The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-07-25
SOME SUSPICIOUS FACTS
 MUST YET BE CLEARED UP
Mother of the Dead Lieutenant Be- leves Her Son Was Shot by Some Other Man and Wants Several
 Things Explained Fully.
BY JAMES FRENCH TORRANCE.


 Annapolis, Md, July 24-(special. )-- After a full week of the second in- quiry into the mysterious death of James N. Sutton, young lieutenant of the marine corps, one fact stands out: The navy and the marine corps is as close a corporation as ever was evolved in Wall street
 mat some of the witnesses have per 1ured themselves-perhaps like gentla- men'-is declared openly by Mrs. s,t- toh mother of the dead man, and his sister, Mrs. Rose Sutton Parker, who fs certain Of powerful army support through the fact that her husband Is a popular ohlcef In that branch of the government service Of arms. Their attorneys, Henry E. Davis and Van Dynck Brothers. men or prominence at the Washington bar concur in this belief.
 Even the excitement of A night of est lights ending in a deadly battle do not explain the marvellous discrepancy in tha tales told on the stand of the remark able struggle. or struggles. that endad in Suttons death.
 Sincerity unquestioned.
 NO one can question the sincerity of the naval board which, under Command. CT Hood, is conducting this second nroba into sutton's deata Judge Advocata Leonard. the one-armed major of ma rines, who is oae5sofe tire few officers held In the service after suffering such grlevous injury at the front in Pelxjn Chna, seems to overlook no point Ua IS not conducting the case as does the usual prosecuting attorney He seems 10 nave as much interest in getting to the bottom of points against the marine corps as those that go to show that sut- ton was a suicide.
 From the testimony of the marine off cers deplorable lack of discipline ex- isted at the school of application. The Annapolis station was then under com mand of Colonel Doyen Since sutton.s death the school has been moved to South Carolina, although Colonel Doyen remains In command of the marine barracks in connection with the naval academy.
 Lieutenant Willing, a relative of Mrs John Jacob Astor. one of the PhiladeIphia Willings, who has just been promoted to fuH hrst lfeutenancy, was officer of tho day when Sutton was killed. He testified that he had advised Adams to continue punching the prostrate Sutton, and that a thorough beating would do Sutton good.
 Doyen Criticised.
 Colonel Doyen is openly criticised by disciplinarians of the service It is not uu- likely, whatever the verdict of the sutton board of inquiry, there will be & thorough Investigation of the schools of instruction from which youngsters with pull" are hurled into second leutenancies in the marine corps after a few months instruc- tion. It Is declared that hazing and fight ing are generally prevalent, and that Slut tons case is only an exception in that it resulted fatally.
 Mrs. Sutton made hurried trip to Washington this afternoon on receipt of a letter which she said had an important bearing on the case. It was reported that her apartment at the Burlington, No. 11D Arlington avenue had been burglarized and a trunk containing important papers entered.
 new yarn" said Attorney Davis. Tt is on par with the fake that we intended to exhume Sutton's body. All the papers of real importance are where one can reach them without authority from me
 Mrs. Rose Sutton Parker told today for the first time of the existence of two other revolvers not mentioned among her brothers effects at the marine officers camp They were found, she declared, locked in his suit case inside his tent, after his death.
 The Two Revolvers.
 The navy department refused, so she says to turn these revovers over to her, but offered to let her buy them at about SIP apiece She declined to do so, not being at that time as familiar with the case as she became later. They were turned over, so she understands. to the department and they were put back into in 10 ms afn of two student officers at one of the marine corps schools. Attorneys of the Suttons intend to bring up the matter of the revolvers in Sutton's suitcase, dur ing the present inquiry. The presence of the revolvers among Sutton's effects tends. so they believe, to cast doubt on the idea that Sutton ever armed himself at all on the night when he Is said to have shot at Adams and Rocker and to have killed himself There is likelihood that Mrs. Parker will testify that trouble existed between Sutton and Adams previous to Suttons death. Mrs. Parker has inti- mated that she knew of suck trouble. It arose from Adams having made a slurring remark to Sutton concerning Mrs. Parker herself.
 Attorney Davis has no intention of claiming that Sutton was unarmed on tht night of his death In summing up beford the board, or If not allowed an oral sun11 ming up. in his brief he will contend thaq Sutton was armed but did not have al chance to use a gun even on himself.
 The developments of the trial show that \ former Lieutenant Rocker. who was dis missed from the marine corps for drunk enness and who has been strangely miss ing, is not vital witness. He had been on liberty on the night of the tragedy and returned to the camp so much under the influence of liquor that he remembered nothing of what had happened until told by brother officers tho next day.