The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-09-26
Died in a New York Apartment House,
and His Body Was to Have
Been Cremated Yesterday.
CHECKS UNHoNORED BY BANKS
PRESENTED FOR CERTIFICATION
AFTER THE DEATH OF MIR. RICE.
Suspicious Aroused by the Answers
Of q Valet-Statement by Law
yer A. Il. Patrick.

NEW YORK, Sept. 25.-At the suggestion
of District Attorney Gardner and Chief Of
Detectives McCluskey. Coroner Hart is in
vestigating the death OF William Marsh
Rice, who died Sunday night at the Berk-
Shire apartment house on Madison avenue.
Mr.. Rice was a millionaire. who retired
from active mercantile life twelve years
ago and is said to have large interests in
Houston. Tex, and Milwaukee. Wis.
After the funeral services had been said
over the body this forenoon by one OF DR..
Morgan's assistants from the Church OF the
Heavenly Rest, the remains were taken
charge of by the authorities and carried to
the. morgue. There an autopsy was per-
formed by Deputy Coroner Donlin. He was
unable to determine the cause Of death
because an undertaken had injected a large
quantity of strong solution of embalming
fluid into the body. The lungs, DR.. Donlin
said were somewhat congested, but the
heart was sound for a person so well ad-
vanced in years. Mr.. Rice was eighty-four
years old. The heart. lungs, intestines
and stomach of the dead millionaire, by
the direction Of the detectives present at
the autopsy. were turned over to Prof.
Witthaus for chemical analysis. Until the
examination has been completed central
Office Detectives Valley and Trainor, who
have charge of the case, say they will not
make public their reasons for taking charge
of the body and preventing its creamation,
which was to have taken place to-day on
a permit issued by the Board of Health,
and on a certificate from DR.. Wilker Curry
to the effect that the millionaire had died
from natural causes.
The inquiry of the authorities into the
case of Mr.. Rice was begun early Monday,
four checks bearing the dead mans name
and calling for the payment OF nearly
$250,O0O were presented for certihcation at
the Offices of the Fifth-avenue Trust Com
pany and the banking house OF S. NJ
Swenson & Sons. No. 70 Wall street They
were all made payable TO Albert T. Pat
rick, a lawyer OF 31e West Fifty-eighth
street, whose Offices are at No. 275 Broad
way. The latter had for the past ten years
been Mr.. Rice's legal advisor in New York.
while his immense business interests in
Texas were in charge OF Captain ]. A.
Baker, who, with the dead mans brother,
Frederick Rice. of Houston, Tex. is now
on his way here. At the telegraphic re-
quest of the brother the body will be kept
until he arrives.
Two of the checks. one drawn for sl35.00O
and the other for $4,000. were certified
without question by the Fifth-avenue
Trust Company. but the other two drawn
on S. NJ. Swenson & Sons. were not certified.
One of them called for $4,000 and the other
for $4,000. 1t was an error in the spelling
of the name of Lawyer Patrick, which had
been written "Abbert" instead OF Albert
on the last check, which led the WALL
street banking firm TO refuse TO indorse
When this error was discovered Swenson
& Sons called mp the Berkshire apartment
house on the telephone and Charles Jones.
Mr.. Rice's valet. who responded TO the call.
answered that the check was ''all right
This. he says, was In accordance with d.
rections which he had received from Law
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