The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1910-07-26
RAILWAY PRESIDENT RAWN
SAID TO Be A SUICIDE
Family Declare Monon's Head
Victim of a Burglar.
WORRIED BY GRAFT SCANDAL
Shot Through Heart in Summer Home
Near Chicago at Time When
He was Under Fire about the
' Illinois vCentraI's Investigation.

Chicago.-Ira Griffith Rawn, presi-
death by shooting early in the morn
ing at his summer home in Winnetka,
Chicago suburb, was at first charged
to burglar, is now believed to have
killed himself.
1t is considered practically certain
that Mr.. Rawn committed suicide
rather than face the impending reve-
lation of his alleged connection with
the million dollar frauds perpetrated
on the Illinois Central Railroad while
he was its vice-president.
This is the theory of both the police
who investigated the case and of
those familiar with Mr.. Rawn's Illi-
nois Central record. The latter. from
their definite knowledge of the facts
and circumstances attending the rail-
roads graft losses, furnish the mo-
tives-fear of recession from wealth
and respected position and of posi-
BILE criminal prosecution and convic-
ton.
The police, from their investigation
of the shooting, so far as the reticent
relatives have permitted that investi-
cation to go, refute all theories of
murder by burglar, hired assassin
or a private enemy; in fact, all the
cries but that of suicide.
AS a basis for their suicide theory
the police advance the following rea-
sons:
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 had been drawn into the Illinois
Central graft investigation as chief
witness.
They say that the action of Mr..
Rawn's relatives in refusing the aid of
the Chicago detective department to
search for the alleged murderer is
suspicious.
They declare that there exists a
lack of convincing evidence that en-
intruder had actually been in the
Rawn residence.
Mr.. Rawn was one of the noted
railway men of the West. He was
fifty-five years old and had been an
active figure in Western railways
since 1870. Rawn was a Hartman
man. Six months ago the Illinois
Central discovered that more than
$2,O00,000 had been overcharged in
the operating department of which
Mr.. Rawn was the executive.
The corporation charged that ex-
ecutives of the company had organ
lied car repair companies, and that
all the overcharges were in the car
repair accounts during 1907 and
1908. Vice-President Rawn suddenly
resigned from the Illinois Central and
took w. H. McDowel's place as presi-
dent of the Monon
For month Mr.. Rawn had faced a
gruelling examination before Master
in Chancery Taylor as to his knowl-
edge of the overcharges., Twice he
had asked postponements on the
ground that his wife was ill. He was
to have appeared on the stand again
the following Monday.
.'Mr Rawn would have come out OF
the investigation a ruined man." de-
clared one of the men who has had
an active part in the inquiry when
told of the railroad presidents death.
''As sat across from him at the wit
ness table the thought came to me
that / was watching a man slowly
slipping into his grave. Every day
for weeks he has looked like walk
ing death. When the news struck
the north shore suburbs those who
knew Mr.. Rawn and saw him daily
were not surprised at it. The only
surprise expressed was at the story of
| the burglary"