New-York tribune., 1896-10-04
HUNTING DOWN A SUICIDE.
DOMINEERING BOARDING-HOUsB
KEEPER AND HER MlLD-MAN.
NERED HUSBAND.
r,xprRIENc.Es OF REPORTER ~ SEARCH OF
FAcTS-STARTED on WILD GOOSE
CHASE RY FALSE REPORT.

EXPERIENCES OF n KEfOfIEh ~ W
rAcrs-srARrEp on WILD GOOSE
CHASE BY A FALSE REPORT.
1t is never safe to make hasty conclusions IN news.
paper work, and there was no certainty tnat one ot
the joest brokers I'm Wall Street had committed
suicide when a report came from the Coroners omce
that a man OF his name had been found dead In
room full Of Illuminating gas In the mouse NO "a
East --th-st The reporter who was assigned 70
the task of investigating the case had premom'
ton born of experience In suicide cases that hers
might be difficulty in getting at the facts and oetore
going the house mentioned In the report ne maoe
a call at the police station in the precinct whefe
the house was Never heard OF such a case.
said the sergeant but perhaps they INFORMED the
Coroner's office without letting us know"
The reporter to the house. II was tene'
ment- house not the kind Of place wall etreet
broker could be expected to live or die n but there
was some black Grape on the door r-jamb and hoy
in the hallway said the man had lived up three
flights OF stairs" Up climbed the reporter. and IN
back room he found dozen women IN weeds
grouped about a coffin. Some lighted candles were
on a table near the head Of the corpse. ana the
shades of the windows had been pulled down. tne
women were rocking themselves back ana tor'n
and half moaning half singing:
"Werra Werra. Why did he die Why old ne
die. lie a good man. He was g-o-o-d man.
Werra Werra. Why did be de-
Was 1t an accident?" the reporter inquired OF
one OF the women.
Faith OF don't doubt it," she replied
There were no gas-jets in the room. and cheap
Gil lamp on the nantel indicated the method OF
ordinary illumination in the place. but the reporter
asked Was 1t gas that killed him.
Don't yez behave It, Moike Flanagan wurked IN
the Sashouse twinty years an wuz well an nearly
till he TUX sick"
Michael Flanagan was not the name In the re-
port from the Coroners Office and the reporter was
convinced that there had been some mistake In the
report when the woman continued: The doctor
said it a cute nfammashun. but there was
nothin about It, Oim thnkin'. 'Twere billed
lobster. with maybe little too much beer"
You're roight Mary Ann" said the other women.
"Werra! Werra. Why dii he dole. lie were a good
man."
There had been bIunder in the report. without
doubt, and the reporter was half inclined to make
an inquiry house Fifth-ave. which vas
given in the directory the home Of the Wall Street
broker but inquiries Of near relatives at time Of
trouble painful, and the reporter went down TO
Wall Street to make Inquiries there Almost the hrst
he encountered I'm the brokers' office was the
jolly broker himself. who listened at first with an
incredulous stare and then with twinkle OF the
eye to the report that he ought TO be lying sth and
cold in a room full of gas somewhere uptown
Thought had closed myself out, did your he
said. "Well, I'm right in it yet"
The reporter had suspicion that his suicide
trail like the country road that became cow
ii
There only thing left to do next That
was to go TO the Coroncr's office and make sn
effort to ascertain what the meaning OF the
false report. When he got to the Coroners Office
he felt like kicking himself because he had not
gone there in the first place. The house In which
the supposed suicide had occurred OF in East
-th-st.. but in West --th-st, and IN a dherent
police precinct. OF the man who had been
suHocated not the Wall Street broker. but tho
rep ,rter lost time in going TO the right police
station and making an inquiry
You'll have to go to the house. We have NO
particulars here said the sergeant. ''Patrolman
Brown was sent there four hours ago and We
| haven't heard a wcrd from him since. Wish you
| would tell him to send word IL the Coroner has
been there"
On the way out Of the station the reporter met
a police surgeon whom he knew and stopped TO
talk with him n moment. When tie doctor learned
the reporters errand in that part OF the city. he
laughed and said: You will have trouble II they
find out at the house what you are after. That Is
| Mrs. Montgomery Thistetop's boarding-hou and
she's a terror. | called in there this morning
| after the man found dead. and she asked me
| to get a Coroner and keep the out OF the
| papers When / told her | could not undertake to
| suppress the publication OF any facts about the
mans death, she declared she would bold me re-
sponsibe for any damage to the reputation OF her
p, house if the case got into the newspapers. When
| I ,me out she slammed the door after me so hard
| that the whole neghborhood might have heard the
| bang"
The doctors statement put the reporter on guaro
anl also aroused suspicion that the:e might %
| some remarkable features in the case II was WIN
a matter-of-fact air that the reporter rang the bell
of the boarding house and SAID to mi'o-appear'n
man who opened the door: III there Is police
man I'm here yet want to see him. have mes
| sag for him from the police stati'n
| "Certninly." said the mild hammered man. walk
upstairs to the second floor"
The reporter walked upstairs, and as ne was ~
the second landing he heard rssp,ns tSaa lenths ahs
| voice below say "Montsom"y' WAS '""' '"'
mo, dear: only another from the police sta
| tion" was the reply, softly spoken. 49,.
Whsn ahs sa did not take long to
IN in ,ns the sss had af
for many months Like many & man %n9 ,th n'eS Svs v
hut Ssere ws NO to
| had wanted to die. Other boarders N the mouse
castomed ca to Come his late at night rather
for nS mS ssy saS he
T fore ~" he got into his room Probably he was IN
sr ,urmns M s9 on "tH the "s gas
etngush the sh ne He hSa had been su
"I think it was an accident" said the po'es-
e opened the no Sf the ga: yet
The nsss of Snd the sos Ssr be to
tomch The unsteady hand CT a man the worse tor
LIQUOR might easily have turnei on the gas af'eE
the ne saa reporer had finished his work without get
material H was fSs ssappSnse% sSpS as he
and in sGSa Ss G Il:
sompuo. aI y man In the lower hail. but he kept
t the studied politeness which every newspaper man
"Hre YOU the proprietor Of the house?' he In
| CURED. ,, >,,.or,o-,, r,,,s,,e,on-sh
| Mrs Thistetops husband ....,o, .,.r.
Can you give the press any Information aoous
,ha man who died In the house - suddenly
For the press, All! with c gasp; lion think E.y ySy
had better ING imSuirSs uiirrsormation. r I p~'
Mr. Thistietop's fingers were trembling with es-
| ciement as he opened the do)r. The reporter AZ
| ccanted the movement an intimation that MS
! nresence i'm the house was not welcome, put az ne
cd L gay