Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-17
BRIBERY HINTS
ENLivEN TRIAL
FINKS' ATTORNEYS SEEK TO
INVOLVE S. P.
Question Witness as to Whether He
Was Not Paid by Railroad
Officials to Appear and
Give Testimony


made against the Southern Pacific
railroad yesterday by attorneys for
Albert Fink and his wife, Julia FINK
at their preliminary hearing on
charge of making a false demand
against the Hartford Insurance COM
pany in connection with the disap-
pearance of 1OSOO worth of diamonds
and jewelry.
The conclusion to be drawn from the
cross-examination of witnesses of the
prosecution is that it is the contention
of the defense that several of the wit
nesses have been bribed by the South-
ern Pacific to give damaging tesu-
mony regarding the Finks, so that
when the charge Of the Southern Pa
cific company against them comes up
for hearing they will be convicted or
the charge of making false demand
against that company.
Harry Adams, the travelling sales
man who checked the trunk contain
ing the jewelry, was the first witness
to be called. He testified that Fink
purchased a ticket to San Francisco
for him after purchasing q scrip
book "I was to leave on the owl
train on December %, but Fink stated
that he couldn't get berth so ne told
me to leave the next morning. on my
return to the office after checking the
trunk i'm the afternoon of December
% he asked me for my scrip book, in
which l had placed the trunk check
He gave it back to me after showing
me how to keep a record in the scrip
book of my mileage and then | placed
IL in the safe. When L called at the
baggage room at San Francisco for
the trunk they handed me suitcase
/ told them that I had trunk and
they said they would send out tracer
for it,"
Otto A. Brendt. porter at the Golden
West hotel in San Francisco at the
time it is alleged Mrs. Fink registered
| at the hotel as Frau Eta Schulz, was
| the next witness called.
Brendt testified that he talked TO
| Mrs. Fink in German as the clerk of
the hotel couldn't understand her be
cause she spoke broken English. He
said that at the time he noticed her
at the counter registering she wore a
! long cloak and that she had dark
pair of goggles on and that she had
| veil tied around her head. He asked
| her why she wore the glasses and she
! told him that her eyes were sore and
| that she thought a trip to California
would do her good. She also told him
that she had only been in the United
| States about three years, and had lived
in New York before coming to Cali
fornia.
81 took the trunk up to her room in
the morning and later she called me
and told me that she wanted the trunk
taken to the station as she was going
to San Jose to see some relatives
! When took the trunk up to her room
| in the morning I noticed that it didn't
have a rope on It but when l went
up later to take IL downstairs l no
ticed a rope had been placed around 1t.
I called her attention to 1t and asked
! why she did not ask me to do it,"
At this point Brendt explained that
| she had given him a tip of so cents
and so he thought he ought to do some
| thing for her as 1t was very seldom he
got a tip from a German.
"She told me that her husband had
packed the trunk and had put the rope
inside the trunk" continued the wit
ness.
He said he remembered the trunk
distinctly because it was a trunk that
| travelling statesmen generally used and
| that he called her attention to that
fact.
When cross-examined he was ques-
toned closely as to how he remem-
| bered minute details rs to her dress
and as to the Identification of the trunk
Several times he was asked whether
or not he had been paid by officials
of the Southern Pacific to come to
Los Angeles and testify in the mat
ter He said that he was subpoenaed
and that the Southern Pacific COM
pany had given him a pass. He de-
MED having been bribed.
He was also examined as to a trip
which he made to Los Angeles about
three weeks ago, at which time he
went to the home of the Finks dis
guised as a conductor for the pur-
pose of identifying Mrs. Fink.
Richard Allbors, baggageman of the
Golden West hotel in San Francisco,
who was engaged by Mrs. Fink to take
the trunk to the station and check it to
duced in evidence as the trunk which
he had handled. He also identified
Mrs. Fink as the woman who hired
him.
p. e. Kelley. special agent of the
Southern Pacific company in San Fran
cisco, examined the contents of the
trunk and said that it was the one
he had discovered in the baggage
room at San Jose. He stated that
when he found the trunk it was roped
but was unlocked
The hearing will be continued to-
day An effort will be made by the
defense to impeach witness Allbors.
1t is claimed that he had not seen
preliminary eharing and that he asked
several persons in the courtroom to
point her out to him.
PHYSICIAN is ARRAIGNED