New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-08-06
THE CORONER'S OFFICE.
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The proceedings of Coroner Hoeber, which
have adorned many tale. have likewise pretty
uniformly pointed moral which 1t Is high time
to heed. We lsrbor no III will toward that queer
official. and indeed on more than one occasion
when he has made an unusually large contriDu-
ton to the general fund OF gayety we have
feel. that it would be almost pity t. lose him.
At other times it has seemed 10 us that he was
treated with rather less consideration than he
was entitled to. An rascible temper and
comical facility in abusing the English language
do not necessarily unit man for the duties OF
Coroner. but. on the whole, we have been con-
strained TO share the conviction Of great ma
jority Of his fellowct!zens. that Mr.. Hoeber's
exceptional qualities would be more usefully
exercised in a private station.
His latest adventure tends powerfully 10 con-
firm the prevailing judgment On Tuesday
evening he was visited by woman. who in a
perfectly deliberate and straightforward manner
asked him TO acquaint her with the proper mode
Of bringing case Of suicide to the CorOners
official attention. Having acquired the nforma-
ton which she sought and made the remark
able announcement that the case would be
ready for him at 10 o'clock the next morning,
she babe him goodnight. went home wrote him
letter saying that when he received 1t she
should have departed this life, and then pro-
ceeded to verify the prediction. Morning came
and with 1t the Coroner In state of extreme
agitation He had begun to suspect something,
but his suspicion was considerably too late in
asmuch as the woman had died several hours
before Almost any other man in his place
would have attributed some measure Of impOr-
lance to such an application as the Coroner's
prpepnfp1 IN fpcS
to some surprise that Mr.. Hoeber himself did
not feel at least an inquistive interest in her
promise of job. Even in this rapid age an
announcement Of an impending suicide Is not
quite so ordinary and trivial matter as the
Coroner conceived 1t TO be. If the woman was
irrational and wild in her talk. consideration
Of her mental condition and the probability of
her committing some desperate act would not
have been altogether ont Of place. If, as ap-
pears to be the fact, she was cool and sane in
her demeanOr, the extraordinary nature of her
inquiries and her final declaration might have
been expected to produce some impression even
upon Mr.. HOeber. A more conclusive demon
stratiOn Of official stupidity has perhaps never
been put on record since the days of Dedrich
KnickcrbOcker.
Discreditable and exasperatlng as this per
IOrlnance is. II VIII not be wholly unrecOnpenSeu
If it promotes the demand for the abolition of
the Coroners office and the substitution of
system similar to that which operates to
the entire satisfaction Of the people OF Massa-
chusetts. In that State the Governor appoints
medical examiners. who within their respective
districts perform the duties which are here at
tempted by Mr. Hoeber and his colleagues, and,
being men of professional knowledge and char
acter perform them with intelligence and judg
ment. There Is probably no other part Of our
whole governmental machinery which is so I'M
perfectly adapted to its purpose az the Office OF
Coroner. Prior to 1895 its existence was pro
tected by the organic law. but fortunately. 1t
was dropped out Of the new Constitution and
is now at the disposition Of the Legislature. 1t
was, TO be sure. unwsely preserved in the Great
er NewIOrk charter on terms which contain
no assurance that its value will be enhanced;
but 1t Is certain that the instrument by which
We are 10 be governed after January ! IS not
too sacred for notification and one of the first
changes which 1t needs to undergo is the COM
pe'e transformation Of al ancient civil inSti-
tuition which has outlived its usefulness.