Evening star., 1909-07-16
PRIvATEs ON GUARD SAW ROW
Three Fights Between Marine OF.
ficers on Night Of Sutton Tragedy

ANNAPOLIS, Nd, July 16-Five theo-
ries as to how Lieut.. James N. Sutton
met his death will engage the attention
of the new court Of inquiry, and a belief
Is prevalent that the court may find that
the officer shot himself accidentally.
The five theories advanced are:
That Lieut.. Sutton was murdered
That he committed voluntary suicide.
believing he had killed Lieut.. Adams in
fight.
That he met his death In a street brawl
engaged in by Lieuts. Sutton, Adams,
Utley and Rocker.
That he was compelled to act as his
own executioner by his companions in
palliatiOn of some offense which Is only
vaguely whispered and not credited.
That he shot himself by accident in
handling a revolver with which he in
tended to shoot Lieut.. Adams.
Honor Of Navy at Issue.
Feeling in Annapolis and at the Naval
Academy is expressed in the sentiment,
Let Mrs. Sutton and Mrs. Barker show
that young Sutton met his death by other
than his own hands,
In official circles 1t is not believed that
this can be done, but there can be no
question but what the navy and the Ma
rine Corps feel that their honor mas been
impugned In a measure by the direct or
veiled charges that they have hushed UP
SO serious matter as possible MUIR
der of a young officer. and that no effort
will be spared to reach the very bottom
of the sad occurrence and deliver find-
ing that will be above criticism.
His brother officers and others who
know him speak of Capt. John Hood, the
senior member of the court, as a man
we'll qualified for the work with which
the tribunal Is charged. They speak OF
him as an officer of a just nature, slow
to form conclusions, but immovable when
other members OF the court-Maj. Nevl4e
Of the Marine Corps and Lieut.. Jensen
are both graduates Of the Naval Acad-
emy.
Investigation to Be Original.
The court will act as if no other in
vestigation had taken place. 1t will have
no inclination to criticise the finding OF
the first board of investigation If it can.
not reach the same conclusions.
The feeling here is strong that it will
be Impossible to fix any guilty connec-
ton with Sutton's death upon any one
else, unless 1t is in an indirect way. !,
must be remembered that the testimony
that sutton died from revolver shot
from his own hand was overwhelming.
This was confirmed by not only the
officers of the party, but others who had
been attracted by the fighting and who
came up before the final shot was de-
iivered. That Sutton deliberately shot
himself, however. was only an inference
and 1t appears more likely that the sho,
was an accident or an attempt to defend
himself against an attack by another Of
ficer, who also may have had a revolver
AT any rate possible result of the sec
ond investigation may be the clearing OF
Sutton's memory of the opprobrium OF
suicide, while another result may be the
holding up Of quota of the young ma
rine officers in Annapolis at that time
including Sutton, as far less amens bile to
discipline than might have been expected
of officers of the United States Navy.
Three Fights That Night.
An important statement is made by q
private OF marines, a member of the
guard the night that Sutton met his
death, and who will almost certainly be
called before the court. The marine said
a number of members Of the guard that
night saw great deal OF the trouble
among the officers and could tell of al
most all the incidents taking up to the
story where the chauffeurs, Owens and
Grifith, dropped II.
The tale is, however. lacking in con-
tinuity, as there was no member Of the