The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-12-05
Believed That He Was
 Murdered.
Pockets Had Been Turned Out, and the Coroner Decides Foul Play Was Committed by Same
 Unknown Person.

Unknown Iereon.
 Advertiser bareau. Mobile. Dec. f. The mystery as to the disappearance of John Redmond. relative of Captain Win Taylor of the Montgomery police department. has been cleared up. Redmond, 1t win be recalled, was last seen on Joachim. near Cont street, at Il o'clock. on the night of November g. To-day at i:so D. m. Henry White. a negro fisherman. brought Rsdmond's body across the river from Pintos Pass. where he found it noating. and notified the police department and the coroner. A motley crowd was attracted to the river front and speculation was rife as to the identity. Soon Albert Taylor. a half brother of Redmond. appeared, peer cd over the wharf into the water and eaid. that's John, my brother" When Sergeant Schreiner arrived he had the body lifted from the water to the wharf In the back of the head was two wounds the scalp being torn and hanging away from the skull Tn the forehead was an- other wound and one tooth was missing. The mans trousers and drawers were un- fastened and hanging about his feet. his legs being drawn up. He had on vest and undershirt. his coat and top shirt
 being missing. The shirt and vest were open and from c button hole of the vest hung his watch. The hands pointing to e:5O o'clock.
 Closer inspection showed what looked to be knife wound in the right arm. Four play was at once suspected. A strange thing was the fact that the A<Ax A~A ~A ts., crabs or fishes. Coroner Eirschfield viewed the body and turned it over to an undertaken for the family. The coro- ner's jury decided that foul play had been committed by an unknown person. That robbery had been committed was conclusive as the pockets were turned i'm side out
 Redmond was 6 boiIer-maker at the Louisville and Nashville shops. and Nov. g was paid off. He went home. gave his wife $50 and started to town with $40 to pay some debts. He paid these and went to his lodge and then to K0nstanzer's res- taurant. ate lunch with two friends and then started home. He was last seen in front of the place. saying he was go- ing home.
 Redmond, was 3s years old, a native of Mobile, and leaves wife and one child. and his mother. Mrs. John Fillmore Taylor, five brothers and three sisters. besides other relatives. He was a splen- did workman. a good provider and de- voted to his family. He was a member of the Boilermakeris Union and of the old No. volunteer fire department. Something over q year ago the Mobile Jackson and Kansas City Railroad. then
 with Colonel Frank B. Merrill at the heao. as president, began an impo tant work in the swamp known as Choctaw
 Point, the western gateway to the city from Mobile Bay. An immense pier, ex- tending from the mainland and adjacent to the shop yards of the railroad, to a point in the river where only a few feet of water stood at high tide. was decided
 upon Colonel Merrill's idea was to place
 the Mobile. Jackson and Kansas City Railroad in possession of a wha from which vessels could be loaded with not only lumber and timber. but grain and cotton as well.
 The only obstacle confronting Colonel Merrtall was shallow water. To overcome this as soon as the first billings were driven for the erection of the pier. he aecOured 6 dredge which was put to work digging in the waters at the end of the proposed pier, In order to secure a suf- ficient depth to accommodate the largest steamship coming into this port.
 The pier has been compile ,ed, a ware house with custom house office therein has been erected; a sufficient depth of water has been secured and Monday next, the first vessel will tic up at the wharf and begin loading the first cargo to be exported from the Mobile, Jackson and Kansas City Railroad direct for foreign port. This vessel, the steamship Gamma, will load lumber for the River Platte. and ka ,,rAarp Nha Hfap onA 1naAaN hv C0Iauaf Merrill.
 As Choctaw Point is the first point of observation to . passenger coming into this port from the gulf, by way of Mobile Bay, the immense pier Is naturally an at- tractive sight. This work inaugurated by Colonel Merrill for the road which he mapped out and built through the aid of people who had confidence in Mobile, stands as a monument to his indomita- ble will and foresight as a promoter. Although the road is now in other hands and the Colonel ie no longer connected with, 1t. he is yet q warm friend of the Mobile, Jackson and Kansas City and Mobile, as well.
 The eighth annual distribution of Christ
 mas presents to the poor children of Mo bile by the Mobile Daily Herald will take place in the Y. M. c. A. Building De- Cok1B1G ~ anu S411B N4AA OOoA ASCoJ " the lamanted Hon. Erwin Ledyard, late editor of The Herald. be known as the Erwin Ledyard Memorial Distribution. Mrs. Ann Fosdick, who for seven years assumed charge of these distributions, Is again at the head of the ladies' commit tee, and she has named the following committee of ladies to assist her in the worthy movement: Mrs. E. O. Zadek, Mrs. c. s. orton, Mrs. L. F. Irwin. Mrs. Winston Jones. Mss Lula LeBaron, Miss Hattie Foster, Mrs. W. E. Mickle. Jr.. Mrs. Clara Semmes. Miss Amelia Lyons. Mrs. c. J. Torrey. Mrs. L. H. Marx. Mss Sara A. Bush. Miss Lillian Faith. Miss Margaret Biilups, Mrs. Ralph Richard. iss Duffee. Miss Sallie Creagh. Mrs. Jas. K. Glennon. Miss Hannah Lyons, Miss Eloine Russell. Mrs. I. Jacobson. Miss Blanche Planek. Miss Edith Dychs and Mrs. Alfred Proskauer.
 Jake Wells. the theatrical man. with M. V. Rosenbaum, met Messrs. Stone of New Orleans, at the Battle House this afternoon and had a lons conference. MT. Wells said he had nothing to give out now. The presence of Wells and Rosen- baum here. however. revives the rumoF of last year that the former contemplat- ed building and operating a theater in this city. Messrs. Stone. who are archi- tects, declined to talk.
 largely signed statement from repu-