The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1910-07-28
CLAIM STRUGGLED IN
RAWN MURDER CASE
Dead Railway Presidents Night Shirt
Shows Powder BurnS-POlice
Busy In Case,

CHICAGO, ILL. - Special. - That
Mrs. Ira G. Rawn's story of the shoot
ing of the Monon president in his
Winnetka home has added to the myS-
terry of the death of her husband is
the opinion of fhe police, the COrO-
ners investigators end the scores of
detectives working on the case The
widows uncertainty as to whether one
or two shots were fired strengthened
the suicide theory today.
Meanwhile the police and the coro-
nerS men were checking up the alibi
given by Ernest Stevens, 3412 State
Street, a negro chauffeur, formerly
! employed by the Rawn family and
arrested upon the accusation of II. L.
Cullen, a bill collector, who said Ste
Vens declared last May that he would
/ get that white man." meaning Rawn.
The suspects denial of having made
any threat against Rawn and of hav-
ing Killed the railroad executive was
mistaken by a fourteen-hour ques-
! toning by Coroner Hoffman. Deputy
Police Chief Scuetler and six detec-
tives.
Stevens called Cullen liar to his
face and said the charges were the
! result of his accuser's failure to col
! lect a bill. The officers early today
| placed much credence in Stevens
story. but were holding him until they
had investigated his alibi.
Second Bullet Is No Bullet.
The theory of suicide to explain the
shooting was strengthened during the
day by the declaration of Coroner
! Hoffman that the So-called second
I t"!lc* found in the fireplace by G.
! FurnesS Bat~ley, foreman of the cor
| oner's jury, was not a bullet at all,
! but a piece of the metal ornament of
| the fireplace which had fallen into
| the fire and melted into a misshapen
lump of lead. The family had insist
! ed this was a bullet FREQ from Rawn's
! revolver at a burglar.
Newspaper men for the first time
were shown the night gown worn 10y
| Rawn when he was slain. They al
| agreed that the garment was powder
burned, showing the shot had hceT
| tired at close range. Until the widow
| gave her statement this was accepted
as almost conclusive evidence OF sui
eide.
This statement disposed of the
doubts concerning the two shots with
he circumstances that the two-i1
/ here we're twO-shots came in such
/ luick succession that il was impos-
/ IDLE to say whether there were one
pr two. The second, it was suggested
/ might have been mistaken for the
! echo of the first. The statement also
! indicated for the :st time that there
was a terrible but brief struggle on
! the stairway just before the shot OF
shots were fired.
| The Intruder apparently was met
nnexpectedly IN the darkness. there
! '-aS a clash. the shooting followed and
| Mr.. Eawn tunr bied headlorg TO the
rug 81 the foot of the stairs. This
proving to be the fact, the powder
marks on Mr.. Rawns shirt and burns
n his flesh are explained in harmony
With the murder theory
Suicide Theory Stands.
With the chauffeur suspect practi-
cally out of the way, the theory that
| Mr.. Rawn took his own life because
ne could no longer stand the strain
| OF worrying over prospective disclos-
ures of Illinois Central graft stands al
| most alone.
Karl d. King, of the Casualty Com
pany of America, one of the commit
| tee, announced that additional inVesti-
gators had been put on the case and
! the insurance companies expect to
have finished their investigation by
the time the coroner's jury reaches
| a verdict