The Sunday globe., 1901-05-19
THE AYERS TRAGEDY
The Murderer an Inmate of the
Kenmore House.
THE AMOURS OF THE CLERK
And His Stories Of Numerous COnQueSts Among
the Ladies' Of Loose Morals In and Outside
the Government Dspartmsnts-Ths Lesson
Of the TIagedy Study In Morals for Youth
and lneSpsrlence.


The murder of Census clerk Ayers was
predicted by those who knew him and
his penchant for the society of females
with shady regulations. He was a nice,
manly young fellow, and but for tins
weakness in his moral make. up would
| be a most acceptable companion. The
writer, while "A clerk himself at the Cen
| sus, was not a speaking acquaintance OF
! Ayers, but was familiar, however, with
all his youthful iollies of this character.
| Young and thrown without any restraint
among ladies, he was so Unexpectedly
! successful with a few OF the looser ones
among them that he wildly concluded
all were unchaste and susceptible to his
advances. His constant talk at the Cen
sus Office during working hours or re-
cess were his conquests of the fair sex,
his amours and adventures. OF course,
this boasting was discounted the usual
per cent. by his auditors, but enough was
believed to form the conclusion that Mr.
/ Ayers took some risky chances and was
reckless in pursuit of his pleasures,
hence the prediction that he would "run
up against it," as the boys expressed it,
some time when he least expected. His
Kodak pictures Of temale clerks in the
/ Census and in other Departments he ex-
/ hibited with histories and comments
| largely drawn from his imagination.
| But Notwithstanding all this, his fellow
| clerks liked him and are inexpressibly
shocked by his sad and untimely end,
| Just as he was budding into useful man
hood. What warning his dreadful fate
ought to be TO the youth of both sexes
| Young men, away from parental re-
| straint as clerks in the several Depart
ments of the Government, are subjected
to temptations they find it impossible to
resist. The Departments are honey
comb bed with experienced debauches of
both sexes who are ever on the alert and
anxious to add to their numbers from
the young and inexperienced who come
among them from time to time. Ayers
fell victim, and it appears willingly
! enough, to the allurements and fascina-
| tions of the immoral men and women
whose society he preferred. For youth
| he had a reputation the rake might envy,
! if Ayers himself was to be believed, but,
/ as stated, the half he told on himself was
| charitaDly disbelieved or put down as
l purely Imaginary exploits by the clerks
! i'm his Department.
From the very beginning men who
knew something of the inside workings
| in the Kenmore House proclaimed their
| belief that James Seymour Ayers was
! shot by man who caught him EN- flag
rante delicito with either his wife, his
sweetheart or his relative. And when 1t
was secretly whispered around among
the Census clerks that the physician who
examined the body discovered evidence
which satisfied him that recent inter-
course had taken place, certainty took
| the place of any doubts which existed as
| to man being the slayer. How the de-
| tectives and police, permitted themselves
to be baflled for almost week when
these facts are known is anything but
complimentary to their sagacity or de-
| ductive reasoning.
The tragedy which occurred on We'd
nesday night at the Kenmore boarding.
house, located on North Capitol between
| C and d streets, is as revealed in all its
horrfying details up to the hour OF go
ing TO press about AS follows:
Miss Mary Minas, Census clerk ac-
duainted with Ayers, and who conversed
with HIM early in the night in the dance
hall of the Kenmore, heard pistol shots,
which awakened her from her sleep, in
the adjoining room, where Ayers Sept.
The hour is fixed at about o'clock a. m.
She excuses herself for not alarming the
house (which ought not to have needed
alarming) by her fear that the shots were
fired by burglars. Ayers's room was
divided from the one occupied by Miss
Minas with the usual thin studding par
tition, and in this there were cracks
which permitted a curious person seeing
in his neighbours room.
The body of Ayers was not discovered
until $50 a. M, when Miss Minas came
down to breakfast. She, it appears, told
herex periences ofthe highland this led to
an investig ton. Miss Minas says she
heard groans and vomiting in the room
of Ayers for some time after the the pis-
tol shots, but the physician says that
Ayers died in few seconds after being
shot, nd that Ayers himself could not
and did not do the shooting, hence he
was murdered. 60
The question is, who committed the
murder, and this mystery the police and
detective force of Washington are en-.
deavoring to solve. The numerous theo-
ries ad vanced and the motives ascribed
for the murder are, of course, mere de-
ductions based on a knowledgeo of Ayers
character for gallantry and intrigue.
From an inside source and after having
thoroughly sifted all the clues and state
nents of witnesses and friends who knew
Ayers and his love affairs The Sunday
Globe presents this deductive solution Of
the m ystery, but cannot in justice at
present name the suspected slayer.
1t appears that Ayers had an as
sig nation in his room with one of
females of his acquaintance,
whose name is freely mentioned by nu-
merous persons. This female had jeal-
Gus lover who concealed himself in the
room of Ayres and awaited develop
ments. Mr.. Ayres had been amusing
himself at the dance and was in splendid
humor. He finally retired, and the
evidence shows undressed to his un-
dershirt. IL is surmised that the
Jealous lover was concealed under
the bed, but how the woman in the
case avoided looking under the bed
after the manner ofall females good and
bad Is not ex xplaned Hence the Globe
disbelieves this part Of the story. The
man was concealed, no doubt but not
under he bed or he would have been dis