The Sunday morning news. [volume] (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1886-1891, 1889-12-15
Il. B. GOVEN'S SUICIDE.
Found in Worm1ey's Hotel,
Washington, With a Bull
let in His Brain.
HIS REMARKABLE HISTORY
The Suppression Of the Molly Ma
guires---The Reading Rail-
roads War.

WASHINGTON, D. c., Dec. IA, 1aS9.--Mr.
Franklin B. Gowen, prominent lawyer
OF Philadelphia and formerly president
of the Philadelphia and Reading Rail-
road Company, was found dead in his
room at Wormley's Hotel this afternoon,
with bullet wound in his head and
pistol by his side. He had undoubtedly
committed suicide.
Mr.. Gowen came to Washington on
Monday last to conduct the George Rice
oil cases against Southern railroads, be-
fore the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion. and on Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday appeared as Mr.. Rice's attor-
ney in those cases. MIR. Gowen has not
been noticed about the hotel since yester-
day afternoon, when he retired to his
room.
This morning the maid discovered that
his door was locked. and later in tine day.
after making several unsuccessful at
tempts to get into his room, reported the
fact to the Office about one O'clock The
clerk then procured a stepladder and
looking over the transom saw McGowen
lying on the floor with the pistol by his
side.
When the door was opened Mr.. Gowen
was found to be dead. 1t is thought that
he committed suicide early this morning.
The police authorities being notified
Immediately took charge of the remains,
and notifed the friends and relatives of
Mr.. Gowen in Philadelphia of his death.
The body is now at the morgue.
All the property found at the hotel be-
longing to Mr.. Gowen was taken to the
| station house and examined. A bundle
of soiled shirts, handkerchiefs, &c, was
| found neatly rolled up and tied with q
string. A box of thirty-eight calibre
Smith 81 Wesson cartridges was found.
The box was new and but five of the
4 cartrIOUpg hApn "a l<An
There was also tin box, such is is used
| by lawyers, containing papers and some
| Interstate commerce pamphlets and q
| blue baize bag A hasty look through
the papers failed to develop anything that
would throw light upon the cause OF the
suicide. The revolver used by Mr..
Gowen was fine 3S-calibre, pearl
| weapon. The barrel and handle were
smeared with blood. No definite aud
immediate cause can be assigned.
Franklin b. Governs career has been
such as to bring him prominently before
the notice of the country. His connec-
ton with the Reading Railroad and al
| lied companies, and with the suppression
of the remarkable Mollie Maguires' con-
| spiracy are matters not easily overlooked
or soon forgotten.
Mr.. Governs great abilities would have
| made him prominent in any sphere of
| life; and indeed, he attained a name in
| political Circles which caused him to be
| classed in the early '70's as among the
men tc whom the Democratic nomination
| for the Presidency might fall some day,
| but the part he took in the suppression OF
the Mollie Maguires destroyed his pol
itical prospects.
| 1t was in 1870 that he became president
! of the Reading Road which was not then
| an important factor in the railroad world.
| Mr.. Gowen built it up by purchasing
small connecting roads. and in this way
| created formidable power in the coal
| fields.
| 10 bolster up the lines which he had
| purchased, and some of which were not
| paying at the time, he established the
| Reading Coal & Iron Company, which
controlled immense properties in the
| Reading districts and which became
| famous for the inhuman manner in which
| it treated its employees.
| All the stories told of the poverty and
| misery i'll the mining districts of England
| pale before those of the Reading district
| 1t was to resist this awful oppression that
| the society known as the Moilie Maguires
which was said by some to be an illegal
| offshoot of the A. Q. H.-started into
| being.
This order, following the most desper-
ate methods of the ''moonlightersv and
| ribbon men" of Ireland, shot down the
| agents of the company and committed
| various outrages
Inc party opposed TO GoWen In the
management of the road, in which the
English capitalists predominated, adj
vocated an amelioration of the condition
| of the men.
Mr.. Gowen took the ground that the
Molly Maguires must first be crushed by
| force. Through his efforts the services
| of Pinkerton's force were secured, and
| Captain John Linden, one of the most
daring and INSCRIPTIONS detectives
which this country ever produced, was
| employed upon the matter with the
result that everyone remembers.
| There were many arrests and twenty
or thirty of the Mollies were hanged,
many of them, no doubt, unjustly.
! Governs policy prevailed and the Moi
| lies were crushed. However the COM
| pany found it necessary to make conces-
| sions to the men short time after this
| Mr.. Gowen was deposed from the presi-
| dency of the road, but was reelected, and
made great fight of it until about two
! years ago, when he was succeeded by
/ Austin Corbin.