Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1904-05-31


bullet through his head. His death
followed at 4:45 o'clock. During the
intervening time a number of prominent
physicians had been summoned to the
house, but they all saw the utter nope
lessness of the case, and so apprised the
members of the family.
Though many causes have been adj
vanced by friends and the community
at large as to the solution of the I'M
fortunate affair, the Mayor left nothing,
so far as has been discovered, which
would give the slightest intimation as to
what prompted the deed. Mr.. McLane
had been married just l6 days, and it is
said that the members of his family
objected to the match. This condition
of affairs aud the strain of the duties OF
his official position and the criticisms
made in connection with his adminlstra-
ton are thought tc have played an inn
portant part in the tragedy. However,
Mrs. McLane stated yesterday that her
husband was perfectly happy and stood
up well under the strain of administra-
ton affairs. She also said that four
minutes prior to the shooting the Mayor
had been chatting pleasantly with her,
and seemed to be in the very best OF
spirits.
1t was about 3 o'clock when the
Mayor and Mrs. McLhne finished their
midday meal and went TO their rooms,
on the third floor. After some few re-
marks the Mayor retired to his dressing
room, which is the back room of that
floor. Hardly four minutes had elapsed
when Mrs. McLane, who had thrown
herself across couch, was startled by
sharp, cracking sound. She called
to her maid, Lizzie Redchurch, and
asked if a shutter had fallen. The maid
ran upstairs and declared that the sound
had come from that section Of the house.
Mrs. McLane then directed the maid to
ask Mr.. McLane if he had dropped any
thing or made the noise in any manner.
The maid tapped lightly on the door
of the dressing-room, but received no
response.
She repeated this several times, and
Mrs. McLane told her to go into the
room. The door was pushed open and
the maid peered into the room. She
stepped back instantly, saying that Mr..
McLane had fallen on the floor. Both
Mrs. McLane and the maid then went
into the room and leaned over the pros
trate form on the floor. Blood gushed
from an ugly hole in the right temple
and Mrs. McLaue saw that something
serious had happened. She dispatched
the maid and her eldest son for a ply
stefan.
Speculation as to what led the Mayor
to take his own life was INDUCED in on
every hand, especially in social and club
circles. Different theories were advanced.
Some said that the Mayor had been over
worked and bounded to death bypersons
who did not think the burned district
was being built up as rapidly as itshould
have been. All the alleged failures and
shortcomings in the burned district work
at the City Hall were laid at his door.
Others said the Mayor was not physically
strong, and that the excitement incident
to the burned district was too much for
him. Another theory was that the cir
cumstances under which the Mayor was
married led him to commit suicide. DIR.
Van Bibber, a brother-in-law of Mrs.
McLane, adheres to the theory that the
Mayors death was due to an accident.
He advanced some conclusions which
had led him to believe that the case was
not one of suicide.
Mayor Robert NJ. McLane was the
Youngest son of Mr.. james l.. McLane,
well-known capitalist of Baltimore and
one of the foremost lawyers in the State.
The deceased Mayor was descended from
the celebrated and distinguished McLane
family on his fathers side, and from the
old colonial King family, of New York,
on his mothers side. The dead Mayor
was nephew of the late former Gov.
Robert NJ. McLane and was named for
him. The deceased was born in Balti-
more on November 20, 1867.
Mayor McLane's frstentry into poll
tics was in 1893, when be became assis-
tant States Attorney under the late
States Attorney Charles &. Kerr.
The romance surrounding the recent
marriage of Mayor McLane to the beau
tiful Mrs. Mary Van Bibber, widow of
DIR. John p Van Bibber, and having
such a tragic ending, was the most inter-
esting Baltimore has known in years, in
view of the social prominence of the
couple. The Mayor had been devoted
cavalier of Mrs. Van Bibbcr for some
years. She was his senior by twelve
years, and had been left with two sons
by her former husband. She is beauti-
ful and talented, and musician of con-
siderable ability, and was social IA
vorite, although very quiet in her tastes
and demeanOr. While it had been
understood among their friends for some
time that an engagement existed, neither
the Mayor MOI Mrs. Van Bibber took
anyone in their confidence. The we'd
ding had been spoken ola number of
times, and the Mayor had been bantered
by his personal friends about his devotion
to the pretty widow but he laughingly
put the question aside, and neither af-
firmed or denied the reports. On May.
II Mayor McLane and Mrs. Van Bibber
went TO Washington in the morning,
and, obtaining license, they were mar
RED at St. Andrews p. E. Church by
Rev. George Calvert Carter, son of Mr..
Bernard Carter, of Baltimore.