Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-03-31
What Has Become of Lieut..
Dutton of WaterviIIe?
Was in Boston, on March II, When
Last Heard From.
Anxious Wife, Employers and Friends
Searching for Him.

Dutton?" and it is as yet unanswered,
The question has changed during the
past few days into: Have they he ard
from Lieut.. Dutton?" and this has
been answered with mo-" until it has
become monotonOus. The case is a
very strange one and in short is this.
James w. Dutton, called Lieut.. Dut ton
by all who knew him, on account of his
two-years' service in the Philippines as
lieutenant in Co. c of the 43d r cgi-
ment, employed as a travelling man by
the Whittemofe Furniture Co. of this
city, has dropped out of existence SO
far as his friends here are concerned,
as completely as if he had been trans
lated complete into another world.
Considerable work has been put in by
his friends during the past week in a
search fer him. but UP to date all eff
forts have been in vain.
Lieut.. Dutton has been employed by
the Whittemore Furniture Co. as a
travelling salesman since March 8.
When on the road it has been his
habit to write to his firm about every
day to send in the orders he had taken
and to report his progress. He has al
so written at very frequent intervals
to his wife who resides IN this city. But
something like two weeks ago the let
tiers ceased to come to either firm or
family and since then every effort to
locate the missing man has failed.
The last letter received from him
was written in the st. Charles hotel in
Lowell, March IL, to his employers in
hi aif 4 I'D nd
promised to write about every day to
keep them informed Of his movements.
His route as marked out for him was
to take him to Boston, Melrose Maiden
and thence through the towns along
the Essex county coast in Massachu-
sets.
He stated that he had been suffering
from an attack of tonsilitis, but was
recovering all right and expected to
shortly be in his usual health. 1t ap-
pears that Lieut.. Dutton went from
Lowell to Lawrence to call on his IA
Their who resides in that city. He made
short stay, going from there to Bos-
ton where he registered at the Quincy
house and left his baggage. He i'm
mediately left the hotel, going to a
store of the Emerson Shoe Co., where a
friend by the name of Jewell cashed a
check of SIS for him. Here the trail
ends. Where he went after getting the
check cashed still remains a mystery.
When the last letter was sent to the
firm in this city Lieut.. Dutton had
been out a week and according to the
plans should have been back to this
city, Saturday, March %. When he did
not return and no word was heard
from him Mrs. Dutton became anxious.
She waited patiently for several days
and then began to worry quite bit.
Her husband wrote so regularly and
so frequently when out on the road
that q silence of few days was very
unusual and mysterious. AS the days
passed without word Mrs. buttons
fears increased and she finally made
them public and began a search for
him. The search began in earnest sew
eral days ago. but has thus far been
absolutely fruitless up to the point
where the check was cashed.
Lieut. Dutton was member of the
local lodge of the knights of Pythias
and the lodge has joined in the search.
Mrs. Dutton has written the police in
Boston and to the Boston Globe, but
has received no encouragement from
either. Word has been sent to the
lodges in the vicinity of Boston with
descriptions, etc, but no light has been
shed on the strange case.
When a cause for the disappearance
is sought it is about as hard to find as
the missing man himself. He was en-
81
entering the employ of the furniture
company. but SO far as known all his
connections with the various companies
he represented are all straight. There
are of course all kinds of stories afloat
as is usual in cases of this kind. Incl
dents and hints are distorted to fit the
circumstances and to provide a cause
in this connection, but everything that
has been advanced thus far is rather
far-fetched and ridiculous
The well-known charac ter of the
missing man would seem sufficient to
spoil any theory of this kind at the
start. But even if this is not sufficient
the very fact that he was not in the
employ of the companies long enough
to be come very seriously involved with
ing business would be. So far as can
be learned there is nothing whatever in
this connection that can be accepted as
good cause.
Lieut.. buttons connection with the
Whittemore Furniture Co. has also
beer short only about a month and his
relations with the firm are all clear and
above board. His private business af-
fairs were also apparently all straight
Before going to the Philippines he was
in the grocery business in partnership
here in the city and the firm was in
volved in financial difficulty, but all
that has been Strengthened out for some
time.
The missing mans family life has al
fays been considered very happy and
his most intimate friends simply laugh
at the idea that there could be any
cause there for his disappearance. With
business affairs all straight and family
life happy, his friends are forced to &c
farther afield in search for a cause
But go as far as they will, nothing very
satisfactory has been obtained.
Perhaps the best of the theories vel
| advanced is in connection with Lieut.
buttons military service. When in the
Philippines the captain Of his company
was detailed to duty that kept him
away from his command much of the
time. The command of the company