The sun., 1908-09-13

her home with two sons. walter V. ana
Frank, at 2iS1 Broadway. John, the
Youngest son, is q clerk at the Imperial
Hotel. Mr.. Bennetts body will he kept
10 the Gotham until Tuesday. when the
funeral will take place.
Crouch was an English soldier OF fortune
who for nearly forty years past had done
his soldering In Wall Street, dating back
70 the Fisk and Gould Erie days. Some
times he wrote on financial topics. gen
erally he attached himself to some big
:. operator, and occasionally he made large
profits himself, but they did not stay oy
him. He had lived at the Hoffman House
i. for more than quarter OF century.
The room In which he killed himself
was the private consultation room In
the suite on the ground floor occupied
as offices by Miller a Co.. members OF
the New York Stock Exchange. Crouch
entered the Miller Offices about O'Clock.
Milton j. Rosenberg. manager for Miller
b Co, was eating his luncheon in the
restaurant at the time. Herbert Harris.
a Fetired business man from Orange. was
IN the offioe, and with him Crouch had
J. some talk Crouch was nervous. ana
s.Mr. Harris told him he must calm him
, self. Crouch replied that he was de-
spondent. Then he went into the inner
..6ff3os and shut the door. Almost Inn
rnediately afterward Mr. Harris heard
tue crack OF pistol. and throwing open
the door OF the inner room saw Crouch
lying on the floor with blood flowing from
a-hole In his right temple. The pistol
lay On the Hoor beside him.
Two decks Of cards lying on q table.
with a score card containing the names
George and Ed, led Coroner Harburger to
think ct first that there had been aquarrel
over q card game. The statements OF
MIR. Rosenberg and MIR. Harris soon dis
PEELED that idea. Crouch's walking stick
was on the tablebeside the packs OF cards.
In his pockets were two handkerohicfs,
few old papers and letters and $s.<5.
A searoh Of his room In the hotel, No. 2s7
on-the sixth floor. revealed only somo
volumes Of poetry. few novels. and o
pila Of old papers, manuscripts. news
paber clippings and many bills. Among
these clippings was q satire In verso that
Crouch had written years ago about .
New York financier. Coroner Harbur-
ger ordered the body sent TO tho under
taking shop Of Charles Plowright. at
SIS Fourth avenue.
~ Crouch was q man OF medium size.
With big head and Vandyke beard
OF gray. His eyes were large and promi-
nent. For months he had been suffering
from kidney disease. He was warned
some time ago by Coroner's Physician
O'Hanlon that unless he CURED himself
he would be driven to suicide. Itiis sup
posed that his despondenoy was caussd
by disease and aggravated by the loss
In the recent panic Of the little money hs
had left and the shock Of Bennett o death.
Originally Crouch, who was born In
England sixty-fve years ago. was an
artist, and II 10 said that there are num-
ber of,paintings from his brush In the
Wall Street district. When Italy was
struggling for liberation he joined ths
Italian army under Gayibaldi, and though
very young was made Captain Later
hesreceived q medal from King Victor
Emmanuel for distinguished bravery at
the siege Of Capua. In the civil wsr he
was successfully Confederate soldier.
q blockade runner and finally a soldier
In the Union army. After the war he be-
/. came the editor OF two Wall Street publ
cations, the Lamb and the Deal After
he had quit Journalism for stock dealing
be eth continued to write, especially
satirical verses on financial matters.
At intervals he printed pamphlets con-
scsrning well known Wall Street men,
and for q time he published weekly
edition Of periodical containing his
personal views Of Wall Street men and the
drift Of speculation. This publication
rarely made any new friends for him.
In the, early '7os he was moro or less
associated with Jim Flax and jay Gould.
Later he became hostile to Gould and
appeared as the American represep tstivs
Of the English syndioate OF Erie stock
holders and bondholders who tried to
overthrow Gould. The success of their
attempt Ia said to have netted Crouch q
ANAL fortune. de Ii said to have made
money In other Wall Street deals, but
he was never able to hang onto his win
nfngs. He continued to attAmpt Wall
Street operations up to last fall, when the
panic cleaned him out He always lived
lacked oreature comforts. and lattter1
be was virtually Q pensionsr Of James
r. Keene. At the Hoffman House Il
was said that whenever Crouch was un-
ablo 70 pay his bills Mr.. Koeno settled them
for him. All the older men IN Wall Street
knew him. One OF his ohums was the
hte Thomas P. Ochiltree.
On September -. 1900, Crouch vas
arrested upon complaint OF Edna 0rifith
Of lls West Thirty fifth street, who
accused him Of failing TO provide for hsr
child, Of which she said be was the father.
Crpuch denied the womans changes and
said his arrest was an attempt ct black
yrnU Whila tina action waa pandin -
the child died and Crouch was released.