The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-10-23
WILL FIX The BLAME
1NFIRMARY AUTHORITIES SAY
THEY NOTIFIED CORONER.
OF SHEPPARD'S DEATH.
CORONER KELLER DENIES THAT
HE WAS NOTIFIED.

Declares That No Message WINS Len
at His Home, While DIR. Weichsel-
baum says That He Himself
TeIephOned-COrOne Says Post
MOrtem showed That Nothing Had
Reen Done to Relieve Negro of
depression on Brain-Crand jury
May Take Matter UP-MnyOr Will
Investigate.
Following a post morton examina-
ton yesterday of the remains of Au-
gust Sheppard, a negro who was struck
in the head with a glass bottle by Hen
ry Glover, when ii was determined that
the man died from fractures of both the
inner and outer walls of the skull
there will probably be an official in
Nestigation of the condition of affairs
at the Georgia Infirmary. and the
grand jury may be asked to make an
investigation on it's own account. The
issue is between the coroner and the
superintendent of the infirmary.
1t is probable that the attention Of
the Mayor will be directed to the case
by the superintendent of police, and
that the Mayor will make an investiga-
ton in behalf of the city. The county,
too, is interested inasmuch as some
bodys oversight made it necessary to
exhume the BODY, and the county will
have to bear the expense. Both the
county and city make appropriations
for the hospitals and outside of any
question of criminal negligence that
may come up, they are interested to
know just why no investigation Of
Sheppard's death was made until he
had been buried.
Coroner Says He Was Not Notified.
Il received no notice of the death of
Sheppard and no messages were left at
my house for me-" declared Coroner
Keller. TT cannot be shown that l
have in any manner neglected my duty
in this case. l state most positively
that no one ever telephoned my house
about Sheppard's death before he was
buried. Why ! saw in the papers
where a man was run over and killed
by a railroad train at the Union Sta
ton on Wednesday. He died at the
Georgia lnfirmary, but those people
never notified me and the first I knew
about it was when read it in the pa
per-"
Dr. WeischeIbaum Says He Notified
Coroner.
Il telephoned to Coroner Keller's res
1dence myself" said DIR. J. Weichse-
baum, superintendent of the Georgia
1nfirmary. Il was told that he was
not at home. We were not able to
catch him at home or to locate him,
and I left a 90
Coroner Keller stated to a represent
ative of the Morning News, in the
presence of the superintendent of po-
lice, before the inquest, that Shop
pard had unquestionably not received
the proper attention at the infrmary
and that the post norton disclosed the
fact that although the skull was bad
ly fractured there was no evidence of
any effort having been made to re-
lieve the depression on the brain. Dr.
Keller was positive in his utterances,
and severely criticised the way affairs
are conducted at the infirmary.
Sheppard was struck early on the
morning Of Oct. 4, but was not taken
to the Georgia Intirmary until Oct. r.
on that date. the records show, he was
taken in the police ambulance from
Thirty third and Whitaker streets. He
died on Monday, just one week after
he had been accepted as a patient.
How Police Heard II.
The first information received of the
death at police headquarters was on
Tuesday. after Sheppard had been
buried Lieut.. Walter Fleming was in
formed by his son that the negro had
died at the hospital the day before and
had already been buried. The police at
once began an investigation and the
superintendent had Sheppard's assail-
ant transferred from the county chain
gang to a cell at the police station
house. When the authorities at the in
Urinary were asked why they had not
reported Sheppard's death they said
that Coroner Keller's home had been
notified. The coroner denies this most
emphatically in spite of DR.. Weichsel-
baum's positive statement. and this
makes one of the issues that must be
decided.