Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1882-09-01
\ Sill Occurrence.

no one is to blame, the heart heats
with sympathy for the untortuns te
victim aud those dependent upon
him for support. Ii Appeals that
about the hour indicated, Nh.
Stevens, the wife of We:is, Fargo
y Co. ; express AGENT III this place,
was awakened By the pelsi,ten;
efforts of somebody to gam adpl--
sion the inner room Ut the Office.
Tie outer door OF hallway, invariably
locked at night, had Deen passed by
the intruder, WHICH tact ui itself was
sufficient to justify the presumption
that the entry had been made with
felonious intent. Mrs. 5. Immediate
" awakened her husband, who com
manded the party to desist from his
efforts to force the door, the only
response being to the purpolt, as I'M
derstood by Mr. Stevens, that lie
wanted silver The agent here
upon fired through the panel Of
the door, tue bail entering the body
of MIR. Andrew j. Mcclure, who 1t
appears was intoxicated, and if at all
cognizant Of his actions. was pro-
badly seeking place Of refreshment
and rest. This hypothesis is sup
ported by the supposition that it was
the word "supper' he used instead
OF /" silver, which seems highly pro-
bable, and that the poor man had
mistaken the express office for the
Bon Ton Restaurant, a few doors
above. How he obtained admission
to the hallway is involved in doubt,
as no keys were found about him.
The most reasonable supposition Is
that the door had been inadvertant-
ly left unlocked.
Tuesday morning the Coroner, MIR.
N. Pattison took charge Of the re-
mains, and after empanneling jury
consisting of Messrs. N. Crosby l.
V. Mossman, J. T. Hicklin, Geo. II.
White, F. F. Hopkins and Jas.
Pattison, a thorough investigation
of facts was made and verdict re-
tuned of iustifable homicide.
Mr.. Mcclure was well.known cit
izen of Mason county, q logger by oc-
cupation and man of family. It p-
pears that his besetting sin was the
, use, at remote intervals, of ardent
/ spirits, rendering him, when drunk,
incapable of proper use of his
mental faculties; but aside from this
he was a respected and worthy citi-
zen. His remains were buried by
the Massns on Wednesday afternoon
in the cemetery of the Order.
This unfortunate occurrence at
fords another illustration of the sad
effects of strong drink. Another hui
man life has been sacrificed by the
fell Destroyer which has placed
scores of our citizens, even in this
small community, beneath the sod.
The fate of poor Doty, quarter of
century ago, has been almost annu-
ally supplemented by other horrors
until we come to the comparatively
late suicide of Edwin Marsh and the
accidental deaths of Trout and
Dekeaser through the same terrible
influence. Will not the people
be warned of the fearful cost at
which rum is licensed to do its
worst
The sympathy of the community,
in the recent occurrence is divided
between the victim and his family and
the innocent author of the homicide.
Nobody who has not been placed in
the same situation can realize the
anguish of Mr.. Stevens and his
wife. Although the judgment OF
the community is that he did no
less than duty required. and just
what any other man would have
done under the circumstances, the
occurrence is one which leaves an
incessant feeling of profound regret.