New-York tribune., 1895-12-29
AFRAID OF BECOMING BLIND.
~ Unemployed PRINTERS MOTIVE TO
SUICIDE.
.,r 1EApEp FROM THE ROOF OF sEvEN-sToRY
rENEMENT-HoUsE AND WAS IN
STANTLY KILLED.

Charles wurcherer. a middle-aged printer, jumped
,,ou, the roof of tall tenement house. at No. 6o1
ras, Eleventh-st. early yesterday morning. He
g killed Instantly. The body was taken TO a
.yce station before his wife learned of his death.
Ssa was crazed with grief when the news was
broken 10 her
wurcherer was ffty-four years old He lived
u,h his wife and six-months-old baby on the
nur,h floor Of the tenement at No Cos East
r,sventh-st For fifteen years he worked in the
same printing house. and earned good wages.
For the last three months his health had been
s.a He also had trouble with his eyes. He con-
suited an oculist a short time ago and Was tod
,here was great danger of his becoming totally
mind The sight OF his right eye was almost gone.
We haS to wear black patch it, He con-
tlnualy worried over the possibility that he might
become blind and be a burden to some one.
week ago the printing firm that he worked
for So many years gave up business and he found
himself without employment. This added 10 his
,oisery Since then he has gone around the city
every day looking for other work His quest was In
vain No one seemed TO hire him. He
thought that 1t because he was getting ad-
vanoed In age and because no one wanted an en-
Move who sick and had poor eyesight.
His wife said yesterday that he always had a
horrible fear OF dying. Every time he got the least
SEX ne believed that he seized with fatal
illness ANA would consult several doctors before he
vould become satisfied that he suffering
from lncuraDle aLmenI lie lay in his bed Friday
morning until II o'clock. Then he had breakfast
and went his usual search for work. He re-
turned home at night extremely respondent, as he
could get work
Ho ana his wife retired early. About o'clock
,esier-ay morning the baby began 10 cry. Wur
cherer g0t OF bed and prepared some food for
Inc infant. Then he opened the kitchen door and
went OUT into the hall.
some tine later a young man raped on the door
and told Mrs Wurcherer that her husband had
Jumped from the roof.
'Wurcherer had gone to the roof of his home,
crossed the adjoining roof and stood on the
edge Then he sprang on. He struck the edge of the
Sidewalk on his head. His body rebounded out into
the middle of the street and was nearly run over
bv passing truck. number of men were passing
through the street on their way to work. None of
them. however, the man jump from the roof
and their attention was first attracted when his
body struck the street. A large crowd soon col
lected around il. The dead identi-
fled The house from which the printer leaped TO
his death is directly opposite the quarters of En-
Cne Company No. .. The fremen ran out and
picked up the body which was placed on stretcher
and carried the Union Market station. An exam
ooolly planned his suicide on table a letter
which had evidently been written by him some time
IN the night The letter was addressed to a friend
named Oestrcher, who used to work with him. 1t
said that he preferred death to iil-heath blind
ness
The letter taken by the police and sent to the
CorOner's office.
The dead man was member of Typographical
Union No. = \ representative of the organization
took charge of the body and had il removed to an
lniertakers rooms.