The morning call., 1894-04-26
WEARY OF LIVING.
Queer Disappearance of
Francis NJ. Speed.
An Inventor, Contractor and Land
Operator Thought to Have
Ended His Life.

Francis NJ. Speed, an inventor OF paten t
bricks. pipes and other art ces, has mystic
riously disappeared. and his friends fear
that he has committed suicide. They have
asked the police to aid them in ascertainiDg
where he is. and an effort has been made
to that end without success. A detective
was detailed to look him up. and for the
past week the park and the beach out
around the Cliff House have been searched
in the expectation of finding his body.
This was done at the ms ance of Z. l..
Campbell. lawyer. who had been con-
ne ted with Mr.. Speer in many business
enterprises and entertained a high regard
for him. Captain Meade of Ill Tenth
street has also interested himself in the
matter and asked the police authorities to
exert themselves TO find his old friend.
Mr.. Speed lived Tor some years at the
bOarding-house at 901 Suffer street. He
usually stopped there when in the city,
and the people of the house thought him a
man of rare attachments and many fine
qualities. He left the house some time age
and took a room next to that of Captain
Meade on Tenth street, and the two men
spent most of their time together. Captain
Meade said last light that S eed's disap-
pearance was inexplicable. "Hr got up
on the morning of Tuesday, the 10th inst, "
said he, land left the house without giving
the slIghtest intimatio that he might not
return. He left his clothing in the room
and made 10 preparations whatever for a
trip. l know all the places he was in the
habit of visiting, and have been every.
where, only to find that NJ one has seen
him since the day before his sudden disap-
pearance.
There seems to be no reason why he
should have committed suicide, but be
probably has done SO, because be fire.
II II "a
life. He talked in misanthropic way,
frequently remarking that there was noth-
ing IL this life, and branching out into
dissertations upon the future state. He
had long discussion with one Of the Ia
dies in the house on tho question OF
whether suicide was justifiable. She ar
gued that 1t was a crime, and he held that
a man had right to end his life when he
was tired of it.
81 never suspected that he was short of
money. Ii he had been he could have
raised 800 for the asking. He was Ger.
tainly worth money. Only a short time
ago he sold a ranch for SIS. 900. and l know
of one transaction which was very prof :
able for him. He discovered that ninety
seven acres of land in Humboldt County
had never been taken up though the land
all around IL was. He had it survey ed,
secured title and sold it only few week
ago in this city to a Humboldt man. lie
sent an order for this money throug b
Wells Fargo's express and then went off.
'Mr. Speed has had many large con.
tracts. He put up all the Government,
telegraph wires in Washington and else.
where up North, and had also done much
of this sort of work ia New York, Ten.
nessee and New Orleans. He has family
living. L think. ID Seneca County, New
York State.
Il am convinced thatif he has committed
suicide it was by drowning. because when
one of the women 1T the boarding house
on Suffer street said jocularly to him no
long ago, when he was talking OF suicide,
that he would look well on Morgue slab
When / GO they will never find me-
believe that he went straight from here
over to the Marin shore or across to the
beach,"
Mr.. Speed was 4S years of age. feet {
inches tall and wore griZzled beard. He
wore when last seen a dark suit of clothes
and Derby hat. He had some deformity Of
one of his legs. 1t was shorter than the
other, and the foot was missh apen.