Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-10-03
TAKES HIS OWN LIFE
SPANISH WAR VETERAN CUTS
THROAT WITH RAZOR.
Documents Found in His Room Include
Discharge From the Army on Ac-
count Of Disability.

BoardefS in the house of Mrs. Cora Bur
CESS. 343 Pennsylvania avenue. who shortly
before noon today looked through the
traRsom of room on the third floor, wit
messed a horrible sight. Sergt. John Lemul
Spanish war veteran. lay dying. from the
effects of wound in his throat, which he
had inflicted with a razor after taking big
dose of laudanum. His death occurred 2
few minutes after he was placed in the am
bulance to be taken to the Emergency Hos
pital.
During the week Lemul had been In this
city he had been drinking rather freely. it
fuence of liquor when he returned TO his
room last night about 1870 o'clock. Mrs
Mary Pollen, manager of the boarding
house, met Lemul at the door when he
came In, and he showed her two bottles of
whisky, but said nothing about the lauda-
mum She had him in the same con-
dition before, and therefore paid but little
attention to him.
About II O'Clock today Mrs. Pollen recalled
tnat she had not seen him about the house
during the day, and she went to his room
and tried the door. Finding il fastened and
hearing the occupant of the room grooming.
Mrs. Pollen summoned two men and had
them look through the transom. They saw
the dying man lying upon the blood-stained
bed, while on the floor there was pool of
blood, and a pillow that had been saturated
With the crimson Hulu was on the moor,
partly under the bed A towel saturated
with blood was also on the floor, which led
the police to believe that Lemul had made
an effort TO prevent the flow of blood when
Ii was too late. The wall was smeared with
blood and there was every indication that
the unfortunate man had left the bed dur
ing his death struggles.
The Police Notified
The men in the house went at once in
search of a policeman. Two of them went
to police headquarters and notified De-
teetives Parham and O'Brien and the
others found Sergt. Murphy and Police
men Vermilion and Armstrong Police
man Fermillon, who was the first officer
to reach the house, broke open the door.
He saw that the man was dying and h'lr-
riedly summoned medical aid. Lemul was
unconscious by the time the surgeons
reached him. He was placed upon a
stretcher and hurried to the hospital. but,
as already stated, he was dead when the
ambulance reached the institution.
Lemnl had made no effort to destroy
evidences of Identification had he writ
ten any messages. He had scratched the
name of the druggist from the bottle that
had contained the poison, however. and
had locked his room door. The police and
others who went to the room and learned
of his intoxication during the past week
were of the opinion that he much
saturated with liquor that ne did not
realize what he was doing when he used
the razor upon his throat this morning.
Enlistment papers found in his room show
that Lernul was born in Baltimore and that
he was twenty-six years and six months
old when he enlisted, for the second time,
In 1901. His papers show that he received
a gunshot wound Of the arm while en-
gagged In a battle in the Philippine Islands.
Several pieces of bone that were taken
from his arm were found tied In the cor
neG of a. handkerchief on the table in his
room He received his discharge from
Company K, 23r Infantry, for disability
caused by the wound.
- - Applied for a Pension.
Since receiving his discharge at Madison