Waterbury Democrat., 1902-03-12
AL TCELD'S DEATH
The We'll Known Former Gov
 ernor of Illinois.
EXPIRED AFTER MAKING SPEECH

Joliet and Was Seized With Dizzi-
 ness-Several Painting Spells and
 Vomiting Followed During the
 ight-Despite the Work and Atten-
 tion of Physicians He Died About 2
 O'clock This Morning.
 Joliet. March 12.-Former Governor John P. Altgeld died in room 5S, Hotel Monroe, this morning at 7:09 o'clock. He had been unconscious since mid- night.
 NIT Altgeld was the principal speak er at a pro-Boer mass meeting last night in the Joliet theater. Just at the close of his speech a sudden dizziness seized him and he was assisted from the stage. The meeting proceeded, the audience not realizing what had hap pened. Mir Altgeld was taken to the door of the theater, where several vom- iting spells seized him. This continued for nearly an hour and was so pro- nounced he could not be removed to the hotel.
 Physicians were hastily summoned and Mr Altge1d was carried to the hotel across the street. He retained consciousness and urged the neWspa- per men to keep the affair quiet for fear of alarming his wife. Shortly be fore midnight he became unconscious
 He remained in this condition until death. At 3:41 this morning it was thought he had died, but he revived and from that time until shortly before the though he made no move.
 The medical men here had banquet last night, at which Dr J. B. Herrick, of the Rush Medical college of Chicago delivered a lecture on heart disaase He and other physicians were called from the banquet to attend the patient They remained with him the rest of the night. When the end came they worked his arms vigorously to revive respiration but to no purpose. The cause of death is given as cerebral hemmorhages, there having been an apoplectic seizure of the brain
 The vomiting at first was taken to Indicate ptomaine poisoning; but it was determined that this was due to different manifestations of the brain Trouble. The physicians desire to hold h post-mortem, if relatives will agree.
 Mir Altgeld was stricken at the close of an address which he delivered at the opera house in behalf of the Boer women and children in the concentra- tion camps of South Africa.
 While the Rev J. A. J. Whipple was addressing the crowd MT Altgeld arose from his seat on the stage and walked hurriedly to the wings. Reaching there he fell in a dead faint to the floor. Although Mir Altgeld was not in view of the assemblage when he fell, fhe incident created great excitement Jn the theater. AS he walked across the stage his sudden pallor attracted attention and immediately afterward Key Mir Whipple's address was inter- rupted while a request was made for physicians in the audience to come for ward at once. As none of the local physicians was in the audience, owing 10 a banquet of the Joliet Medical so- ciety, it was several minutes before medical attention could be secured.
 In his speech Mir Altgeld made a forceful plea for the Boer women ana children in the concentration camps in South Africa. Tn his introductory re- marks he declared that all friends of humanity owed debt of gratitude to Governor Yates for issuing proclama- lion soliciting assistance for the Boer women and children in the concentra- tion camps which the British are main faining in South Africa.
 The speaker said that the people of America had raised a large sum of money with which to relieve the dis fress of the Boer women and children. but were unable to send it to them be- cause Lord Pauncefote, the British am bassador at Washington, objected to it. He further charged that Lord Paunce- Tote had for years meddled in Ameri- can affairs.
 There were eighteen counts and spe- cine charges in Governor Altgeld's in- dictment. He said in substance:
 Just before the beginning of the spanish war Lord Pauncefote. repre- senting the aristocracy, meddIed in our affairs and tried to unite the govern ments of Europe in making a joint protest against America's interference m behalf of Cuba. But when the American people asserted themselves and our government was compelled to go to the rescue of Cuba. England is- sued strong neutrality proclamation @oi piuuHS dil or her subjects everV- where from furnishing us any aid or doing anything that would in any way be violation of the strictest neutral ity.
 The meeting was arranged under the auspices of the Chicago branch of the American Transvaal league. The German, Swiss and Italian societies were well represented
 MT Altgeld came to Joliet yesterday afternoon, having been advertised as fhe principal orator for the big will county pro-Boer meeting. He con lessed that he was not in the besr oa Aeaith, having been troubled with some apparently simple stomach ailmenf.
 He was not willing to allow thai to Interfere with his speech, however. inc interest in the South African struggle having been heightened by the an- nouncement of the B0er success in se- curing General Methuan. It was noted during the address that the ex-goy- ernor threw an unusual amount of en- ergy and feeling into his words. and the collapse, the physicians think. re- suited from overstrainfng hise already weakened physical powers.
 Ever since the failure of the Globe Savings bank in 1896, in which he was