Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-24
suicide OF CHINAMAk
Sam Moy Hangs Himself in
His Laundry.
HAD BEEN DESPoNDENT
LACK OF MONEY AscRIBED AS
THE CAUSE.
Had Been Anxious to Return to China
Statement Made by His
Brother.
HAD BEEN DESPONDENT

| Patrons of the Chinese laundry at the
corner of 25th and X streets northwest.
| finding the laundry closed last night
| made an investigation and discovered by
peering through rear window the form
of the proprietor hanging by a rope from
rafter in the kitchen. The police were
notified. and. forcing their. way into the
laundry. they found the dead body of
/ Sam Moy. Coroner hewitt was notified
After he had viewed the remains the cor
oner stated that he would give certif-
| cate of suicide. A brother of the dead
man. known as Moy Soon. took charge OF
the remains and they Were turned over
to Undertaken Lee to be prepared for
| burial Discouragement is assigned as
| the cause for the suicide
Sam Moy, the dead Chnaman, had been
In this country for about fifteen years.
| according to his brother. Most of that
\ time was spent IN the north, mostly in
Boston. He returned to his native coun-
| try about five years ago, but came back
to the United States after a short stay.
Six or seven months ago he came here to
| see his brother, Moy Soon who keeps a
laundry at 1925 / street northwest The
| brother offered to set Sam Moy up in
business and purchased for him the laun-
| dry at the corner of 25th and X streets
| northwest and he had been conducting a
| good business there for the past six
months.
| Sam Moy was last seen alive by his
| brother late Friday evening. .~Heswen to
| see his brother and they walked over to
| the corner OF 18th and X streets together
| to talk business At that time. the brother
stated to Star reporter last night, Sam
complained Of not feeling well. or as the
| brother expressed 1t: Belly feel sfckee: no
good" Sam also showed signs OF being
discouraged and respondent. He had wife
| in China and he has been anxious to 60
| back to see her. Friday evening he talked
a good deal about a trip to China and COM
| Dlained mo
| to meet the expense. Another thing which
| added to his dependency was that a friend.
named John suay. returned to China re-
pany him. but was unable to do so, his
\ lack OF means forbidding. There was moth
| Ing said at this last talk between brothers
| about committing suicide. however.
Closed During Day.
According to the neighbors. the laundry
kept by Sam Moy was closed most OF the
| day yesterday. Patrons who visited II In
| the afternoon found all the doors locked.
but attributed 1t to some popularity of the
Chinaman. About $50 O'Clock last night,
however. some of the patrons grew curious.
as stated. and made an investigation. One
window was not covered up. that in the
| laundry on the X street. side. The gas let
was burning dimly and in that light they
could see the form of a man suspended in
the afr.
| Police Notified.
Inc alarm was given to the police i'll
| two ways. Policemen Newton and Dun,
| the men on the beat, while at oath and II
streets. were told by an excited coioted
wornau who aS.st2,e laundry that n
Chinaman was dead. The station hnnse
was also notified by some neighbors. The
two officers named, who FASTENED to the
scene, found all the doors and windows of
| the laundry closely barred and locked.
| They forced open the front door. and, step
| ping back through the office and a middle
l dtSpnxrorQd "a Hod ne - he. a
Chinaman hanging in the rear room. used
as a kitchen. -
| There was every indication that the man
| had caused his own death. A gas pipe
which led down from the ceiling was bent
| under a rafter which ran across the. room
| about a foot below the ceiling, as if to re-
| inforce the strength Of the beam. A. towel
was carefully wrapped around the rafter to
! prevent the sharp edges from cutting the
rope. Making the rope secure about the
rafter and the gas pipe where the towel
was placed. he had evidently slipped a
| moose over his head In order to get away
| from the floor he placed two soap boxes In
position, one on top of the other After
| the rope had been adjusted about his neck
| he had kicked one of the boxes from under
him. clearing the other by fully a foot
| Before he hanged himself 1t is believed
| he made careful preparations against dis
coyery. At the front windows he tackled
| up large sheets, hiding out the view from
| the street. He closed the blinds of the
| windows on the outside. At the rear win
| cow OF the room IN winch he hanged nlm-
| self he hung up blanket. but IT failed TO
| entirely cover the window. thus leaving
the opening through which his suspended
| body was discovered. All the doors and
Dressed in His Best.
When found Sam was dressed In his best
American clothes. In one of the pockets
of his coat was found twenty 81 bills. The
| finding of money on his person and in
| the cash drawer of the shop dispelled the
rumors which were abroad that he had
! been robbed. The money, which the brother
! claimed to have seen on the night BEFORE
suicide. was all found.
The dead mans brother, after finishing his
| days work at his laundry. at i126 | street
/ northwest. went to the laundry. at 18th and
X streets about O'clock last night. accom-
panied by three friends When they found
| that 1t was closed up they determined TO
| ask the police to help them to get Into the
laundry. They went to the third precinct
station house and were explaining their
| troubles when the report of the suicide
| reached the station, and they were detained
| there until the matter was investigated.
| Late rthey were taken to the laundry. and
were shown the body of their dead country
man..
The brother gave one look at the body
and then left the room.
The four Cinnamon talked over the situ-
alton In their own language. and then tho
| spokesman told Lieutenant Boyle of the
third precinct. who had taken charge in
person. that they regarded 1T as case OF
| suicide. They had little more to say. ex-
cept that they would take charge Of the
body, and they subsequently notified the
undertaken to come for II.
His Brothers Statement.
His brother stated that Sam Moy was
thirty-six or thirty-seyen years old and that
| he had a wife In China. He said he had
furnished the money for buying the Iaun-
dry and the entire affairs of the place and
Its contents were turned over to him.
Several anxious patrons called late last
evening and were given packages OF laun- Z
dry. for which the brother of the dead man
collected. There was every indication that
the dead man had been doing a prosperous
business. His shelves were filed with pack
ages of laundry and in the wash room there
was q large number of shirts hanging on the
line to dry
II have been In the police department for
thirty-one years, and this Is the first China
man remember who hung himself was
the comment of Lieut.. Boyle OF the third
precinct, after investigating the suicide
One of the countrymen OF the dead man
also added that very few Cinnamon killed
themselves by hanging