The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-08-14
GEORGE FREEMAN'S DEATH
THE IMMEDIATE CAUSE is UN-
DETERMINABLE.
The Contributing Causes Were Cardiac
Mitral Insuhiciency Associated with
Chronic Nephritis-No Foul Play.

The cause of death of George Free
man has now been officially formulated
and made a matter of record in the
Board of Health office. Yesterday al
ternoon DR.. j. 7. Mcdonald completed
the transcription and copying of his
notes of the autopsy and filed it with
the Board of Health. Cp t. the Ii!ne
this was done there was no official re-
cord of the cause of death.
After a very careful statement of
what the autopsy lis closed as to tse
condition of the body and is various Or
gans the final conclusion of TN autopsy
is given. OF the heart DIR. Mcdonald
says:
mo pericardial effusion; organ rather
small for size of subject; pulmonary
artery and valves healthy, the former
empty; right ventricle and auricle con-
tain small amounts of white and black
clot; tricuspid normal, hypertrophy of
left ventricle; mitral valve thickened in
patches; chordae tendineae unusually
short and mitral believed to have been
incompetent; no clots in left heart;
aortic arch healthy; aortic semilunars
slightly thickened, endocardium healthy
myocardium normal color"
In conclusion DR.. Mcdonald says;
Or. Shorey reports that the urine
contains a considerable percentage of
albumen and also a trace of morphine.
me contents Oh the SlOHldC0 measured
three and a half fluid ounces made up
of partially digested food with gastric
juice containing considerable per-
centage of alcohol undetermined as to
form in which 1t was ingested.
while the immediate cause Of death
is Understandable, the contributing
causes were in my opinion, cardiac
mitral insufficiency associated with
chronic nephritis; there being no evil
danoa Of fOnl nlaU Or Uiolanpa and the
amount of morphine not being in suffi-
cient quantity to cause DEATH"
Just before The Star went to press
yesterday inquiry was made at the
Board of Health as TO the cause OF
Freemans death. The reply to the in
quiry was that it was not Known as the
autopsy physician had not vet madc
his report. On this reply 1t WAS stated
in The Star yesterday that the cause
of death was not known. DR.. Pratt
stated at the office of The star as late
as o'clock that this autopsy report
had not been filed and until it was he
could not state the cause of death.
But today in letter to Deputy High
Sheriff Chillingworth DR.. Pratt seeks to
make it appear that The Star mistated
in this respect yesterday. At the time
The star made the statement yesterday
that no cause of death had been assign
ed such was the fact according to DR..
Pratt's own statement The autopsy
report was filed soon afterwards SO
that it is now true as DR.. Pratt says In
his letter to Chillingworth that he has
received the autopsy report.
1t is in the light of these facts tnat
the following letter should be read:
EDITOR STAR: In your issue of
yesterday, the coroner is vigorously
attacked for not holding an inquest on
the body of George Freeman, who died
at Waikiki last Saturday afternoon.
In defense 1 desire to say that accord
ing to Session Laws 1898, Act 8 it Is
discretionary with the coroner in all
cases of sudden death, unattended by
any suspicious circumstances, whether
to hold an inquest or not.
In the case of George Freeman, he
was seen by three reliable witnesses to
walk into the water and fall, the water
where he fell being about six inches
deep. He was Immediately taken out
of the water and every means possible
used to revive him. After being given
up by the doctors and pronounced dead,
the body was taken to the morgue,
posted and heart disease announced as
the cause of death. With these facts
before him, the coroner very properly
exercised the discretion allowed him by
law and decided that an inquest was
not necessary.
The law does not require, as one
would infer from your article Vester-
day, that an inquest be held in every
case of unattended death. Many deaths
occur where an investigation by the
coroner and a post norton ty the
Board of Health is had without an in
quest being held.
1t was stated by you yesterday that
no cause of death was on record at the
Board of Health office, this | am in
formed by DR.. Pratt is absolutely false
and at my request he has written the
following:
Deputy High Sheriff Chillingworth,
City. Sir: In regard to the death of
one, George Freeman, who died sud
denly at Waikiki last Saturday, | would
state that l have received from DIR. j.
Il. Mcdonald. bacteI iologist of the Board
of Health the following report as the
result of his post norton investigations
and also the report of DR., Shorey:
while the immediate cause of death Is
Understandable the contributing causes
were in my opinion cardiac mitral in
sufficiency associated with chronic ne
phritis there being no suspicion of foul
play or violence and the amount of
morphine not being in sufficient guam
tity to cause death"
Respectfully yours,
(Signed) j. ID. b. PRATT,
Executive officer.
1t is the duty of the coroner to en-
force the law as laid down in the sta
tute books, and for him to hold an in
quest in case not contemplated by the
law and incur the expense incident
thereto. would be as grave a wronR as
if he failed to hold an inquest in case
contemplated by the law.
A. NJ. BROWN.
Honolulu, August IA.
Foreman McGilvary, at the Young
building admitted yesterday that Free
man was under the influence of liquor
when he went into the water. 'Murry
and / were at the beach and met Free
man at the Annex. He borrowed a dol
lar from me, saying he wanted to go in
swimming. | noticed at the time that
he was under the influence of liquor,
but as l had often seen him that way
before 1 thought very little of 1t. l do
not know what he had been drinking.
! do know, however, that he was in the
habit of drinking both hard liquors and