New Ulm review., May 10, 1905, Image 7

About New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961

Image provided by: Minnesota Historical Society; Saint Paul, MN

                
his heart. That Dr. Koch stepped into
the barbershop and asked for Mr.
Stamm. That this was 9:20 p. m. that
Dr. Koch had his hair cut and a shave
there at 5 p. m. That Dr. Koch had
talked of a let of a dollar with one of
the barbers. That when he went there
in thp evening he went to complete the
bet. That he passed the Review office
window and on home. That as soon as
he paased the Review office, somebody
went tramping up the stairs. That ten
minutes before Koch passed the place a
man was seen with a handkerchief up
to his face, apparantly concealing his
identity, and stepped into the doorway
leading to Dr. (Jebhard's office. That no
man went up the stairs ten minutes be
fore Dr. Koch passed. That the mur
derer had a handkerchief and deliberate
ly smeared it with blood from the ham
mer handle, and the hammer and the
handkerchief carried deliberately out
into the next room to warn the people
and give them a clue so that they would
set the blood hounds upon Dr. Koch.
That the murderer went around from
place to place, putting his hands on
tne woodwork, so that they must have
been practically free from blood when
he left. The marks on the window sill
showed this.
What the Family Will Testify To.
We will show that Dr. Koch went
light to his home. That when he got
there, Tela Koch, a teacher in the New
I hn schools, sat there beside her aged
father. That Dr. Koch arrived home at
(l-38.
That a few nights before E. G.
Koch had told his son that he wanted
him la come home early. That the son
obeyed. That when he came in his
father turned and looked at the clock.
That he went at once out of the kitchen
to a work house or granary. That Dr.
Koch is quite a hunter and keeps a fine
gun in the house and an old one for
single snots in the granary. That Dr.
Koch that night saw a rabbit near the
paik grounds, as he came home, went to
th' shed to get his old gun and looked
tor shells, but could not find any, and
'knowing that the rabbit would not stay
long did not go out. The rabbits are
\eiy thick there, breeding under the
temporaly buildings on picnic grounds.
That Dr. Koch spent only two minutes
making this search. That he went back
to the room where his sister and father
were, and read a paper for fifteen min
utes. Then he went down into the base
ment, where is a bedroom occupied by
the defendant. Will E. Koch and a col
lege student. That Dr. Koch got an
apple and load a book until he went to
bed. Thau the next morning George
Koch was awakened by his brother, who
asked him whether he had heard of the
murder. George had been reading up
stans when Will came home the night
before. Dr. Koch ate his breakfast as
u»nal and went down to his office, wear
ing the long, cravennette coat and brown
hat. That George and Prof. Reim will
say that Geoige wore the long coat and
brown hat.
Will Explain Testimony.
The testimony of Postmaster Krook
legarding this will be explained. It was
(lie second day after the murder that
he met Dr. Koch, who had put na dif
ferent suit to attend the funeral and
because it was a warm day. We will
show that Dr. Koch attended to his ap
pointments in his usual manner, and had
no blemishes or spots or scratches on
his hands. That the Sunday before the
homicide Dr. Koch and Miss Fitzpatrick
went hunting. He went down into the
biush, leaving the lady to hold his horse.
A threshing machine came along and
scared the horse, and he ran through the
hiush to the horse, scratching his hand.
We will show that two weeks before
the murder Dr. Koch went duck hunting
into the country and while trying to
take the back seat off and got his
knuckle skinned, that it scabbed over
and the scab was still there at the time
of the murder.
We will show that Dr. Koch has a
cabinet of bottles in his office. That he
had a bottle of carbolic acid that he
used in his dental work. That the bot
tle had to be filled frequently. That in
his work he spilled a little carbolic acid
on his fingers, but did nothing more
than slightly irritate the skin. The
claim of the state that the acid did any
damage on his hands is without founda
tion and we repudiate it. It is a story
created by the state for the purpose of
confusing your minds. Dr. Koch's
hands were very tender, and the scab
came off, and fearing bloodpoison be
cause of his work ith ulcerated teeth,
boldly and without any concealment
went to the drug store to get a rubber
cot and had the clerk help him adjust it.
He went three times and got three cots.
Practiced Singing for Funeral.
We will show that Dr. Koch
went to the church the evening after the
murder with other young people and
practiced his music for the funeral, and
also the next day. We will show it is
hard to say whether the initials on the
handkerchief were "G. R. K." or "G. R.
R." We will show that at the funeral
the rumor about Dr. Koch went abioad
before the funeral, but it was kept from
him by bis friends so it would not in
terfere with his singing. He sang turee
times, the people watching him. The
state has not produced a witness from
that audience to say that Koch showed
any signs of guilt there. He sat .there
in conscious innocence. Dr. Koch went
to dinner at a hotel Thursday, and back
to his work in his office after dinner.
We challenge any one to say that up to
then he exhibited any feigns of guilt.
That afternoon Koch was called to
Hoidale & Somsen's office and informed
by Dr. Vogel and Mr. Somsen of the
suspicions pointing toward him. It was
the first time that he had heard of it.
He went back to his office and lay
down in his office and thought about the
charge against him. Drs. Striekler and
Vogel tenderly covered him with his
overcoat—his cravenette overcoat which
counsel for the state has had the inso
lence to charge him with destroying.
We will show you that Sheriff Jul
ius and Chief Klause went to Koch's
office and talked with him, and that
later Detective Rydell sought an inter
view with Koch. Mr. Somerville saw
that these men—whose reputations de
pend upon their success in ferriting out
crime—and insisted that he or some rep
utable citizen of New Ulm be present,
to see that Dr. Koch was not charged
with having made a confession, when
no confession was made. Mr. Rydell,
not being willing to have fair play, de
clined the proposition. Dr. Koch was
broken down, humiliated, and in a cer
tain sense crushed by the accusation
against him. He went to his home and
remained there the next day, and sat by
the stove, thinking of the misfortune
that had fallen upon him. His hand
smarted a little where he had spilled
carbolic acid upon it, and he got some
alcohol and poured it upon the burn,
then put some wood in the stove at
the request of his sister, and the alco
hol took fire and his hands were blister
ed. Dr. Vogel came over desired to have
a record made then and there of the
condition of Koch's hands, in case of the
accusation being pushed. He got two
other doctors and the next morning
went with them to the house and made
a minute record of what they saw.
These doctors will testify. The moun
tain built up by the state was made out
of the little mole of the scab from the
old injury. This is enough for the
counsel to use in weaving a chain of cir
cumstantial evidence about the defend
is strongly in favor of Dr. Koch.
Koch Walked the Streets.
Dr. Koch walked the streets of New
Ulm until afteh the convening of
court in December, in spite of the
charges. We will show that he wore the
overcoat for several weeks after that
murder. That six detectives prowled
around his offices. We will show that
a citizens' committee was formed at
which that man Silverson stood at the
head. A proceeding was started, not
against Dr. Koch, but against a sup
positious person, and a drag net put out
to gather evidence. Then it was that
Dr. Koch's cravennette disappeared. Dr.
Koch told men that his coat hung in his
office, and gave them keys to his of
fice. Dr. Vogel and others went to the
oftice and examined it thoroughly, in
ide and out, and went away and left
it.
The state referred to a pencil having
been found in the blood. Pencils had
been given all around town as an adver
tisement. They were intended to be
parsed around. They were made of
course graphite, and a man took one
like a man who don't smoke takes a ci
gar—to give it to a friend. Nobody at
first gave any thought to the pencil in
this case, because it was lying on top
of the blood. The pencil has no ligit
imate place in this trial.
Claim Hammer Was Gebhard's.
We will show that the hammer be
longed to Dr. Gebhard and nobody else.
The state, in its effort to smear the
crime upon Dr. Koch, has secured evi
dence that it belonged to the Koch fam
ily. One of the state's witnesses told,
at the coroner's inquest, that the ham
mer was Gebhard's. In spite of such
testimony as that of the old lady who
said the hammer in evidence was not the
one in Koch's office, and the testimony
of the young man who failed to identi
fy the hammer at the police station,
and did not identify it until he had
heard of a reward being offered, we will
show that the hammer was Dr. Geb
hard's. The latter belonged to a tennis'
club, the property of which was divided
up. Brooks took the saw and Gebhard
the hammer to keep for a time. A man
will be put on a man who will swear
that he borrowed an old hammer from
Dr. Gebhard, and also other evidence to
this effect.
Mystery Surrounds the Murder.
There is some mystery surrounding
this murder, as has already appeared.
We will show that a man went into Dr.
Gebhard's office at 8:30 p. m. and Dr.
Gebhard sat in his shirt sleeves, read
ing, that two minutes later he arose, put
on his work coat and went to work in
his laboratory. That the man stayed
until 8:45 or 8:50, and no other man
was around the offices then. We will
ask you to consider this evidence in con
nection with Dr. Reineke's testimony
that he left the office at 8:45, after
standing beside Dr. Gebhard one-half
to three-fourths of an hour while Dr.
Gebhard was working at his bench with
his work coat on. We will show you
that if Dr. Reineke stayed with Dr.
Gebhard three-fourths of an hour it
was after the other man left, which
would keep him there until 0:30 p. m.
Regarding the bottle, we will .show
that on Wednesday morning after the
murder that Dr. Reineke testified that
two or three weeks ago a box came to
the office, saw it opened, and saw it on
the shelf. Then he was not suspected
and had no reason to tell anything!
but the exact facts. Now he testifies
that it was the Saturday before the
murder. At the last trial the state did
not put Hage on the stand. We will
show that Dr. Koch went to Hanska
Wednesday night, coming back Thurs
day noon, but as business at New Ulm
increased he dropped his outside ap
pointments. He dropped the Hanska ap
pointment in September and did not in
tend to go there again. Dr. Wood
wrote him that a number of people
wanted work done. Dr. Koch then put
a notice in the paper that he would be
there on Friday. When he got there
he found that Dr. Wood had left his
former office in a public street and mov
ed it to a private house on a side street.
Dr. Koch then packed his chair and
moved back to New Ulm. Now Dr.
Reineke changes his testimony so as
to catch Dr. Koch at Hanska and says
that Dr. Gebhard got his package on
Saturday. It was live weeks before
Friday that Dr. Koch had last been at
Hanska. We take satisfaction in show
ing one thing in this case, and that is
how people can sit down and fix their
testimony to fit the facts. We will
show that the package, if mailed on Fri
day on the train that Dr. Koch went on,
would have reached New Ulm at 1:55
p. m. Friday. Miss Shapekahm could
not have gotten the package until Sat
urday noon, but she testifies that she
got it about Wednesday, and opened it
Saturday forenoon on Dr. Gebhard's
busy day. We will show that the box
was not mailed between Oct. 24th and
Nov. 2nd. The mail clerk laid off a
week and locked up his seal. It was
this seal that made the stamp marks
on the box. The 1004 is below the four
lines. None of the other stamps used
by mail clerks is like them. Mr. Roy
stamped it. Nelson and Liesch will say
that their stamps are not on the box.
and that nobody else on the Storm Lake
route did any stamping. We will prove
that the testimony of Thompson and
Hage if not false it is product of their
own imaginations. We will show that
Detective Rydell saw mail clerks Liesch
and Nelson and got the samples of their
stamps and the stamps wei-e compared
and found that the stamps did not fit
those on the box. With that knowl
edge, this testimony in the case has
been given, provided the Pinkerton man
imparted his knowledge to the rest of
them. If the box was mailed at Hanska
it was never mailed by Dr. Koch.
Typewriter Claim Is Absurd.
We will show that the typewriter
claim is absurd, that it is impossible to
show what machinne makes any par
ticular writing. We will show that
this machine was locked up, while there
were four other typewriters in the
building. We will show that the hand
writing on the bottle is not the. hand
writing of Dr. Koch. We insist that he
is not fool enough, if he was going to
send poison, to send it with a sample of
his handwriting. He would have been
more likely to send a bottle with "Phy
sicians' Sample" printed across it. If
Dr. Koch was going to send a bottle he
would send a new, clean one. Dr.
Koch will go on the stand and deny
that he wrote it.
We will show that Dr. Koch had the
pencil that had been given him and kept
it in his cabinet. Dr. Koch's blue box
was preserved and will be presented in
court, together with the identical pencil
that Dr. Koch had. We will show you
that Dr. Koch has had every opportu
nity to abscond, but has conducted him
self in a dignified manner and as he
should.
We will place Mr. Brooks on the
stand early in the case and will show
by him that he went to his office after
the game at Hoidale & Somsen's office,
and went to reading a letter. That he
heard a scuffling in Dr. Gebhard's office
as ne entered, thought nothing of it, as
Dr. Gebhard was strong physically and
often scuffled with his friends. Later
Brooks heard sounds of things tipping
over, ran upstairs, tried the doors and
stood upon a railing and looked over
into the room. Mr. Brooks then saw
the lower half of a man, lying on the
floor. He saw kneeling beside this body
the upper half of a man who was
kneeling beside the person lying and
who seemed to be operating on the man
who was lying. This kneeling party
turned and looked squarely at Brooks.
Feeling that he was looking into some
body else's private operating room, he
jumped down. Up to then he did not
think that anything wrong was being
done, but as he went down stairs hi"
mind began to work and he feared that
something was wrong and asked Mr.
Vogel to go up. Vogel, though a strong,
resolute man, did not go, but said "let's
get more." Cavanaugh was then at once
gotten by Brooks, and they went up and
looked over the transom. Both ran
down and told other men what they had
seen. Brooks says that he cbuld tell
who the murderer was, as he got a good
look at him, but the man was not Koch.
The man was undersized, .black hair,
black moustache. Mr. Brooks, within fif
teen minutes gave the description to
Chief Klouse, to be sent out over the
country.
The state not having produced Mrs.
Dahm's husband or grown sons stamps
her testimony about the blood on the
gate as unworthy of belief. As said
at first, if anything less than a human
life was at stake, the defense would be
willing to sumbit the case to the jury
without further evidence.^ Mr. Abbott
spoke until nearly ll:30.gla
Asa P. Brooks Sworn.
Asa p. Brooks was called and said
that he is thirty-six years old and lives
in New Ulm. Have lived in Brown coun
ty about fourteen years, engaged in the
newspaper business. Have been connect
ed with the Sleepy Eye Herald with Mr.
W. R. Hodges, and with the New Ulm
Review alone. With Hodges, we ran
the Morgan Messenger. Father came to
Redwood Falls eighteen years ago, leav
ing six years ago. I lived in Redwood
Falls three years. Have lived in New
Ulm four years June 1st next, during
that time publishing the New Ulm Re
view. I edited the Alexander Republic
an three years. Was in the army nine
months during the Spanish-American
war, and corresponded with the Tribune,
Pioneer Press and Globe, of the twin
cities. Enlisted at St. Paul in the Fif
teenth Minnesota.
"Did you get very far to the front?"
asked Mr. Somerville, who conducted
the examination.
"As far as the rest of them did," re
plied Mr. Brooks.
Witness said that he had known Dr.
Koch, but not intimately until he be
gan to practice dentistry. Saw him fre
quently. He has a scar on his left
cheek. Knew Dr. Gebhard from the time
I went to New Ulm until his death. We
lived together in a club, there being
four of us. This continued two years
and a half. We rented rooms and had
a housekeeper and took our meals there.
He roomed there but took his meals out
side. The rest of us slept there. I was
frequently in his office. He did not
come to my office very often. Witness
identified a photograph of the Ottomey
er bloek. There were two sets of doors
at the foot of the stairs to Dr. Geb
hard's office. The screen doors were
used, but the others were not generally.
Half of the stairway extends over my
office, and anybody in my office can
hear people walking on the stairs. We
could also hear persons walking across
Dr. Gebhard's floor and could hear his
machine. Dr. Gebhard and his sister,
Miss Gebhard, and I attended the St.
Louis exposition and visited Chattanoo
ga, Tenn., together.
Were Close Friends.
There was nobody in New Ulm with
whom I was more intimate, and I do
not believe that it was possible for a
closer relationship to exist between two
men than between Dr. Gebhard and my
self. I knew Dr. Koch only as an ac
quaintance, not intimately. I some
times needed cash and woUld borrow as
high as $100 from Dr. Gebhard, paying
him back in a day or two. I am not in
timate with any member of the Koch
family, exeept Mr. Somsen. I have tes
tified five times on the witness stand in
this case.
Gen. Childs objected to this line of
questions, but the court overruled tne
objection.
"When and where did you first tes
tify?"
"At the coroner's inquest."
"Did you testify at a socalled pro
ceeding before Justice Henningsen?"
"Yes, sir."
"Was there anybody charged with the
crime before that court?"
"No, sir."
"Was the defendant represented at
that hearing?"
"No, sir."
"Who conducted the examination?"
"A man named Popham."
''Who asked the questions?"
Gen Childs: "I object."
Court: "Objection sustained."
"Then you testified at the last trial,
did you not?"
"Yes, sir."
"And before the grand jury?"
"Yes, sir."
The Fatal Night.
The witness' attention was then di
rected to the evening of Nov. 1st. He
said that he had gone to the postoffice
or Striekler block and played "500" in
Hoidale & Somsen's office. The defend
ant came in, but did not play cards. Al
fred Vogel joined in the game. Dr. Vo
gel and Mr. Higgs came in, the latter
taking part in the game. Noticed that
Dr. Koch was wearing a brown derby
hat, but did not notice his other cloth
ing. He and Dr. Vogel sang popular
songs. Both have good voices and are
good singers. Did not notice when Dr.
Koch left. The game broke up at 9:35.
Mr. Hoidale kept looking at his watch
all the evening, as he wanted to quit
early, as he had not had much sleep,
owing to his having been electioneering.
As the party arose from the table, he
said that it was 9:30. I went to the
postoffice and got the mail and then
started out with Mr. Somsen as far as
the Corner Store, paused a moment,
bid him goodnight and went to my of
fice. Somsen went home. I left Hoi
dale in the postoffice. It is aobut a
block from Hoidale & Somsen's office to
mine, and across the street. I passed the
two Baltrusch boys at the Mosberg
corner. They were employes in my of
fice. I have no recollection of seeing
anybody else on the street. As I pasesd
in front of the drug store, near the bar
ber shop, I heard noises upstairs. They
were inarticulate utterances, not a cry
for help or indicating pain or distress.
They did not impress me. I unlocked
my office, went in and spread my mail
out and glanced over the headlines of
the papers and opened and read one let
ter of about a hundred words. During
this time I heard a continuous shuffling
on the flora above.
The noon reeess was taken heffe.
Mr. Brooka' examination eoltttiiiued
this afternoon. Had frequently heard
scuffling up there. He took lessons
with the Turners' society, and he afld
his friends often went through gymnas
tics at his office. A number of the
young men were in the habit of drop
ping in there evenings. He was as near
ly perfectly developed physically as any
man I knew of. ".
After I read my letter I went out on
to the sidewalk and met A. J. Vogel,
who wanted to know what was going
on upstairs. I said it sounded like a
rough, house and said let's go up and
get into it. He didn't want to, and I
went alone upstairs.
Witness identified a plat of the Geb
hard offices. I went to the door to the
reception room, which was always un
locked, but found it locked. Had not
heard any noises from time I began to
go upstairs. Tried the door to the
operating room and it was locked. This
door is two and one-half to three feet
from the banister at the top of the
stairs, and the banister was about three
feet high. The doors were locked, so I
got up on the banister thinking to at
tract attention of the parties inside so
they would let me in. The operating
room was well lighted.
Looked Through the Transom.
When I looked through the transom I
saw the lower extremities of a men ly
ing on the floor, from the chest down.
Could not see his face. His left arm
was thrown over his chest. The body
lay diagonally across the floor, the head
toward the safe. It was not over twelve
feet from me. It was lying on the right
side. Saw the upper part of the body
of a man kneeling on one knee and
seeming to be sitting on the right foot.
The other knee was raised, but don't
know whether it was on the body. Saw
an up and down motion of the right
arm, and at the same time he straight
ened up. Do not know what he was
doing with his hand, or what the mo
tion was for. He looked up and we
looked into each other's eyes. He had
either a very heavy head of hair or a
close fitting slouch hat. It was black. I
am morally certain that he had such a
hat, well back on his head, but may
be mistaken. I was attracted entirely
by the appearance of his face, so cannot
tell for sure. He did not have a der
by hat. He was undersized, with a
caderverous face, and had a small mus
tache or something on his upper lip
that looked like it. It was such a mus
tache as a very young man might wear.
The man had a dark coat and no over
coat.
Was Not Koch.
"Was the man that you then and
there saw, George R. Koch, the defend
ant?"
"No, sir, he was not."
"Have you always given this same
discription of him."
"Yes, sir."
"What did you then do?"
"I got down from the banister and
started down stairs. I had at first
thought that it was a dental operation
and that the person in the chair had
gotten down out of the chair. As I
went down stairs I began to think that
it was something more serious."
Witness went on to say that he went
down and spoke to Mr. Vogel, telling
him that ther eseemed to be trouble
up stairs, and asking him to come up
and we would investigate. He sug
gfested that I get more people. I then
went across the street and got Mr. Cav
anaugh. We rushed up the stairway and
I got up on the banister and looked
through the transom and got up high
enough that time to see the entire
body. I saw a cvast amount of blood,
and jumped down and told Cavanaugh
that I thought there had been a murder,
and told Cavanaugh to get up and look.
He did and said "There is a live man in
there. I am not going to be shot at,"
and he got down at once and we both
ran down stairs. Two railroad men
were coming up stairs, but they went
down when they heard Cavanaugh say
that he didn't want to be shot at. Five
men were at the foot of the stairs. Po-,
liceman Weisenborn was coming across
the street and I notified him that there
had been a murder. He went up with
me, and I said for him to look over the
transom. He said he would go down and
get a stool. He went, and when he got
back he looked over and said "Oh, Ja,"
in German, and got down. Before look
ing over, he took off his overcoat and
drew his revolver. After getting down
he began to kick at the door. Mr. Behn
ke then gave it two kicks and broke in
the door. Weisenboirn and Behnke
went in, and others. Weisenborn step
ped into the reception room and said
that there was a live man in there.
Then he and all of the rest ran out. I
had remained in the hall to watch for
the murderer, as I thought that he
would come out of one of the doors. I
suggested that some go around into the
alley and watch the back of the build
ing, and I started, but nobody follow
ed, and I turned back. I then looked at
watch and it was 9:52. I compared
with a railroad man, and he was a min
ute faster. I said that it would be a
good idea to know the time. This was
not over five minutes after the door had
been broken in. It "was five minutes
anyway from the time I left Hoidale &
Somsen's office until the door was brok
en open. From the time that Cavanaguh
and I looked over the transom it was
not more than two or three minutes.
Searched AH the Rooms.
1 went back up into the hall, and a
search of all of the rooms was made
and the body was examined. I heard
th emsay that they did not know who
it was who had been murdered. Dr.
dneke sai dthat it was not Dr. Geb
harU. As soon as I had examined the
clothing I knew that it was Dr. Geb
hard. Chief Klause entered while I was
there and a&ked me if I had a stranger
working for me. Objected to by the
state, an dobjection sustained. We then
went to look up this stranger and found
him. Objected to and sustained. I re
turned to my office with Mr. Klause
and two policemen. Among them was
County Attorney Hoidale, who asked for
a description of the man I had seen. I
gave him the same description I have
given here. I remainea in my office till
2 a. m.
Brooks was cross examined by Gen.
Childs, and was still on the stand when
The Free Press went to press.
Letter From Henry Gebhard.
The Minneapolis Journal of last eve
ning contained the following letter from
Henry Gebhard, brother of the murdered
dentist:
Mankato, Minn., May 1.—In The
Journal of April 29, I am quoted as
having said that I did not want to see
the murderer of my brother hanged.
The statement as it appears is not
true.
In talking with the reporter, I made
the statement that capital punishment
is not as great a punishment as life
imprisonment. If the penalty for such a
crime is hanging, then I say let the law
be enforced. I believe in upholding the
law whether capital punishment or life
imprisonment prevails.
As for my getting mad at myself for
thinking that a life should pay for a
life for such a crime, is not my make
up at all, for the penalty is not mine to
give or withhold, and is only a second
ary matter as far as that goes. The
state has that question in its hands.
If Dr. George R. Koch is guilty (and
in my mind there is no doubt about it),
I say let the law take its course.
Whether he be hanged or put in prison
for life it makes no difference with me
for I am not the one to say, but I do
believe that those who commit crime
should be punished according to its na
ture.
The article makes me say: "Yes
this lamentable affair has cost me a
great deal of money. I wanted to see
the murderer caught and so hired a Chi
cago lawyer to make the investigation."
The facts are these. A short time af
ter the homicide, an article appeared in
one of the New Ulm papers saying in
effect that if any one mentioned Dr.
Koch's name in connection with the
homicide he would be prosecuted. There
upon the Gebhard family took up a cor
respondence with a Cnicago friend for
adviee, and immediately proceeded to in
vestigate matters. The administrator
of the estate of L. A. Gebhard has paid
out some money for the preliminary ex
amination, but personally I have not,
exeept incidentals.
The state has this case in its hands
and we have no further connection with
it except our interest that justice be
done.
Among those from New Ulm who
came to the city this morning to attend
the trial were Miss Tony Clone, Miss
Mamie Newmann, Adolph Wagner, sup
erintendent of the electric light plant.
Charles Strube, Theodore Schonlau,
Prof. Herman Hein of the Turners, and
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Schroeder.
FRIDAY'S PROCEEDINGS
The defense in the Koch trial has
gotten a good start, and expects to get
all of its evidence in by Monday after
noon. It is thought that the rebuttal
and surrebuttal will not take more
than a day, and that the arguments to
the jury will be submitted on Wednes
day, so that the case will go to the
jury either Wednesday afternoon or
Thursday morning.
Asa P. Brooks was on the stand a
little longer this time than at the
last trial, because the cross examina
tion was more thorough. The state gain
ed a point yesterday as compared with
the New Ulm trial, being able to lay
the foundation for the introduction of
evidence to impeach Brooks. At the
New Ulm trial it was not able to do
this on the cross examination, and when
it wanted to do so Brooks had left the
city and could not be found. Now the
state is in shape to call a half dozen or
more witnesses to testify to conversa
tions had with Brooks in which, it will
be claimed. Brooks admitted that the
man he saw might have been Dr. Koch,
or that he couldn't tell until he had
seen Koch's face again, or words to that
effect. Among these witnesses will be
Judge B. F. Webber, before whom the
case was tried at New Ulm, and Court
Reporter W. T. Eckstein.
Mr. Abbott, in speaking of the case
after the state had rested yesterday,
said: "The case is in much better
shape for the defense at this time than
it was when the state rested at New
Ulm. This time we have been able to
bring out a good many things from the
state's witnesses that we did not be
fore, and which did not come out un
til we put our own witnesses on. Now
we have brought out our points simul
taneously with those made by the state,
ind the jury has had them both to
think about at the same time. In my
opening address I merely sought to tell
what the defense intends to prove by
its witnesses, that the jury might have
this in mind as the witnesses are called.
Everything will fit in its proper place,
and the jury will be able to form a
good idea as we proceed."
Brooks, who is the star witness in
the case, was calm and Collected while
on the stand. He made a good witness,
and only in one thing did he contradict
the testimony that he gave at the New
Ulm trial, and that bad mjtliitlg to do
with this case. At the New t'lm tiial,
in January, he said that he was thirtv
four years old. Yestenday he testified
that he was thirty-six, saying that he
was born in 1868.
The only new point brought out this
forenoon, not shown at the New Ulm
trial, was the cross examination reward
ing Shepard's interviews with Brooks.
This was part of the foundation for im
peachment.
Brooks Cross-Examined.
On cross examination, the witness
Mr. Brooks said that he was born in Il
linois couldn't tell when he cast his
first ballot. Moved to several places,
but didn't remember all of them or how'
long he lived there. Lived in half a
dozen places in Pennsylvania. Began to
shift for myself when twelve years old
in Kansas, stayed there a year, then
went to Tennessee. From there went to
Redwood Falls, but don't know when I
got there. From there went to Mankato
and stayed a "month, then to Sleepy Eye,
the nto St. Paul, and back to Redwood
Falls. Then to Jackson, Minn., to run
a paper didn't like the situation, then
went to Mapleton didn't like it there,
then went to St. Paul and helped to
start an evening paper. Broke up in
this, and then went to Alexandria the
paper there was sold, and then went
to Sauk Center, and worked for Mr.
Hendricks for a year. Then went to
St. Paul enroute to Springfield, Mo., to
work on a magazine. Met some fiiends
and they wanted me to enlist. I did so
and served nine months. Went to Red
wood Falls after my return, thence to
Sleepy Eye and worked with Hodges for
two years, then went to New Ulm four
years ago. Left Hoidale & Somsen's of
fice at 9:35 the night of the murder and
went to the postoffice, and was not
there over a minute. I was not over
two minutes walking to my office, a
block and one street. Before I got to
my office I heard a choking sound at
short intervals, and a scuffling. Had
four daily papers, several weeklies and
several circulars and a letter with me
when I got to my office.
"When did you ever say before that
you had read the headlines of the pa
per tnat night?"
"I don't think I ever did."
"Did you ever testify to that before?"
"No sir."
"Did the sounds indicate that there
was trouble upstairs?"
"I did not think so."
"Didn't you testify before that you
heard quite a hollowing and anquished
outcry
"Don't remember that I did?"
"You didn't think that thre was trou
ble up stairs when you went up?"
"No sir."
"Then, why did you go up?"
"To get into the game."
"Did you think that there was a jol
lification going on up there?"
"I thought that there was a rough
house."
"How long had it been since there
was a rough house there before? Was
it a common thing?"
"It had been about a year."
"Why did you run up the stairs, Mr.
Brooks?"
"It was my usual way of going."
"Didn't you tell Mr. Vogel befoie you
went up that you were afraid that there
was trouble up there?"
"I don't remember that I did."
"Did or did you not know that the
man who was above the prostrate form
was not Dr. Gebhard?"
"I did."
"Didn't you feel that you were look
ing at something very extraordinary''"
"I thought it was something that I
had no business to see."
"Did you speak?"
"No sir."
"Why didn't you call out at that
time?"
"There was no excuse for it that I
could see."
•'What impression did you lu\e when
you got down?"
"I thought that an operation was go
ing on."
"How could you think that?"
"I am not a philosopher."
"Did you ever see a dentist lying on
his side on the floor with the patient
above him?"
"No, sir?"
"What were your feelings when you
got down from the transom?"
"My feelings were so mixed that it
would be lidiculous for me to try to de
scribe them."
"You were looking over t'ac hansom
of the door of your dearest friend, when
the doors were locked, and you saw a
prostrate form lying on tae floor and a
stranger kneeling over him, and blood
all around, and vou are unable to state
your feelings because it would be ri
diculous for you to state them?"
"Yes six."
"Are you sure that the man had a
hat on his head?"
"I am morally certain of it.'"
Gen. Childs recalled a good deal of the
evidence given by the witness at prev
ious times, regarding the man he saw
having a close-fitting hat on his head,
or a big shock of black hair.
Would Not Give it Up.
Mr. Somerville desired to get posses
sion of the record of the examination
of Mr. Brooks at the Henningsen jus
tice court at New Ulm, from which Gen.
Childs was quoting testimony, but Gen.
Childs refused to give it up.
Witness said that the man had a ca
daverous, pale face, but could not tell
what color his eyes were. There was a
very peculiar expression on the man's
face.
"What was it?"
"It was that of a dog that has been
caught doing something that it ought
not to do?"
"When did you get that idea, just
now, or when you looked over the tran
som
"No, not just now."
"And you got down from the transom
with a sense of shame when )-ou saw
a man with an expression like a dog?"
"I did not have a sense of shame."
"What did you say, then?"
"I said that I felt as though I had
looked at something that I had no busi
ness to see."
"You cannot tell the color of the
man's eyes?"
"No, sir."
"And yet the eyes made a very strong
impression upon you?"
"Yes .sir."
"You testified previously that you
looked into his eye3 for quite a space?"
"Yes sir."
Gen. Chtfds quoted from Justice Hen
ningsen where the latter testified to
Brooks having said that he didn't know
whether it was Koch, that he would
have to see Koch first, that if the man
he saw was Koch he couldn't look wit
ness straight in the face and that later