceedings were resumed on the opening of the court, Abraham Hoffman of the firm of A. and H. Hoff- man and brother of the deceased. was called to the witness stand. His testi- mony contradicted the statements of Joseph M. Rothchild, who, when he was on the stand, said when he asked Figel what Isaac Hoffman had done with all the money he had overdrawn Figel re- piled: T don't know. I think he loaned some to his brother Abe
 The witness said that he had not personally borrowed any money from his brother, but shortly before the homicide was committed he had bor- rowed $50 from him in the name of the firm of A. and H. Hoffman, and that it was repaid few days later.
 Samuel T. Ames, the New York ex- pert on handwriting, was called to give an opinion on the genuineness of the receipt for s9500 which Figel claims was given him by Hoffman just previous to his death for the return of the money shortage in his accounts.
 You have seen and examined the $9500 receipt bearing the signature, Isaac Hoffman,, and dated May IS, 1S97?"
 II have"
 You have compared 1t with speci- mems of Isaac Hoffman's handwrit- ing?"
 T have"
 Tn your opinion. is the signature to that receipt in the handwriting of Isaac Hoffman,"
 "Now, I don't desire to ask you the exact process by which you arrived at this conclusion, but that is the result of your examination, is it?"
 Tt is. It was then and is now"
 That is all," said Judge Murphy.
 Judge Murphy, who is conducting the prosecution, then offered in evidence the check on the Chemical Bank of New York for $14S2 75, received by Figel June l, 1897, and paid by him to the account of Bernard Joseph in Ii- quidation of a debt of $500. A num- Der of other checks, all representing sums which Figel is accused of embeZ- zling, were introduced, with a mild protest from General Barnes.
 That closed the prosecution and Gen. eral Barnes, the leading counsel for the
 
 tion to make respecting the evidence of the acts of alleged embeZZlement. His associate, eX-Judge Louderback, suggested that the jury. be dismissed during the argument that would follow and the twelve men were excused un- til D. m.
 When the jury had gone General Barnes said the testimony regarding various sums of money received by Figel had been admitted for the sole purpose of creating a suspicion of en- bezzlement and so furnishing a motive for the alleged homicide. That being so, it became necessary for the prose- cution to show, beyond a reasonable doubt, that such sums of money had been fraudulently abstracted before the evidence could go to the jury, even up- on the question of motive. The receipt for $9500 is claimed to be a forgery. The prosecution does not claim nor do they introduce any testimony to show that Figel forged it, nor ut tered 1t, knowing 1t to be forged. There is no evidence that he meant any fraud in connection with the receipt, nor meant to do anything with it. He merely showed it to Joseph and to Gellert, and to Joseph NJ. Rothchild, and the latter impounded it. "A crime alleged as a motive must be proven beyond reasonable doubt, just as much as the offense itself for which the party is on trial"
 General Barnes in concluding his ar gument asked that the testimony re- garding the alleged embedded checks and drafts and the forged receipt be ex- cluded
 Judge Murphy resisted the motion. He said it was not necessary to prove the embezzlements and the forgery be- yond reasonable doubt, but merely to introduce evidence that tended to show that embezzlement and forgery had been committed, as motive for the more serius crime. He also called at tention to the fact that the s95OO re ceipt bore the date of May IS, 1897.