St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-03-12
IT IS STILL A MYSTERY.
No Clue as to the Whereabouts of Caleb
P. Birchall. ~ 7st'.
DID HE COMMIT SUICIDE?
His Books Are Being Put in Shape to
Tell Whether He Was De-
faulter.

The mystery surrounding the sudden
disappearance on March l of Caleb P.
Birchali, manager of the retail depart
ment of the Lehigh Coal & Iron COM
pany of this city, has not yet been
cleared up. No tidings as to his where
aboutS have been received either by his
family or the company which en-
ployed him. That he killed himself
does not appear probable in the light Of
the notes which he addressed, one to
his wife and the other to Harry B..
Sweet, his assistant in the Office, during
the day on which he turned up missing.
Hence the belief that Birchall- fed the
city grows stronger daily. and various
speculations are INDUCED in as to his
reasons for abandoning lucrative po-
sition and forsaking his family without
so much as a word in explanation.
The last seen of Birchall in this city
was about 4 p. IN. on the day of his
strange disappearance. AT that hour he
entered the drug store of Clark u
Frost, Third and Robert streets. and
asked for Mr.. Frost. That gentleman
was engaged at the time with Gus
toner. Birchall remained in the store a
few moments and then took his de-
parture without having accomplished
the object of his Grand. 1t was but a
short time previous to this that he had
dispatched messenger to This home on
Western avenue with note addressed
to Mrs. Birchall. In it he stated that on
account of a press of business he would
not be home to lunch. In the note
which he left addresSedto MI. Sweet,
Birchall stated that lie had gone home
sick, but would return to the Office in
the evening and finish the work of post
ing up the coal book. 53r.:,.,4
THE OPPOSITE TENOR
of the two notes tends to establish the
opinion among those who have the case
in hand and are investigating it, that
Birchall, having planneda sudden and
SurreptitiouS departure from the city,
wished to insure himself a good start
before suspicion could by any possibility
be directed upon him.
Ernest Birchall, the missing mans
brother, said to reporter for the
GLOBE who called to secure information
on the subject: -
1--WE have received no word from Mr..
Birchall. The subject of his disappear
ance is naturally a painful one to dis
cuss. Still, we are as much at loss to
account for it now as at first. Mrs.
Birchall is quite iii, and the mat
ter has cast gloom over
the house that will not be dispelled un-
til some positive clue is obtained as to
whether he is dead or alive. The. public
knows just as much about the matter as
we do. We shall continue to hope that
he is alive until we know that he is
dead, and trust that the mystery may be
cleared up soon."
Since the date of Birchall's departure
the Coal and Iron company has had eX-
pert accountants at work upon the
books.
"Whether there is shortage in Biz
chall's accounts OF not has not yet been
discovered" Mr.. Sweet said yesterday.
'The books have been gone. over care
fully by competent persons, and the ac-
counts brought down to the point where
it will be an easy matter to take Off a
balance. Some of our collectors were
sent out on Saturday; others will follow
on Monday. Within the next three days,
or this week at most, the result Of the
collectors labors will have determined
whether Birchall is q defaulter or not
The theory that he accomplished self
destruction do not entertain. l am fully
satisfied -
THAT HE IS ALIVE,
and yet it seems strange that a man so
well known as was Birchall should
disappear SO mysteriously. He was a
man of strong individuality in appear
ance, and it seems to me that if he left
the city by train he would have been
seen and recognized by some one OF his
numerous acquaintance. who, before
this. would have come forward and UNI
rayeled the mystery. If he committed
suicide, as some think he did, he must
have jumped into the river, else his
body would have been discovered ere
this. IL such be the case, and do not
think it is, then the body would not be
found until the river opens, and per-
haps not then. OF course nothing can
he said of his affairs at the office until
the collectors get around among our
customers and compare the statements
we have rendered with their receipts"