Omaha daily bee., 1899-10-17
CHIEF WHITES TESTIMONY
T.lls the Whols Story Of the shukert Case
from the Beginning.
POLICE SHOW WHAT tn. EVIDENCE WAS
Captain Donnhue states Under Oath
that Not One nit of the Evidence
Was supprcssed-Lnndln
Processes to Identify.

The shukert case was made far clearer to
the public than it has ever been since l's
beginning by Chief Whites statement from
the witness stand Monday afternoon, His
straightforward answers to the questions oil
the assistant county attorney showed Just
how much there was in the assertion OF
County Attorney Shields that the police had
concealed important evidence from hin to
! lead him to promise the accused freedom
upon the restitution of the goods.
The chiefs brief but explicit history OF
! the case, so far as he get before adjourn
ment, was listened to with rapt attention
| by every person in the court, for 1t not only
! bore directly on the political phase the case
has assumed, but in addition was detect
i've story from real life second in interest
| to no work of fiction Incidentally 1t re-
vealed in Chief White police officer OF
versatile resources and high grade of de-
!, tective skill.
The main points brought out by Chief
| Whites testimony and corroborated by Cap
tain Donahue and even by Assistant County
Attorney Dunn himself we're that at no time
did the accused admit that the least shadow
of guilt properly rested upon them; the
suggestion that the suspects be promised
their freedom came first from shukert and
was approved by County Attorney Shields
before the police took 1t up: that the county
| attorney admitted, when all the evidence
had been laid before him, that there was
no case and that the police officers had done
| well to recover even Part OF the goods
| with such light clues to work with. When
| the accused communicated with friends on
the outside the letters, addressed to their
wives, were first read by the police and
found TO maintain soutly the writer's in
nocence of this particular "job." Their rea-
son for working to recover the goods, as
they gave It, was their fear of being rail
roaded' by the authorities. To the police
they said they had had nothing to do with
the Shukert furs, but that they knew many
men operating in that manner and might
be able to find the goods through them.
Prince the only one OF the suspects thor
oughly identified by photograph by the two
girls who were on the stand Saturday, had
never been within reach of the law
, Chiefs History of the Case.
After detailing the circumstances leading
up to and following the assignment of de-
tectives to work upon the case, Chief White
testified:
'Skukert had me guessing for a while. In
the first place he did not report his loss to
the police until two or three hours after
, he had discovered 1t and then he said the
lock of the vault had been picked But |
told him that dynamiters do not stop to pick
lock and then he said he guessed his wife
!. must have left the safe unlocked. l thought
1t peculiar that the burglars should have
hit upon the exact night that his wife left
: the vault open. But the robbery was evil
IDENTIFY real one. So l sent the brighter OF
g the two girls who had seen the men where
! they rooned to Chicago to the Identification
n bureau, where she picked out of a large
: number Of photographs those of Dennis
It Prince and Lavery ! knew Princes home
was in Des Moines hut went to Chicago
to look up his whereabouts, because If he
had discovered me in Des Moines he would
know was after him before l was prepared
to take him. l found in Chicago that Prince
i. had been reared in Rockford; so | wen
| there. / gained possession of letter ir
Rockford that led me to believe that Prince
and some OF his companions would be il
, Des Moines certain date. They wer,
- going to have a dinner or celebration o
. some kind. l telegraphed to Donahue tt
- send me two good men to Des Moines ant
- when got there took these two, the chic
"A Of police there and one OF their detectives
- and surrounded the house one night. w
- search. / kept in the background myself
. for Prince knows me, and II he had seen m
there he would know what Job he wa
wanted for. We found nothing in the house
=, l left Des Moines, instructing the two mel
:, to keep the house covered and give 1t ou
- that they were in town to help the De
. Moines police during their state fair
~ 1--WE then sent out 400 circulars describ
ing the three men we wanted. Not lon
after I received a letter stating that tn
men were in Joplin, Mo-, | called I'D tn
~ ~ chief Of police In that city by telephone an
- told him he could get the men If he woul
~ ~ manage it rightly. l told him I wante
them very much. I was soon informed tina
ba Dennis and the man we supposed was LAYER
~ had been arrested at Joplin, but that Prime
~ had escaped. wired the police at Dc
al Moines to watch for Prince and especial
~ to examine the mails, for I supposed ths
-, upon leaving Joplin and knowing he wa
-, pursued he would write to his wife. W
M Mna then sent down and got the men at JopliI
~ We had considerable difficulty in gettin
~, them away from there and it was by tellin
~ them that we had an absolute case again.
w. them that we did So"
Id Captain Donahue's Testimony,
,r- The court at this point. continued tt
nix hearing until this morning Next to thf
H. ahue was most important. explaining as
yn did why the police could not make a cas-
en- from the partial Identification of Marie Al
derson and Bessie Kepler, upon which tn
prosecution has laid so much stress H
stated that all evidence had been submit q
a. to tho county attorneys office, County Al
'ic torney Shields agreement to dismiss II
Ia. men II the goods were recovered had bee
or made two weeks before Chief White left II
ON Chicago, or at least Shukert told him /
na had the county attorneys promise at thi
at time His detectives had reported thi
,rs Mrs Bachelor, who rented the men Il
he rooms, could give but a poor description
ilt them and did not think she could identi
1t them positively II they were brought bac
els The two girls had also said that they cou
ne not Identify them. What he had told Il
q two men after they were brought to Il
city that he had ten people who could pc,
itlyely identify them, was only bluff -
Witness testified that Helsley and Dun
assistant county attorneys, had both said Il
In evidence was insufficient. Shields had sa
,p- In the presence OF witness and Shuker
''e you did splendidly to get the goods bat
M with case like that. | promised to |