Los Angeles herald., 1908-11-20
BITTER FEELING
AT HAAS INQUEST
LANGD0N ASSISTS CORONER
IN INQUIRY
SUICIDES JAlLER is NERVOUS
DURING ORDEAL
Prosecution Firmly Convinced Weapon
Was Passed to Heney's Assail-
ant, but Police Deny
Charge

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 19.-The
question of how Morris Haas. the
would-be assassin of Assistant Dis
trict Attorney Francis J. Heney, OBJ
tanned or concealed the derringer with
which he committed suicide in his cell
last Saturday night was the principal
subject of inquiry today at the coroners
inquest. The dissension and bitter
feeling between the prosecution and the
police and in the police department it
self as a result of Haas suicide was
strongly reflected in the testimony
given.
DIR. T. B. Leland, the coroner, was
assisted in the inquiry by District At
torney Langdon, who, however, virtu-
ally confined himself to eliciting tes-
timony supporting the contention of
the prosecution that the weapon was
passed to Haas by someone after he
was taken to the county jail. 1t is
the theory of Chief of Police Biggy and
Captain of Detectives Kelly that Haas
had the derringer, a very small, single
harreled affair, concealed in his shoe
and that it was overlooked when Haas
was searched by Special Agent w. j.
Burns and Captain of Police Duke.
The latter is the only police official
who has taken his stand with the
prosecution in this controversy.
To give the jury an example of
whether the derringer could or could
not have been concealed in a man, S
shoe, Deputy Coroner Thomas Davis
put on one of Haas shoes and placed
the weapon in it, inside of his stock
ing. Davis declared that the weapon
caused him very little Inconvenience.
AS his ankle measurement, however.
was considerably less than that of
Haas, the test was not regarded as
conclusive.
Felt Around Ankles
While admitting that he did not
search the prisoners shoes, Captain of
Police Duke said on the stand
that he had thoroughly examined Haas
clothing and felt around his ankles. He
asserted with great positiveness that If
the weapon had been in either shoe he
would have discovered 1t.
Special Agent Burns testified to hav-
ing made q thorough search of Haas,
land 1 have been searching men for
twenty years." he added. He told of
the attempt of Policemen Attridge and
Kelly. the latter son of the captain
of detectives, to prevent his seeing
Haas at the county Jail when he went
there with Mr.. Langdon, the police
men stating that they had orders from
the chiefs office not to let Burns or
any of his men see the prisoner"
Burns said that he did not search
HAS shoes, believing that that would
be done later when the prisoner ar
rived at the Jail.
The bullet with which Haas shot Mr.
Heney and which has been removed
from the latter's left jaw. was intro
duced in evidence by DR.. s. o. Beasly
1t transpired that the police had en-
deavored to get the bullet from Beasly
but the latter said that he had beer
directed by Mr.. Heney himself under
no circumstances to give the bullet tc
the police and to allow no one but
the district attorney to have it,
Detective Sergeant Thomas f. Burke
one of the men guarding Haas at the
county Jail, who has been much criti-
cised, was so nervous, several times at
tempting to ask questions, that he was
repeatedly told to take his seat by Dr.
| Leland.
Mrs. Haas, the wife of the suicide,
was too i'll to appear today and the
inquest was continued until tomorrow
morning.