New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-08-18
Lawyer Would Learn How
Money to Convict Him
Was Spent.
DETECTIVES BILLS
EXAMINED CLOSELY
Kings Alibi Not Support
ed-AIbion Wire-Tap-
pers Suspected.

from q Stan Correspondent ~ ms InDune'J
Albion, N. Y, Aug. l7.-An investiga-
ton of all the expenditures made by
officials Of Orleans County in convict
ing Charles F. Stielow of the murder
of Charles B. Phelps and his house
keeper, Margaret Wolcott, was begun
to-day by counsel for Stelow. Thus
a new angle Of the long fight to save
the condemned man from the chair
was taken up.
Particular attention is being paid to
the expenses of George w. Newton,
the Buffalo detective. who asserted that
he obtained a confession Of guilt from
Stielow. Demand was made to-day for
access to the records Of the connty's
financial dealings with the detective
and more than thirty pages in which
are entered the bills he presented were
copied. Not only will Newton's accounts
be scrutinized, but an effort will be
made to learn the identity of every
person receiving money from the coun-
ty in connection with the case, together
with the amount each received.
Nearly $4,000 Spent.
Nearly $4,000 was expended in the
process of convicting Stielow, and there
have been inquiries as to where 1T all
went. A dispute is on now over
81 200 printing bill, and other items in
the large total are thought to offer
material for inspection. Newton and
his coworkers had received about $4,000
in salaries and expenses up to the hrst
of the year; since then rewards aggre-
eating several thousand dollars have
been paid the detective by the county
an the Phelps family.
Newton returned to Albion as soon
as Mrs. Grace Humiston, of New York,
caused the arrest of Erwin King, horse
trader and junk peddler, and from him
obtained last Thursday circumstan-
tial confession of the murder of Phelps
and his housekeeper. 1t was learned
to-day he had again been engaged by
the county to combat the efforts Of
Mrs. Humston and to find witnesses
who, the District Attorney asserts, will
be able to swear King was not near
the scene of the crime when it took
place.
Mrs. Humiston was in Buffalo to-day
investigating stories of persons who
saw King after the murder David A.
White, attorney of record for Stielow,
made trip to-day through the towns
of Alabama Centre, Alabama Station,
Akron and Crittenden, the exact route
over which King in his confession said
he passed in escaping from the Phelps
farm.
Wire-Tapping Suspected.
When the result of the trip was
made known to Mrs. Humlston she
said over the telephone: eve now have
evidence in hand which, disregarding
entirely Kings voluntary confession,
will link him with the Phelps murders.
Before | had ever seen King | had
enough evidence to make me morally
certain he knew something Of the
crimes"
Mrs. Humiston is convinced that
wire-tappers have listened to import
ant conversations she had over the
telephone here. 1t has happened al
most invariably that when she told of
any of her intended moves in tele-
phone conversations with co-workers
the information in some unexplained
way reached detectives and through
them the office of John c. Knicker-
booker. District Attorney of Orleans
County.
So far as could be learned to-day
from the prosecutor, King is still
without an unbreakable abb lot the
NIGHT of the crime. The District At
torney admitted that some persons ne
had depended upon to say they saw
King shortly before the murder at
Knowlesville, ten miles away, had SUI
roxod ioss Of n,emory