Omaha daily bee., 1917-06-02
WOMAN DETECTIVE
ON WITNESS STAND
Mrs. Elsie Phelps Relates Plot
to Enforce Money Demand;
Court to Decide at
Once.

Chadron should have such persons
as Critics and Mrs. Hood. Fisher
asked me for my life history and said
he wanted to help me-"
Bronze asked. did you tell him?"
mot ALL"
Mrs. Phelps resumed.
when | got to Chadron ! 'phoned
Fisher and Winckler called at the
hotel and said:
Hello, Hazel
81 am not Hazel I said. 4
Thought they said they would send
Hazel McVey,' replied Winckler
Then Winckler said, Tom Denison
and Maloney are in on this. They
are a good bunch to work for He
told me he had been in Chadron a
month and had nothing on Mrs. Hood.
He said he had written false notes to
milead Mr.. Hood. He told me he
hardly knew Mrs. Hood, but knew
she had a pretty back.
Arranged for Meeting.
"Winckler and / kept in touch by
phone between the hotels. | had to
stand for his foolishness because I
wanted to know what he knew. He
didn't know mach. He urged me to
hasten a party with Mrs. Hood and
Critics. / asked him IL he had gun
and he said he had a rod He
showed me a loaded gun. | asked
his purpose and he said, When l get
in a scrape ! am going to protect my
self You don't know what fight
Critics might put up. ! am afraid Of
armed cops, too
"Winckler said he was anxious to
go back to Omrha and urged me to
hurry the Hood Critics party. Fisher
told me he would have witnesses to
prove the meeting Of Critics and Mrs.
Hood. He said Critics was afraid Of
publicity and would do anything to
avoid it. He told me Mrs. Hood re-
eeived $500 a month from her hus-
band and would do anything to avoid
exposure.
"Winckler said he could get $500
from Critics and Hood would pay
81 1000 If he would pay cent. He also
told me Day would give $3.50 il Critics
could be made to lie down on the
bootlegging cases.
Mrs. Hood Pleads Innocence.
"Mrs. Hood told me she would be
pleased to 60 to Critics office to prove
her innocence. She declared she had
been watched by detectives. At Fish
er's office it was arranged that |
should open the side door of Critics
office at the time when the men were
to enter.
"Winckler had a gun which he
pulled on Critics. He handed Critics a
card and said he was glad to meet
him"
Mrs. Phelps then related the story
OF "the late unpleasantness" in Critics
Office substantially as testified TO by
Sutton yesterday.
On cross-examinations Baker went
into the history of bath establish
ment operated by Mrs. Phelps on
Harney street in Omaha. She ex-
pressed Indignation when her place
was referred to as bath parlor."
What do you call your bath
placer"
"A bath institute"
Sutton ever go thercf'
"Yes.n
For a treatment"
"No, he and investigated bath par
lors and things together"
Before she left the witness stand
she told the entire inside workings OF
the plot from her viewpoint and in
cidentally revealed her own duplicity.
Attorney Baker induced her to tell
how she and Sutton Investigated
bath houses in Omaha.
Some in Omaha are not straight"
she said. Sutton knew mine was
a decent bath institute"
Bath for Men and Women.
"You said instituted"
Yes"
is i a parlor for men and
women!"'
1T is not a parlor."
did you hear Sutton at SIC South
Nineteenth street say that he is Ku-
gels man and was going to get rid
Of Maloney and he (Sutton) was to
be chief OF dctectives?"
Il never was AZ that addresss