St. Paul daily globe., 1893-05-21
NO TRACE OF ROGERS
Searchers Fail to Raise the
Body Of the Suicide Of
Friday.
Absolutely No Ground for a
Suspicion That the Man
Is Still Living.
Young KarlS Recital Con.
vinees Every One That
He Is Correct.
Two Boys Report an Incident
That Has a Direct Bear
ing on the Case.

All day yesterday and far into the night
crews of men were at work dragging the
river III search of the body of Charles S,
Rogers, who suicided by jumping from
the Smith avenue bridge Friday after
noon. The search, however, was with
out success.
q Early yesterday morning a steamboat
was secured, and number of relatives
and friends of the deceased, accompan-
led by Mrs. Rogers, visited the men
who were dragging the river at various
points. The young man, j. NJ. Karl,
who had the struggle on the bridge
with Rogers, accompanied the party,
and told in graphic way, made more
thrilling by the places being pointed out
by him, the circumstances of the sui
eide.
The fact that there Is no reason for
the deed caused the report to be circu-
lated yesterday that Rogers had not ,
suicIded at all, but that he had left the
city and the story related by Karl had
been manufactured for the occasion to
account for his disappearance. Moth
ing could be farther from the truth than
this rumor, which, as usual i'll cases of
this kind, was told with embellishments
as it spread over the city. There is 10
question but that Mr.. Rogers
Jumped From the Bridge
about 1:30 Friday afternoon. He visited
the Loan and Trust company's vaults
an hour before taking the fatal leap,
and, from the facts which have been
brought to light by an investigation,
the act was premeditated one.
One of the letterS-the one directed to
S. NJ. Allison, manager of the cOrdage
works, was inclosed in an envelope
bearing the trust company's business
card i'll the corner. The slip Of paper
found in the buggy, on which was the
directions to return the rig to Mrs. G. s..
Rogers, 419 Grove street, was written
with pen and ink in the handwriting of
Mr. Rogers, and was evidently written
al desk or table, Is TIC words were
plain and even and could not have been
jOtted down while he was on the bridge.
The letter addressed to his wife was
also written in ink, and the two letters
and the open note were undoubtedly
penned while he was in the room at the
trust company vaults.
The story related by j. NJ. Karl, as to
the conversation and the struggle on
the DrluR6, Cdrrl6S WlLn III cOnVlcIlOn as
to the truth of his statements. Those
who saw Karl Immediately after the
struggle will not soon forget the agony
depicted OIL his face and the terrible
strain under which he was laboring.
Peter Larue, who is engaged in the
construction of several houses on Cher
okee avenue a short distance from the
west end of the bridge, was the first
one to see Karl after Rogers had taken
the fatal leap. Karl, he said. had been
over to see him in the morning about
putting some bells in the houses which
he was working on. He told Karl to
come back in the afternoon, and hearing
about 80 o'clock some one running
along the walk, he looked up and saw
Karl, who cried out: "FOr Gods sake,
come quick; man has just jumped
over the bridge. | tried to save him,
but he was too strong for me. If we
could get boat perhaps he could be
saved"
Larue and Karl both ran back to the
bridge, but when they arrived at the
spot where Rogers had jumped from
there was nothing to be seen but hat
floating down the river. 1t was at La
rue's suggestion that Karl at once
jumped into the buggy and drove to
Seven corners, where the police were
mott fed.