The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-11-25
MURDERED HIS BABIES.
A LETTER CARRIER RECEIVERS BIS
CHILDREN AND KILLS THEM.

I BIS Wlto h6Q LEU AlLuS OTlNSA away
by His Cruelty, She says-He Had
Consumption, and Lived in Dread
of Destitution His Pistol Turned
| Upon Himself
From the NetC YORK Sun.
James T. Smith, for five years letter
carrier attached to Station D, shot and in
stantly killed one Of his babies Friday. He
then shot the other, inflicting a wound
which will probably prove fatal, and made
an unsuccessful attempt upon his own life.
The scene Of the tragedy was one of four
rooms which he rented on the second floor
Of the Laurence fats, at 32l East Ninth
street. He moved into them six months
ago, and lived there with his wife until a
week ago Thursday, whea she left him.
taking the children with her. The events
leading up to his wife's desertion were I'M
known To the neignbors, for both Smith
and his wife had little intercourse with the
| other tenants.
| After his wife left him Smith fretted a
good deal, aud for the first time began to
| let the secrets of his home life be known.
| tie talked to his comrades about his wife's
| desertion, and expressed an intention to re-
sort to legal means for the recovery of his
children On wednesday Smith received a
note from his wife that ran something like
this: Jimmy, the children are at 800
East Eighty-third street. You can go I'D
and get them if you want to-"
Smith got excused from work yesterday,
and early in the morning started for the
address in Eighty third street. He found
! the children in a private family, where
they had been placed by Mrs. Smith, who
had paid a weeks board for them. TIE
elder child was Elizabeth Mabel, whose
- q
younger was Mary Agnes, aged IL months.
The children were bundled up and Smith
| brought them straight home. He took
them to Mrs. Albrecht Bauer, who lives in
the house, and asked her to care for them
until he returned. Smith then left the
house for the purpose, 1t is supposed, of buy
ing the weapon with which he did the
bloody work. 1t was seven-chambered,
self-cocking revolver of 32-caliber. He got
back home shortly after IL o'clock, and,
thanking Mrs. Bauer for caring for his
children, took them to his rooms
What happened during the next three
quarters of an hour is only conjecture, but
the condition of affairs when the police
arrived makes this much clear. Smith
went into one of the rooms facing the yard
OF the house, and, after removing the chill
dren's hats and cloaks, placed the baby,
Mary, III a high CHAIR near the window
He fastened her in by stretching across the
front OF the chair the broad stick placed
there for that purpose. Then he drew a
small cane-bottomed chair near the window
and took his seat in it, facing the baby, and
not more than six feet from her. He then
lifted Elizabeth on his lap, aud while she
sat there fired bullet into her left breast
just below and little to the right of the
| heart. Then Smith aimed the weapon at
Mary and sent a bullet into her stomach.
Turning the revolver upon himself, Smith
tried to shoot himself in the abdomen, but
the bullet was DETECTED by a button, and
sight flesh wound was the only result.
Smith did his bloody work quickly.
There was an interval of only few seconds
between the shots, and all three of them
were fired before Mr.. Bauer, who started
hurriedly for a policeman the instant he
heard the first shot, had got out of the
house. Policeman Jacob Meyer hurried
back with Bauer and entered Smiths apart
| ments. The four rooms occupied by Smith
were all neatly furnished. Carpets covered
| the floors, and the walls were adorned with
| engravings in neat frames.
Smith sat In the dining room with Eliza
| beth clasped to his breast He was kissing
Ter convulsively, and uttering broken words
of love. The child was dead. The police
man took the dead body from the fathers
arms, and placing it in a baby carriage IN
| the parlor, covered the face with an en-
broidered pillow case. The baby hung half
out of its high chair, moaning piteously.
| Blood was trucking from the wound in its
| stomach. 1t was sent to the Bellevue hos
| pital in great haste. There is little hope of
| its recovery. Smith sat in his chair in a
stupid condition. He thought he had in
tiicIed a mortal wound upon himself, and
| seemed to be disappointed when he learned
| that he was in no immediate danger of
| death. He was taken to the Essex Market
| police court.
"What could I do?" he said, when ar
raigned before Justice Duffy. "My wife
| left me, and | could not take care Of nv
children" Justice Duffy advised him to re-
main silent, and referred to the galows.
20, hanging is played out" said Smith.
ELECTRICITY has taken its place" He was
sent to the coroner's office, where he refused
| to make statement. and was committed to
the Tombs by Coroner Schultze
| Smith was made letter carrier five
years ago, and during all this time he has
| been attached to station d. Supt Moger
| describes him as steady and faithful man .
During the blizzard of March, 1883, Smith
fought his way about nearly all day. The
| exposure was too much for him, and he
contracted q cold, which developed into
| consumption. His health has been so feeble
OF late that he found it impossible to work
when the weather was inclement. His
| lllueSS HlHue ulIn IrTlUaDIo, ana While he
was able to live nicely on his salary of
$1,000 year, he was unable to save much,
and he feared the poverty that would FOL-
low when he should be compelled to cease
| work
When Mrs. Smith left her home she went
to live with her brother, John Kelly, a
printer, in Brooklyn. Mr.. Kelly gave his
sisters side of the story last night "Smith
married my sister in October, 1885," he
said. Everything be had in his house he
bought on the lnstallment plan, and my
sister fought bard to pay for them. For q
long time Smith has been in the habit Of
beating her, and his attacks became so fire.
quent that she was afraid that he would kill
her The day she left him he tried to pour
a kettle of boiling water on her feet. II
was this act that drove her to leave him.
Smiths treatment of my sister has ruined
her health, which is in such a shattered
condition now that | am afraid she, too
will contract consumption She is only 2:
years old"
PERRY POINTERS.