The Washington herald., 1919-12-17

brother. a. the man who attempted
TO cash q check for 5000 on DR..
Wong. at the Riggs National Bank
on the day after the murder.
After Henry +. HALEY. q chauffeur
Of the Terminal Taxicab Company.
had identified Wan and Van as two
Chinese he had taken from Union
Station to the Riggs Bank. Bennett
q. Dent paying teller Of the bank.
and Assistant Cashier George o.
Vass. and Vice President Robert v.
Fleming were called In separately TO
tell what occurred there.
Van presented the check to him.
Dent said. along with a letter pur-
card. He showed the card back
without looking at II. he said. The
check and letter he took in to Mr..
Vass. he testified Mr.. Vass. In turn,
turn, sought Mr.. Fleming.
Check Was Rejected.
Fleming. returning from breakfast
at about s:4s o'clock. was shown the
check and letter by Mr.. Bass. Fleming
said he had a clerk, Miss Mildred
Fuggitt. phone the Chinese Educa-
tional Mission several times to inquire
about the check Naturally the phone
calls were useless. All were dead at
the mission.
Van was ushered in to the vice
president. The Chinese was told the
check could not be cashed unless DIR.
Wong personally would identify him.
Fleming said. The card Dent had re-
turned to Van without looking at II
was presented in court. 1t was a call
ing card Of WI. Van had made no
mention OF a name in presenting the
check. according to the testimony.
Van suggested that Fleming phone
DR.. Wong. according to the bank Of
ficials, who said he replied that he
might mistake DR.. Wong's voice and
that IL was useless to try to cash the
check without DR.. Wong appearing
personally. He told Van. however. he
said. that no discourtesy was meant
to him personally. Then Van left. he
testified.
Dispute Over Handwriting.
A slight difference in the writing
Of Hsie's signature on the check and
Hsie's writing on checks previously
received at the bank made Fleming
suspect Vans draft. the bank Official
said. Where Hsie's handwriting was
unshaded. the signature on the check
was slightly shaded and also. he testi-
fed. whoever signed the bogus draft
made characters too perpendicular to
agree exactly with the under
secretary's scribbling.
Attorney O'Shea asked Fleming II
he had ever seen Hsie write. Fleming
said he had not.
Then you do not know II was Hsie
who signed all the checks you have
CIAa
declared. The attorney endeavored to
press this point strongly.
George Spohn. night clerk of the
Harris Hotel. and Robert Lee Car
ter. colored. were called in by the
prosecution to testify that Wan and
Van returned to the Harris Hotel
after midnight Of the night OF Janu-
airy 90. The object of this testimony
was to show that Wan and Van
were absent from the hotel on the
night of the murder.
Comedy Enters Trial.
A bit of humor was injected into
the proceedings while Carter was
on the stand.
You had occasion to visit Room
as where two Cinnamon were stay
ing. didn't your" O'Shea asked the
negro.
"Yassuh. I did. They called me
several times"
In attempting to show that Carter
could have been mistaken in his
identity of Wan, O'Shea several times
called attention to a statement by
Carter that the man he said was Wan
was laying on the bed with his face
toward the wall once when he, Carter,
went into the room
rs that the man you saw laying
on the bed with his face to the wall?"
O'Shea asked, pointing to Wan.
'Yassuh. That's him." said Carter.
How do you know? You didn't
see his face?" the lawyer challenged.
.Au Chinese Look Alike"
Carter seemed perplexed. Finally
O'Shea came to his rescue with:
Some Cinnamon look alike, don't
they. Robert?''
"Yassuh.'S Robert agreed. after
a moment "Chinamen all sho' look
alike"
The court burst into laughter. Even
Wan. whose features never once dur
ing the day had changed from his
usual sober expression, laughed out
right.
1t is probable that some of the
police officials who had a hand in rum
ming down suspects of the murder
will be called to the stand today. In
such case, interesting developments
are to be expected.