Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-06-28
Mystery Surrounding George
w. Taggart's Death In Chi
cago, Is Clearing Aaway
BIG DOSE OF MORPHINE
Probable Cause of Taseart's Death
Was Administering of Heavy Dose by
HyPodermic Injection, to Quiet His
Nerves After Night Of Reveiry-
Something Of the Mans Career
SLUG-Page EIGHT


rounding the death OF George w. Tag
CART. whose death occurred at the Bre-
wort hotel in Chicago Friday afternoon
Is slowly clearing away, and what now
appears to have been the cause of his
sudden death was the administering OF
a heavy dose of morphine by hypoder-
a night Of revelry, at which strong
drink had been INDUCED freely. Mr..
| Taggart had been addicted to the use
of strong drink for years, and his con-
| stitution had become impaired to an
alarming extent, so much so that, it is
stated, physicians had informed him he
| not live. 1t also appears that he had
| endeavored to reform and had become
very nervous by the strain, SO thor
| oughly was his system filled with the
damaging and undermining influences
of the liquors. Since his endeayor TO
| reform he had on occasions drunk quite
| freely and as the effects of the liquor
wore away was invariably given to
nervous attacks. To quiet his nerves
he had been in the habit Of resorting TO
hypodermic injections of morphine, and
on this occasion told the gentleman
who administered the last injection to
give him heavy one. as he was used
to it and it required strong injection
to have the desired effect.
The facts developed at the inquest
held at the Boydston undertaking
rooms 4201 Cottage avenue. Chicago,
to which place the remains had been
taken shortly after death TO be pre-
pared for shipment to his home In st.
Paul A dispatch from Chicago gives
the following account of the inquest:
Drug May Have Killed.
Evidence that opiates administered
as stimulant may have FASTENED the
death of George w. Taggart. the st.
Paul real estate dealer, was given n,
the inquest yesterday morning ut Boyd
stons undertaking room, 42o7 Cottage
Grove avenue.
1T developed, according to the testi-
mony of Mrs. Alice Taggart, the widow,
that her husband had been q periodical
user OF liquor and that after excessive
use of intoxlcants he became nervous
and had used drugs to steady his
nerves. Hypodermic injections OF NOR
phine had been administered to her
husband. she said. Friday morning,
when her husband became nervous.
Asked For Big injection.
Mrs Taggert said that Thursday
evening her husband and herself
returned to the Brevoort house.
where they were living. early the
next morning. They did not go to
bed until 3 o'clock in the morning
when her husband became nervous
He had been drinking heavily, she
said, and she summoned DIR. l.. T.
Sleeper, not as physician. but as
an. acquaintance, whom they had
met the evening before. Taggart
asked for a hypodermic injection
Mrs Taggert said, and asked that ii
be made "a big one because l am used
to it,
He was not a morphine fiend,' said
the widow, but he had taken stimu-
lants when in that nervous condition.
Grew Worse and Died.
1.-The drug was administered, but the
man grew worse, and DR.. Nj. j. Mills
Lang, house physician, was summoned.
He called in DR.. e. Friend. 20 State
street, but Taggart died at 4. so o'clock
in the afternoon.
DIR. Lawrence e. Sleeper. 1917 Fiji
ty- fourth street testified, and said that
he had, at the request of Taggart. adj
ministered two doces of morphine in
quarter and one-half grains in two
hours and twenty minutes. The doses
were guaged, he said, from the state
ment of Taggart, that he had taken as
much as twenty-four quarter grains of
II orphne in as many hours.
The inquest was continued by Dep
uty Coroner Spankuch until Thursday
afternoon at O'Clock to permit a post
mortem examination to be made
Hypnotized BY Black Eyes.
Theose intimately acquainted with
deceased state that he was married
man and that his wife and two child
rem resided in River Falls, Wis. where
he had deserted them few years ago
to follow woman he had met while
Oh business trip to Ottumwa. The
first his wife knew of the life being
led by her husband was when the re-
ports of the Clifton hotel fire at Cedar
Rapids We're published. at which time
the statement was made that Mr.. and
Mrs George w. Taggart were stopping
at the hotel AS soon as the news
reached his wife in Wisconsin, steps
We're taken by the family to investi-
gate the accuracy of the report and
sufficient evidence of decedent's double
life was secured to warrant his wife
making overtures for divorce.
Real Estate Agent.
Facts substantiate the statement
that deceased was not the man of
business he appeared while here and
that his method of doing business
with the firms he worked for as an
agent in the sale of lands was not
as straight as it might be. He was
agent for the Ekyood Land Company
for some time and during the year
1902 was found to be somewhat short
in his accounts with the firm. At
tempts We're made TO realize on the
shortage, but matters We're in such
shape that the firm could get hold of
nothing of Il tangible value and the
matter had been permitted to rest
since After this difficulty, he secured
Il position OF agent for the George G..
Wright Land Company. which COM
until his death. While a resident of
this city. decedent contracted several
debts which he eyinced no disposition
to settle and as there was no property
to levy on the creditors have had to