The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-09-10
HEAVILY INSURED MAN MISSING.
T. j. Delbridse of Atlanta Supposed
to Have Been Drowned.

Atlanta. Ga, Sept. 9.-Thomas J. Del
bridge, a young man. who has for years
past been prominent in local business cir
cles. mysteriously disappeared al Lake
wood, a suburban pleasure ground and
bathing pond. last night.
His clothes which he hung up in bath
house preparatory 10 taking swim. are
the only clew found so far to indicate
what has become Of him. His family and
friends believe that he had been drowned.
and that his body VIII finally be fshed
out Of the lake but the fact that within
the past few months Debrdge added
something like $4,000 to his list of life In
surance policies, has given rise to the
theories or suicide or disappearance for
the purpose Of defrauding the insurance
companies.
Mr.. Delbridge had, up to January last
been for some years president of a large
wholesale paper concern, the Delbridge
Paper Company. The company, which
had a banking institution attached, did
a large business throughout the south
He was also president of the Delbridge
Hotel Company, which built a big hotel
on Trinity avenue last summer for the
exposition trade. The hotel was too cost
ly to be a profitable venture, and result
ed in the failure of the company, which
carried down with II the Delbridge Pa
per Company.
At the time Of the failure Mr.. Delbrldge
gave a statement to the public in which
he said that every dollar that he had
should be applied to the payment of the
debts of his companies. and 1t was gener-
ally supposed that since the failure he had
been in financial straights. Investigation
developed to-day that he had been taking
on insurance as rapidly as he could The
total amount already In evidence is $50,
900, besides this it has been disclosed that
he had applied to several companies which
refused to sell him policies. One Of these
was the Fidelity Mutual of Philadelphia
from which he wanted to get a $4,000
policy, but rendered his note for the first
premium, and on this account the policy
was refused. He was also refused a 5000
policy in the United States Insurance Com
pany for the same reason. The companies
in which he had succeeded In getting in
surance are the New York Life. $1,000 and
5000 policies, the Mutual Life, $4,000. the
German American, 5000, the Royal Ar
canum, $1,000, the Golden Chain, $1,000, the
Mutual Benefit Association, 5000.
The theory that Mr.. Delbridge commit
ted suicide is so generally accepted among
the insurance men that, If his body is ul-
timately found in the lake the payment
Of the policies will be contested. Mr.. Del
bridge resided in a comfortable home at
ga Whitehall street, with his wife and
three children. He left yesterday after
noon late near o'clock, telling his wife
that he was going to Lakewood to take a
swim, although the day was rather cool
for such pleasure.
When he arrived at the park It was
dusk. He secured bathing suit and left
his clothes hanging in one of the bath
houses. The last seen of him was when
he took a small boat and rowed out to-
ward the middle of the pond. 1t was dark
at the time that the guard and others who
were near could not follow the boat, but
they did not suspect anything. having
heard no outcry, until the empty boat
came floating in, and it was then found
that Mr.. Delbridge's clothes were still in
the bath house. In the pockets of the
trousers was $61. A search of the lake
was at once begun. The family offered
a reward of $50 for the recovery of the
body, and the lake has been subjected to
thorough search by drags and divers, but
the body still remains unbound. An at
tempt was made to float 1t by the use CT
dynamite, but this also failed.