Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-02-10
CAME AS A SHOCK
Suicide of Frank w. Gould o.
casions the Greatest Sur
prise A none Friends.
He ASKED FOR NO HELP
Gave No Sign of His Financial Trou'
bIes, Though Assistance Would
Have Been Given.

IOulu III MOIlHe odIuiuoJ hS'o pSoA I
he subject of much comment in the
and many wild stories have
0een circulated as accounting more
for his ending his own
life. Many of these stories are with
out any foundation of fact, and the
only explanation is that his mind gave
way under the strain and worry over I
bad investments.
1t was reported that the funds of an
estate of which he was trustee had
been lost, not through misapprOpria
ton, but through unfortunate invest
ments, and that the court had ordered
an accounting. That the court had
specifically ordered an accounting is
not true, but just how far the other
part of the rumOr may be substantial
ted later can not be said Mr.. Gould
for several years had acted as trustee
of a certain large estate. He was bond
ed in the sum of 100000 for the faith
full performance of this trust, and this
bond was approved this month in the
circuit court. There had been no re-
port in this trusteeship for some time,
but it is understood that Mr. Gould
was preparing a report to be submit
ted this week. AS far as can be learn
ed, this is the only matter in which
Mr.. Gould was involved in this manner
in the courts. B. r. Towndrow, a
brotherin-aw of Mr.. Gould, and ia
miliar with the affairs of this estate,
stated this morning that the accounts
of the trusteeship balanced to a cent.
Friends Ready to Help.
The suicide Of Mr.. Gould has caused
the deepest mourning throughout the
two cities. Mr.. Gould had friends of
wealth and infiuence.twho stood ready
and anxious to straighten out his af-
fairs. One man, of national reputa-
ton. said: HE never mentioned any
thing to me; l would have given my
last cent to help him" Another Mo
line man remarked: Il said the other
day to his lawyer, IF rumors Of his
embarrassment are true, find out the
amount, and his friends will clean it
up" 1t was his quiet, self-reliance
that was his undoing. He made no
sign and asked no assistance, until
the mental load became more than he
could bear, while a man differently
constituted would have applied to his
| friends long before self-control became
| impossible.
His An Active Life.
Mr.. Goulds life was indeed an en-
ergetic one, and his activities were
many of them in a quiet way He was
for Is years a member of the board Of
education of Moline, and worked en-
Enthusiastically in developing the city
schools. He was chairman of the
building committee that erected the
Irving school, the Grant building, anC
the high school.
His administration of the affairs o
the board OF trustees of the Water
town hospital showed the same char
| acteristics. accuracy, aggressiveness
and faithfulness. Last fall he wa:
elected TO the vice presidency of The
Illinois Society of Prevention and Cor
rection. He was a member of the Mo
line library board for some time.
When he gave up the TOWNSHIP
school trusteeship last fall it was notet
that the Office had never been held b.
any one but Mr.. Gould and his father
For time he was president of one o
Moline's largest banks, and at on
time he was president of the Molin
club He served as alderman som
Iyears ago, being elected in the Thir
ward by a majority of five votes, an
contrary to expectations of practice
politicians, he was returned to tn
council for another term.
Many messages of sympathy receiN
ed by the bereaved family testify
the esteem in which Mr.. Gould wa
generally held, Among those who tell
graphed their condolences yesterda
was Governor Deneen.
No act committed in a moment {
Overwhelming despair, when the loa
upon the overtasked brain and nerve
became for the instant too heavy {
be borne, can blot out Mr.. Gould
record of magnanimous, self-forgetfu
IuIdSSuulllS, ellSCllN6 SeINlCS-SeINlC
rendered without money and withol
Iprice, in the midst of years heavy wit
cares of a successful business ma
) and manufacturer, and that inquire
( but one thing: whether, in the appea
that came to his ears, anything W;
( demanded that his strength and d
votion could supply.
5 Funeral Held Today.
The funeral was held at the res
8 dence at 2:30 this afternoon, servict
( consisting of scripture reading al
prayer being in charge of Rev. Pa
! Brown, pastor of the First Congreg
z tional church. The pallbearers we
5 F. G. Allen, G. A. Stephens. C. A. Ba
8 nard, J. D. Cady, William Butterwor
s and G. T. Head
HI Picture in Decatur Paper.