St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-12-16
BULLETS AND BLOOD.
Frank M. Carlson Lays Down
His Life by Sui
eide.
He Fired a Ball Into His Own
Ear and Quit Liv-
ing.
Discussion Between Rep
reSentatives-Elect and
Commission.
Century Music Hall Opened
Last Night--Coupt Rou-
tine.

A short time after o'clock last even
ng, .. A. Ham, residing at No. 1877
Washington avenue, met and Informed
Officer Void, of the South side police
station. that the body of dead man
lay stretched out Oh the vacant lot at
the corner of Fourteenth avenue and
Third street. The officer hurried to
that locality, and investigation con-
tirmed the report. The man was dead,
but his body was still warm. He had
evidently shot himself through the
head
On the arrival of Coroner Towers
about O'Clock the suicide was removed
to the morgue Of Gleason & Byorum,
No. S24 Cedar avenue. He presented
CHASTITY spectacle IN the dimly lighted
room. The man shot himself through
the Oriiice of the right ear. Blood
sprinkled and bedaubed his white hair
and forehead and trickled through his
beard. The right eye was discolored
and the swollen lids portruded
and bulged from the pupil,
resembling in color and shape
a decayed plumb. His limbs were still
pllaDle, and were moved and twisted at
the coroner'S will. AS the smoking
lamp was moved from place to place to
enable the officials to make an eXamina-
ton OF the corpse, shadows flickered
over It's countenance, Obliterating for
| moment the evidences of his tragic
death. In the semi-darkness he looked
like an amiable old man OF fifty-three
years of age, rather a sturdy, energetic
looking man, and one who, in life, had
will of his own and accustomed
to exercising it. But when the lamp
light flashed over his married face the
Illumination gave it all almost sinister
look, emphasized to grotesqueness by
Its dlSfigured eye. The body was clothed
IN cleanly undergarments, white linen
shirt and suit of nearly new clothes
of some dark wooden stuff. He wore
blue cotton socks that were quite new.
The dead mans hands are the hands,
presumably, of mechanic, and the
first joint of the little finger of the
right hand has been partially taken Off.
The man was quite bald. His hair,
beard and close-cropped mustache are
gray, nearly white.
The coroner took from his person a
brand new pistol of Smith q Wesson
make, the cylinder of which contains
six chambers, red Russian leather
pocketbook and buckskin purse. An
examination of the revolver disclosed
the fact that but one shot had been fired
from it. The weapon glittered and
shone brightly in the brilliantly-lighted
shop attached TO the morgue, to which
the reporters, policemen and coroner had
adjourned. As DR.. Towers opened the
red pocketbook the spectators leaned
over and craned their necks to see its
contents. Perhaps it contained a fare
well letter explaining the cause of
rash and deadly act, or the dead mans
name. or the names of his friends. The
coroner took from the folds OF the book
a tiny packet of papers and opened
them. They proved to be certificates Of
deposit issued to Frank Nj. Carl
son, in various amounts, by the
State Bank Of Minneapolis, and
their value is s2,S45. Carter
was then evidently not in want and
poverty had not lead him to commit
coroner picked from the book Sill IN
national bank notes. The last find
emptied the red pocketbook. Opening
the buckskin purse. S45.9S in gold and
silver coin was found, it making a total
of 5000 % found on the person of the
suicide. On again visiting the morgue
the body was stripped of its clothing,
but nothing further was found to dis
close or fix the abode of Frank M.
Carlson.
A police officer declared he had seen
the dead man yesterday afternoon lott
ering in the neighbOrhOod of the spot
he finally selected as the scene of his
death. There was nothing peculiar IN
his appearance to attract ones atten-
ton, and the officer remembered him as
matter OF habit.
Later on a reporter of the GLOBE Wis
tied the vacant lot where the body of
Carlson was found. IL was at that hour
grewSOme spot. dark and for
bidding. The wind was blowing in
spiteful gusts and the snow, which mad
just begun to fall. chilled the night air.
The houses in the immediate neighbour
hood were without lights and the night
was very dark. A man after dark might
safely hide himself there free from de-
lection until morning. Perhaps the
suicide chose the lonesome lot on that
account. He waited until it had grown
quite dark before firing the ia
tai shot. The idea that his
body might remain hidden from
view and undisturbed until morning,
in all likelihood prompted him to go no
farther for the sceue OF his taking off.
The police and coroner pronounce the
case one of unmistakable suicide. Rob-
beiy would have followed murder. and
the position of the body and weapon in
dictate that Carlson for some reason was
the author of his own destruction. 1t
has been suggested that possibly he was
shot by some one familiar with the
fact that he carried about his person a
large sum of money and before theft
could be perpetrated were frightened
into flight. The theory is entirely I'M
tenable. Mrs. Josephine Anderson. of
pa Fourteenth avenue south, heard the
shot that ended the mans life at $40
O'Clock, land his body was not discovered,
as we'll as could be learned last night,
until about $40 O'Clock.
FIRING ON THE COMMISSION,