Evening star., 1909-08-19

TAKES HIS own UfE.
-.
William B. Diehl OeSp0ndent
Over Loss of Position.
SWALLOWS CARBOLIC ACID
Frantic Mother Crawls Through
Transom Above His Door.
HER LEG FRACTURED BY FALL
Coroner Directs Autopsy Upon Body
of Young Man, Disclosing i
Cause of Death. j.
HER LEG FRACTURED BY FALL

oss OF position and Indulgence IN al
coholic stimulants are said to have caused
William B. Diehl. a bookkeeper, twenty
nine wears of age to take carbol1c acid
Yesterday afternoon. Just when he took
the fatal dose is not known. but his ell
derby mother, Mrs. Mary Diehl. found
him dead on the floor IN his room At. the
family home, 81 Rhode Island avenue
northeast shortly before 3 o'clock. There
was no odor of carbolic acid in the room,
and it was not until Deputy Coroner
t;ia zehrook had performed an autopsy
that the cause of his death was known.
Mrs. Diehl. the frantic mother of the
young man, climbed into his room
through the transom of the door and
while doing SO fell and sustained frac-
ture of her leg. She was stretched upon
the floor. clingins to the dead body Of her
son. when DR.. A. c. Miller of 1901 North
Capitol street responded to a call, and
she remained there until after the arrival
of Coroner hewitt. Then she was re-
moved to another room and given surgi-
cal treatment, relatives refraining from
telling her of the cause of the sons
death
Tried to Comfort Mother.
When the son returned home yesterday
about / o'clock and told his mother of the
loss of his position he told her not to wor-
ry; that he had thought Of making a
change and that he would soon have
better position. 1t is now believed he
had then taken the dose which proved
fatal so shortly afterward, having diluted
the fluid so that it did not become at
once effective.
Mrs Diehl went to her sons room to
see IL he were III and in need of anything.
She found the door locked and could not
get a response to her calls. Standing On
chair and looking through the transom.
she saw the body of her son stretched
upon the floor, although she had no idea
that life was extinct. Even after falling
from the transom and breaking her leg
she did her best to restore life. DIR. Miller
discovered nothing suspicious about the
death Of Diehl, but as he could not give
the necessary certificate he summoned the
coroner.
An Autopsy Necessary.
DIR. Nevitt was unable to detect the odor
of carbolic acid or other poison, and it
was necessary to have an. autopsy per-
formed in order to determine the exact
cause ,of death. He found a bottle partly
filled with whisky. but there was no
odor of acid about it, The police of the
tenth precinct were summoned to the
house to make an investigation. They
learned but little. except that the young
man ldQ DeeH seen looking at the con-
tents of small bottle before he reached
heme.
The deceased was well known in local
musical circles. He was an expert pian-
list and his services were in demand dur
ing the social season. His father was
Capt. William Diehl. who served as ad-
jutant in company of Pennsylvania In
fantry during the civil war. and who
died several years ago.
The body of the deceased was re-
moved TO Wright's undertaking establish
ment, 1897 10th street. where the au-
topsy was performed. Relatives in
Pennsylvania were advised last night of
expected to reach here late this after
noon, and until they come the funeral
arrangements will not be completed.