The Washington herald., 1909-03-08

/
/ the history Of Alexandria surrounds the
discovery OF the body Of white man in
field on the outskirts of that city yes
/ terday morning.
The police are confident the man was
/ murdered. but they have been unable 10
discover a motive for the crime. Tele-
! grams have been sent in ali directions in
an effort 10 identify the body. but beyond
I the fact that the man was a stranger in
/ Alexandria little has been learned.
A deep cut about three inches long on
/ the left side Of the neck leads TO the be-
/ lief that the man was murdered. but even
/ JAis fact has not been definitely estab-
I lished. Il IS regarded as possible the
wound cou!d have been inflicted by the
man himself.
Letter TO Walter r. Schultz.
/ Letters addressed 10 Walter F. Schultz.
general delivery. Washington. D. G. were
found in the pockets Of the clothing. but
I the police believe this name 10 be fcti-
tious. Written in ink on the back OF The
/ envelope was the address. I314 Douglas
/ street, Sioux City. Iowa. The letter
was apparently written by a sister Of the
dead man. but inquiries at the Sioux city
/ address show the man is not known there.
I Five feet Of rubber tubing about three
I quarters OF an inch in diameter. WAS
found coiled ia an overcoat pocket The
4 tubing is new and was evidently recently
+ purchased For what it was intended is
not known.
II is well known that safe-blowers car
\ ~ rubber tubing in .helr kits. but no
I other too -or opening safes were found.
! and the appearance Of the body is not
! that az man IN the yeggman class.
] Three money orders for 500 each. a
I gold hunting-case watch, and S3n in
cash we're found In the pockets OF the
/ clothing. The money orders were psv-
/ able 20 Walter F. Schultz. on order OF
the Wells-Fargo Express Company. They
were sent from Los Angeles. Cal. on
December g 1878. 20 Washington The
( initials w F. s" are engraved on the
I back OF the watch, but the watch Is
worn with use
Had the motive OF a murderer been
/ robbery. the police say. he would have
I removed the yaluables from the cloth
/ Ing. unless some one frightened him from
I the scene before lie could search the VIC
\ tim. HAD he been frightened from the
vicinity. IL is probable the persons who
scared him OF would have appeared and
/ told the police what they knew Of the
murder.
+ From the contents OF the letters IL IS
] assumed the man was a globe trotter.
His clothing indicates he was a man OF
/ taste. The palms OF his hands were as
] soft 4 rhn=a Of q -rorrra m
Theory of the Police.
( The police are not inclined 10 accent
/ the theory that the man was murdered
/ I'm the field where the body was found
/ They say il is more reasonable 10 sup
I pose he was killed IN a box car. or al
! some spot miles away. and his body
/ carried 20 the field and left there The
/ snow near where the body was found
{ was trampled by SO many feet before
z the police arrive1 il was impossible TO
, tiaCe a line Of footsteps from the body
20 the railroad tracks.
Persons who arrived before the police
say there were no evidences OF a strug-
/ gle and the body shows no bruises or
other marks except the cut on the neck.
Rosemont. a suburb Of Alexandria. az
the head OF King street is thinly set
tied and there are no houses within
blocks Of where the body was discovered
Railroad tracks pass within SO feet OF
the spot and a trolley line is only SEQ
feet away
Cars pass at ali hours of the day. but
few persons attempt TO walk across the
fields OF mud and slush- At night the
field is as lonely as any Mace within
miles OF Alexandria or Washington II
is possible the body was in the field three
or four days before IL was discovered.
but employees Of the electric line say this
is improbable.
Edward Purdis. conductor on the South
ern Railway SAYS he saw a man lying IN
the field about o'clock Saturday after
noon last He thought the man was
drunk. and paid little attention 70 him.
A man named Thorpe. employed as a
section hand on the Southern Railway,
told the police ne saw a man walking
along the railroad near the place the body
was found. Thorpe declares he saw the
man about O'Clock Saturday morning,
and that he fitted the description OF the
body Of the supposed murdered man in
every particular.
II neither Thorpe nor Purdis is mis-
taken. the theory Of the police that the
man was murdered I'm a box car and
brought 10 the field is shattered
Strangers Are TnnOtfeed.
Hundreds Of persons pass through Alex
andria on their way to Mount Vernon
every day. and therefore little attention
is paid TO strangers in the vicinity.
Coroner Moore has ordered an inquest
for this afternoon at 80 o'clock.
Although ii is not likely new facts
viii be brought out al the inquest II isl
probable Demsine's undertaking estab-
lishment viii be crowded with spectators
while the inquest is I'm progress.
The body was removed 70 the undertak-
ing establishment yesterday afternoon
after Il had been viewed by the coroher,
and hundreds or persons viewed IL
The clothing was searched in an effort
TO find a tag or other mark which might
Cnntinnch N Pnrn 2 CnInn,n