The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1905-02-23
julius MeiswinkIe, a Well Known
Accountant, Suicided at His
Home Saturday Night.
He DRANK CARBoLIc ACID
The Unfortunate Man Had Been Wor-
rying Over Financial Difficulties
and Deliberately Arranged
for His Own Death.

1t seems that there is an epidemic
Of suicide in Kenosha, and the third
victim in a month was added to the
gruesome list Saturday night, when
Julius Meiswink1e, an expert account
ant and a man known to many people
in the city, committed suicide by
drinking an ounce of carbo1ic acid at
his home on Jenne street. Meiswinkle
was found lying on his bed by his
wife, and although DR.. William Pugh
and DIR. w. r. Cheever were sum
moned to attend the man, it was not
possible for them to save his life and
he died just before midnight after
hours of almost inhuman suffering.
Meiswink1e had evidently carefully
planned his suicide and it has been
discovered that he told several people
during the evening that he was going
to kill himself. Early in the evening
he went to the Scholey saloon on Mar
ket street, and while in the saloon he
displayed two ounce bottle of car
bo1ic acid and informed the men IN
the saloon that he was planning to
commit suicide. Alderman Scho1ey
was in the saloon at the time, and
fearing that Meiswink1e would carry
out his threats he sought the aid of
the other men in the saloon and the
bottle of acid was taken away from
the man. The acid had been pur
chased at Hurd',s drug store, and
Alderman Scho1ey te1ephoned the
chief of police and asked him to warn
the druggists against selling any
more of the acid to Meiswink1e. He
left the saloon short time later and
turned the occurrence off as joke,
but it seems that he went at once to
another drug store and secured an
other ounce of the acid. He went at
once to his home and Mrs. Meiswinkle
was not at home at the time. Hewent
to the bedroom and poured the con-
tents of the bottle into a glass and
drank it. His wife came in shortly
after o'clock, and going to the bed
room found the man suffering from
commissions. She at once called DR..
Pugh and he hurried to the house. In
the meantime DIR. Cheever had been
summoned. When the physicians ar
rived at the house Meiswink1e was al
ready unconscious and he failed to re-
gain consciousness. Efforts were
made to remove the poison from the
stomach of the man, but they were of
no avail.
Sunday morning DR.. H. A. Robin
son, the county coroner, was called,
and as the physicians had been with
the man at the time of his death the
coroner deemed it unnecessary to hold
an inquest.
Julius Meiswinkle was one of the
best known young men of the city.
He was little over IS years of age
and had resided in Kenosha for the
past fifteen years. He was the son of
Julius Meiswink1e, of Milwaukee, and
was born in that city May 10, 1869.
He was we'll educated and early in life
he became an expert accountant.
When he first came to Kenosha he
served in the capacity of bookkeeper
at the local branch of the Pabst
Brewing company and he held this
position for a number of years.
With the opening of the branch of
the Fortune Brothers Brewing COM
pany here he became associated with
that company as an accountant and
he held this position until a short
time ago, when he resigned and
opened a down town Office in the
Schmitt building. He had been given
considerable work and was. keeping
several sets of books for business men
of the city.
For the past few days Meiswink1e
had been decidedly respondent. His
troubles seemed to center about land
contract, in which he was interested,
and which he thought he was about to
lose. He had spoken of his troubles
to several people, and to these people
he had intimated that he would COM
NIT suicide
Meiswink1e was married a number
Of years ago and the widow is the sole
surviving member of the family.