Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-12-24

to a friend whom a
STAR man met just after leaving Coroner Pat
terson's Office in search Of news, and the chance
shot told For the INTERCEPTED man, who is
one OF Washington's most reputable lawyers.
stopped short in his walk and tore to shreds
several letters which he removed from an in
side coat pocket.
There, was the reply following the panto-
mimic answer ''1'u relieve the coroner of any
such duty in case am called upon to pass in
my checks before l reach my Office again, and
save my relatives from thinking that i ever
knew secrets OF the character explained bv
those letters. OF course they were written bv
Clients of mine, and on professional business
too. They were delivered at my Office by the
postman just as / was leaving aud read them
walking along the street. But the question YOU
have just asked only goes to show how through
the merest accidents of that kind mems repu-
tations are sullied after their death by com
promising papers found upon them, although.
have no doubt, in nine cases out ten the
nature of the secrets is never made public and
even then the dead man NAV be as innocent as
possible despite the damning documentary
evidence. Don't think | am suffering from
heart disease or liable to apoplectic stroke
but much obliged for the tip lust the same. and
hereafter II take no chances f shocking the
| public some fine morning with an account Of
my professional secrets secured through loose
pocket papers"
II DR.. Patterson remains in Office until next
July he will have held the coroner's position
Tor twenty-one years, and many a curious case
OF identity, or mistaken identity. and revela-
lions which completely overthrow the former
good name of some individual. have come up
through the 'hnds" upon corpses. The STAR
man had been having a talk with the coroner
about some Of the strange stories which such
corpse documents brought to light, and il
was the result of the interview that prompted
the question propounded TO the lawyer The
coroners office is one of the few berths Office
seekers rarely squabble about in their wild
scramble for public emoluments and changes
In the official personnel of the coroner's estab-
lishment are as infrequent here in the District
where the position is appointiye, as in the cases
of the clerk Of the District Supreme Court and
health officer. DIR. Patterson has now been the
legal Washington inquest holder for some years
longer than any other coroner in the country
can claim as a record, and an idea of the vast
amount OF work connected with the place NAV
be had from the fact that since July, 1872, the
present incumbent has inquired the cause of
death by personal investigation in no less than
1000 cases. Probably not more than one
fourth of the number were of such a character
| as to make an inquest necessary, with all the
| accessories of jury and verdict, but each one
OF the IL 900 had some suspicious circums lance
connected with the death and the coroner's GER
| titcate had to be issued before the health Office
could lawfully give burial permit. The aver
age cases of this class reach about forty-fye per
month but the total has sometimes run as high
as eighty, although the majority figures gener-
ally hover in the neighborhood of the half
century mark.
UNDER AN ASSUMED NAME.
Several weeks ago the proprietor of board
ing house on Missouri avenue called m DR.
Patterson by telephone and requested an in
quiry as to the death of a man named Cant
1ravers, who had been found dead in his room
with a full head OF gas turned on. 1t was
learned that the dead man had been some what
under the influence of liquor the night previous
TO his being found lifeless; but rnanifestly il
was impossible to determine whether the gas
escaping was due to suicidal intent or the re-
suit OF an accident while the man was drunk
Forty dollars IN money on the body removed
the idea OF suicide committed through want
and. following the usual custom, the cash was
used to defray expenses of burial Capt Tray
ers was known to have been bsfriended by a
western Congressman, but no trace of his i'm
mediate family or friends could be discovered.
Then 1t became necessary for the coroner to
take the deceased's papers In hand, and they
brought to light story which not only dated
back over thirty-one years. but possibly led
eventually to the mans death At least those
papers furnished motive for the suicide. if il
really was a case Of self-destruction. and re-
vealed an instance of life under an assumed
name for more than three decades,
Capt Travers had been an officer in the Union
army during the war. and no doubt a gallant
one, but his name not Travers and very
possibly the chance of Q refusal to have his pen-
sion transferred upon the rolls to himself under
the original name. which he buried over thirty
years ago, led to despondency. When the civil
war broke out G. II. Hibben ran awav from his
western home and enlisted under the name of
Trayers to prevent his being tracked by the
than young mans father, who strongly OBJ
jscsed to the sons enlisting at all. By the cog
nomen OF Travere he was known until the day
of his death, and judging from the papers
which fell into DR.. Patterson's hands a more
methodically accurate record Of a man Q daily
doings could scarcely be imagined Evidently
the father, who opposed his sons enlistment,
never forgaye the esoapade, and Travers him
sell nnsily determined to once more assume
his birthright and cast aside the imaginary
suf6x to his military title which did duty for
name since the war closed Some time ago he
applied to the pension bureau to be recognized
as q. II. Hibben, but the application for some
reason or other was not acted upon in either
direction, and his death left the chapter In
statu quo.
In this case, Of course, there were no docu-
ments which revealed any mystery involving
crime o. scandal, but one such did come under
the eoroners notice some years ago. and more
than one lady Of social standing hereabouts has
had reason since then to bless the officials dis
orestnsss and diplomacy in suppressing what
was in no sense criminal, but would have
proved delicious moroccan Of scandalous Cos
sip Ia upper tendom nevertheless. Just about
the close OF the social season during the GEN.
eennial year . young foreigner was found dead
In his rooms at an uptown hotel The cor
oners Investigation pronounced death Is due
to heart disease. To notify the friends of the
young man was the next step. Plenty of money
was discovered among his effects, and likewise
papers, among them several letters which, of
course, the coroNer felt called upon TO search
in order to determine who should be notified
The deceased bad figured in society quite ex-
tensively on presentation Of letters of
Introduction from . former member of
one Of the foreign Legations here,
but the epistles in bis pockets stamped the man
- somsthing very much like An adventurer.
who took advantage Of the imprudence of sew
erai giddy matrons in the set he fraternixed
with and, pleading the old threadbars excuse
OF expected reunittances from abroad, succeeded
In victimizing them to The tune of several thou
sand dollars-loans undoubtedly made without
knowledge Of the husbands in the case. The
coroner quietly sent messages to each fair let
ter writer compromised BY the dead foreigners
papers and their missives we're returned with
out publicity or scandal Of any sort cable
gram proved that the letters OF Introduction
had been forged and settled the question of his
character ~ an adventurer, but the real facts
in the matter we're kept within a limited circle
and the public was mona the WISER There was
money enough and to spare in the Young mans
pockets to afford him . decent burial and the
residue was covsredsinto the police relief fund,
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