The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1910-07-22
FRAUD EXPOSE
FORCED SUICIDE
STORY THAT RAILROAD OFFICIAL
WAS SHOT DOWN BY BURGLAR
is NOT CREDITED.

! Louisville railroad (the Monon route),
died of Il bullet wound at his summer
residence in Winnetaka, fifteen miles
north of Chicago early today. Mem
bers of Mr.. Rawn's family say he Was
killed by a burglar. The police are
working on the theory that Mr.. Rawn
killed himself. As basis for their
suicide theory, the police advance the
/ following reasons:
They point to the fact that Mr..
Rawn was operating vice president OF
the Illinois Central railroad at the
time fraudulent car repair contracts
were put through and that recently he
has been drawn into the Illinois Cen.
tral graft investigation as a chief wit
ness. They say that the action of Mr..
Rawn's relatives in refusing the aid
of the Chicago detective department
to search for the alleled murderer Is
suspicious.
They declare that there exists a lack
! of convincing evidence that an in
truder had actually been in the Rawn
residence.
Mrs. Rawn, wife of the dead man !;
r. c. Coburn, his son-in-law; Mrs. Co
burn and two children and three maids
We're in the house when the tragedy
occurred. Mrs. Rawn says that her
husband was aroused from a sleep at
80 o'clock in the morning by noise
on the first floor of the residence. She
says Mr. Rawn picked up revolver in
his room on the second floor and
started down stairs and was shot on
landing half way down. Both Mrs.
Rawn and Coburn say that two shots
were fired A minute search of the
front hall and adjoining rooms of the
residence, however, show but one bull
let, that fired from Mr.. Rawn's revol-
yer, and which had apparently passed
through Mr. Rawn's body just below
the heart
Coroner Peter Hoffman took person
al charge of the investigation into the
death. He refused tonight to say
whether he thought the case was one
of murder or of suicide. He stated
however, that powder marks had been
found on Mr.. Rawn's night gown, in
dicatng that the bullet which killed
Mr.. Rawn was fired at close range.
Friends and business associates Of
the dead man say he has been looking
badly for several weeks Some at
tribute Mr. Rawn's worried expression
to the investigation of the conspiracy
by which the Illinois Central claims It
was mulcted out of hundreds of thou
sands Of dollars. This is now going
on in court. The ultimate outcome of
this investigation, it is said. would
have involved Mr. Rawn at least in.
directly.
On two successive days last week
Mr. Rawn begged for ana secured a
postponement of his examination as
witness on the plea that his wife was
i'll. His examination was scheduled
to be taken up again next Tuesday.
Mr. Rawn left the Illinois Central in
November, 1909, and became president
of the Monon. Early this spring, the
Illinois Central fraud came to light.
Though the investigation is not in
such shape that any criminal respon-
sibility for the frauds is fixed, it Is
declared that the reputation of some
persons involved would be ruined and
their future practically blotted out.
AT the first hearing before Master in
Chancery Thomas Taylor, Jr., Mr..
Rawn testified that the car repair CON
tracts all came under his supervision. |
He admitted that he was responsible |
for farming out the cars to the various
repair companies.
Mr.. Rawn was deeply involved and
would have come from the investiga-
ton a ruined man" declared one of
the men who has been active in the
inquiry when told Of the railroad presi.
dents death. "As | sat across from
lim at the witness table, the though,
,ame to me that was watching
nan slowly slipping into his grave.
Every day sor weeks he has looked
ike a walking death
When the news struck the north
'hore suburbs this morning, those who
inow Mr.. Rawn and saw him daily
we're not surprised. The only sur
lrise eNpressed was al the stnrN of thn