Omaha daily bee., 1909-08-10
Expresses Her Belief That Killing
Was Premeditated.
BRANDS SUICIDE AS FALSE
Declares Her Boy Was T beaten
to Death. u
ADAMS, HER sPEc1A. : :
Bitter and Accusing VI sh
Wrote are Made Part e
mal Record in COur
Inquiry. -

ANNAPOLIS, Md, Aug. s-As ,ne recon
vening today of the court Of inquiry into
the death OF Lieutenant James N. Sutton,
u. s. M c., the Judge advocate. Major
Henry Leonard, moved that the letteps
read at the closed session Of the court on
Saturday. when Mrs. Sutton, the mother
of the dead lieutenant was on the stand,
be made public. This motion was criti-
cised by Henry e. Davis, counsel for Mrs.
Sutton, but the court ordered the letters
read.
The reading showed that Mrs. Sutton
identified a number of letters as having
been written by her The first Of these
was 10 Harry NJ. Swartz of the pay
masters office OF the marine corps Wash
ington, u. c., and asked IL he was a friend
Of her son to whom she could write with
confidence as to his sympathy. A second
letter to Mr.. swartz gave version OF
what occurred on the night Of Lieutenant
Suttons death, ard also detailed wounds
on the face and head, which Mrs. Sutton
wrote had been inflicted upon her son. She
referred frequently to those who were with
Lieutenant Sutton when he was shot as
wild beasts" In this letter the name of
Miss May e. Stewart OF Pittsburg was
mentioned.
Calls Them "LOvv Brutes."
Mrs Sutton asked Swartz to find out
from Osterman and the others who were
in the automobile with Sutton what had
actually happened preceding the shooting.
a third letter to Swartz gave further
details of what Mrs. Sutton had she said
discovered and referred to those who we're
with her son when he died as low
brutes." She referred to a letter from her
son in which he described his fellow Off
GERS as low cads'' and referred in words
Of bitter criticism to Lieutenants Adams,
osterman and others.
This letter described the receipt of the
news by her, at her home, OF her sons death
and said she felt at that time that her son
was with her and that he described TO
her the nsannsr 7ot hts death, which, she
wrote, he declared was due to a shot fired
BY Lieutenant Adams. Mrs. Sutton wept
quietly while her own words as to her SON s
death were being used.
The reading of the record concluded,
Mrs. Sutton was eross-examined by Mr..
Brney and said she had received here in
formation relative to the wounds which she
believed 10 have been suffered by her son
from the testimony at the first investi-
cation.
All the letters Of Mrs Sutton which were
ordered made public we're addressed to
swartz and altogether make about 5000
words.
In the second letter, which was written
on April 9. evidently in answer to Swartz,
Mrs sutton said that after Jimmie was
killed Captain Mark and Lieutenant Utley
took his keys and went through his trunk
and everything. Can you tell me II they
had a right to touch anything? To make
II more horrible, Utley was with Adams
and osterman when Jimmie killed. i
believe he engineered that fight; that II
was all planned"
subcids story Untrue.
Jimmie was beaten to DEATH" the letter
continues, "And that shot was fired to
hide the crime. His forehead was crushed
nose broken, lips cut open. teeth knocked
out and an incision In the head half an
inch long. Just think what my
poor boys suffering must have been as
he was beaten to death by those wild
beasts Good God! Mr.. Swartz, the work
OF wild men, and this on their own sworn
testimony, and still they are walking the
streets today while by poor boy lies in
the grave, stamped a suicide"
Referring TO the Inflated automobile ride
obN0oh tnat Jimmie
had been himself he never would have
asked them adams, Utley and ostermanl
70 ride with him. Adams and UtIey hated
him. she declares. Mention is also made
OF Lieutenant Potts, Sumner and shearer
who were In another automobile on the
night OF the tragedy. She speaks Of a
money transaction between her son ano
Shearer, and several times during her cor,
respondence with swartz expressed q
strong dislike for him in uncompllmentar,
terms.
"on October l." she wrote, Jimmie Dor
rowed s2ll from the bank. On October
he gave SheareT a check for $3.50, and
wrote shearer and asked him what Il wa.
for He said he had Just cashed it FOL
Jimmie. ] did not believe him. and wTot.
and told him what I thought OF six mer
who would let a man In a helpless condi
tion be taken out and beaten to death"
on subsequent occasions, when she haC
written Shearer. his replies were curt, sh'
says.
Mrs. sutton says she used TO Scold hei
son for being so generous and his an
swer was: Mamma. my greatest happi
ness is when I'm making others happy. I
~was Jimmie who loaned him his linen
and It was Adams who sent MIN TO hi
grave"
On May g. Mrs Sutton promised to senC
swartz a copy OF the first inquest testi
mony ard copy Of what evidence sh,
had later obtained. She recites her diff
neulties In obtaining anything defInit,
AIoout "Jimmie's1 death.
Inquiries About "Navy" Pull.
do you mean to say that Il We prov,
what We know, these men cannot be pun
ished simply because they belong 10 tn,
navy7 Those men know why they are sc
secret about the affair, but We are no
sleeping and think the United States viii
be compelled 70 sit up and take notice o.
what kind OF men run the navy and shielC
. pack OF low brutes."