Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-05-06
SAYS, "SWEET AFTER TOLL IS SLEEP"

\ Overworked Through Ceaseless La-
 bor to Perfect State Legislative
 Measures, Eminent Lawyer,
 Insane, Kills Himself.
 NEW YORK, May 6.-The stress of politics as practiced at Albany. it is said, caused the suicide at an early hour in the morning on board the steamer Charles W. Morse of Ernest Wilson Hutfcut, the personal friend and legal adviser of Governor Hughes, who shot himself in the head.
 Overworked through his ceaseless eff forts to perfect the public utilities bill and other measures upon which much of the success of the governors ad- ministration will depend and worried at the tactics shown in the case of Otto Kelsey, state insurance superin- tendent, whom the governor insisted should be removed, Mir. Huffcut be- came mentally unbalanced.
 That his work on the public utilities bill broke down his mind none of Mir. Huffcuts friends doubt. He practical ly undertook the entire work of per fecting this bill himself.
 To perform the manifold duties to which he had been assigned occupied all of MT. Huffcut's time. He gave up all social life and spent from sixteen to twenty hours a day examining leg islation or preparing it to meet the views of Governor Hughes.
 To his overtaxed brain the Kelsey defeat came as a crushing blow. On Friday he is known to have told his friends that he feared the combina- tion at Albany would be too strong for the governor and that the administra-i ton would be unable to accomplish anything. He did not confide these fears to the governor. with whom he talked as late as Friday afternoon at 5 o'clock. He was apparently cheer full and hopeful at this interview and readily made an appointment to meet Governor Hughes and his party at the Hotel Astor in New York at noon on Saturday. It was arranged that the governor should come down on an early morning train and that MT. Huff cut should come down by the steam boat Charles w. Morse, which leaves Albany about 8 o'clock at night
 "I believe the long nights sleep in the boat will do me good.' MT. Huffcut told the governor when the plans were being discussed.
 T shall have chance to get in full nights sleep without disturbance"
 MT. Huffcut boarded the steamboat shortly before 8 o'clock as he had plan- ned and was assigned to stateroom No. T6. He went immediately to his state room and spent the time until midnight in writing letter to his sister, Miss Lillian Huffcut of New York.
 MT. Huffcut's actions excited no sus- picion. The officers and crew believe that Mir. Huffcut shot himself some time between 1 and o'clock in the morning. When the member of the crew who saw Mir. Huffcut at o'clock passed that way again about o'clock he was not in sight. Nothing more was seen or heard of him until the steam boat was warped to its pier at z o'clock in the morning. After the boat had been made fast to the pier Second Mate Joseph Egan went to the upper deck to superintend the removal of chairs piled on the deck. He climbed up on the stack of chairs and was sur prised to see a passenger apparently asleep. The passenger was sitting up in chair, his feet comfortably propped up in another and bis head bent for ward on his chest Mate Egan shouted to awaken the man. Getting no an- swer, he climbed over the chairs and saw that the man was dead.
 The letter which Mir. Huffnut had written to his sister read as follows:
 Dear sister-I left Ithaca tonight and decided to take my body down to you in New York so that 1t may be cremated. You will attend to that for me. If you have any dificulty call on my old friend, De L., who will assist you.
 I am going down the river and am en- loving the prospects of going out to sea. I ne hshts ttdNe pehinQ may pc ulSpOScd of at present as the others prefer. but eventually you alone will take them to East Lawn, and don't permit any public services to be held over my body.
 was never so glad to rest in my life. We must be quiet and live so. 1 have been thinking all of the way down the river of the sweet lines:
 Sweet after toll is sleep;
 Then wherefore sorrow for him who
 sleeps
 And will not wake tomorrow"
 Goodby. I don't want you or any of the others to be troubled about this. I've really postponed fl often on account of others, but this time I am doing it. After all. fin the end. one must have his own way of escape. You must stay and do what is necessary. Afectionately.
 ERNEST. Q The funeral will take place at Bing- hamton, \. Y., today. and President Jacob c. Schurman will attend as the representative of Cornell university. of which Mir. Hurcut was dean. Gov ernor Hughes will also attend.