The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-26
SUICIDE OF A DYNAMlTER
FRANK MIKE BLOWS UP A HOTEL
FULL OF GUESTS.
Then Puts a Bullet i'm His Head, Dying
acknowledgement and Wife
Badly Bruised.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25.-The Golden
Eagle Hotel, on the corner of New Jersey
avenue and d street, was dynamited this
morning at 4:30 o'clock. by Frank MCKEE
one of the guests, who subsequently COM
mitted suicide. The guests were thrown
from their beds by the explosion, but only
the proprietor. Louis Brandt. and his wife
were injured, the latter seriously. The roof
of the building was blown off and the fall
ing wreckage crashed through to the base
ment leaving the structure as II wrecked
by tornado. Every pane of glass in the
building and the. adjoining structures was
broken The explosion called out the fire
department.
The affair is involved in some mystery.
The proprietor gave banquet last night
in honor of his wife, who had just re-
turned form Germany, and McKie was a
guest McKie had boarded at the hotel for
years and had been treated as a member OF
the Brandt family, which included daugh-
ter, Sophie, with whom McKie Is said to
have been in love. Brandt denies there was
any understanding between the two. McKie
remarked, last night. that he was going to
wait until Sophie returned from Germany
with her mother and then was going TO his
old home In Philadelphia. Mrs. Brandt and
her daughter returned about o'clock last
night. The attempt at wholesale murder fol-
lowed this morning.
McKie with a pistol in his hand. was
seen by an employee of lunch room oppo-
site the hotel just before the shots were
fired When the explosion occurred slight
blaze sprang from the debris. but 1t was
quickly extinguished by the fremen.
many of the thirty guests of the establish
ment had reached the part of the building
In which McKie's room was located. Nc
Mas found lying on the floor with his head
in pool of blood. A bullet hole near the
right ear had caused instant death. Brandt
was bruised about the body and shaken up
badly, and received severe cut on the left
leg Mrs. Brandt suffered bruises about the
body and cut hand When the wrecked
building was searched to-day enough dyna-
mite was found In McKie's trunk TO blow
up block of buildings. There were six
whole sticks and parts of two or three
broken sticks, together with box OF caps
and a quantity of wire for long-distance
explosion. He had at least nine sticks of
dynamite in his possession.
McKie was about twenty-eight years old.
He was formerly of Philadslphia and had
MCKEE was killed in Chicago last year.
according to a telegram found in the dead
mans room to-day. McKie was a machn-
list in the navy yard here, but resigned on
inheriting upwards of $4,000 about four
years ago. This amount he is said to have
lost on the races and his act Is accredited
by some TO this loss. Detectives are investi-
eating the case.
An uncle OF McKie who was located to-
day in Philadelphia telegraphed to Major
Sylvester, the chief of police. that he would
come to Washington and take charge of
the remains of the dead man. The body
probably will be taken to Philadelphia for
burial. Letters from Charles Connell. a
member of the Philadelphia Commerce
Council were found among the papers In
Mckie's room
McKie is known TO have inquired re-
gardng the effect OF explosives. and he
asked several persons IL IL were not a fact
that dynamite in exploding exerted as
much or more force downward as upward
There seems no doubt that the explosion
was deliberately planned.