The Washington herald., 1911-02-11

II an amendment to the House appro-
pration bill for the District. adopted by
the subcommittee having the District APP
preparation in charge in the Senate, is
adopted the Coroners of Washington will
apparently have unlimited scope in the
matter of deciding whether a man has
been murdered, killed by accident, or has
committed suicide.
The fact that Coroners have assumed
a wide latitude in this matter has caused
so much comment that the amendment
is certain to arouse widespread interest.
The amendment reads as follows:
That the coroner shall not summon or
hold any jury OF inquest over the body Of
any deceased person where it is known
that the deces sed came to his death by
suicide. accident, mischance. or natural
causes; provided, that in cases where it
| is not known that the deceased came to
his death by suicide. the coroner may. in
his discretion. summon such jury"
Point i'm Amendment.
The point which has caused controversy
| is the clause:
THAT in cases where it is not known
that the deceased came to his death by
suicide the coroner has a discretionary
right in the matter Of summnnng a jury.
1t is held by those who have studied
the paragraph that the coroner is under
| practically no restrictions and a care
less official might accomplish great
| wrong, not only against the community
at large, but where his OThand opinion
| Of suicide might seriously affect holders
| of insurance policies on the lives Of men
| found dead and thrown an impeachment
| in the way that would have force in the
| minds Of a jury.
Corporation Counsel f. H Thomas said
last night that the paragraph was in
| serted by the Commissioners for the
| purpose Of avoiding needless inquests
| which have been compulsory under the
! old law when there was absolutely no
| question of suicide or accidental death
! Mr.. Thomas did not think it could be
! construed broadly so as TO leave the
| doubtful cases in the hands of the cor
oner alone. but said he had not ex-
| umined ii carefully.
! Mr.. Thomas said that in many States
the coroner was the sole judge of the
| necessity for an inquest. and that the
| Commissioners had decided to give the
| Washington coroner wider powers
Might Dull Inquiry.
| It was pointed out to Mr.. Thomas that
! offhand verdicts Of suicide rendered by
a coroner might stop or dull proper in
vestigatiOn in some instances when a
deliberate murder had been executed. but
he said he did not think that was likely.
! When Norval Harris, a Washington
man, was found dead on a lot last sum-
mer with a hole in the back of his head.
no powder marks. and with his pistol
gone, Coroner hewitt, of this city,
promptly pronounced it suicide, and
| there was great contention
about the matter. The excitement ran
so high that Mr.. Thomas was asked
whether there was any way in which the
family OF the dead man, who carried in
surance, could force an inquest
An old law was found in the code by
which the coroner was compelled to hold
an inquest in every case of violent death.
| The coroner called a jury. which heard
witnesses and gave d decision Of suicide.
| but a fTaternal organization carrying a
policy for $1,000 on Harris was so thor
/ oughly convinced he had been murdered
that it volunteered to pay in full
/ Mr.. Thomas said last night that in such
| cases the coroner would have the dis
! Cretion Coroner hewitt exercised in the
/ Harris affair. This discretion had been
used many times before. but it was
| clearly against the law. and the amend
ment adopted by the Senate subCommit-
| tee at the suggestion of the Commits
sioners was designed to avoid needless
| inQuests and so save money for the Dis
| trict.
| II was pointed out to Mr.. Thomas that
! the Twigg-E -EIosser case in Cumberland in
which a man and woman were found
! dead in a parlor looked at first so much
| like case of murder and suicide or
double suicide that an inquest might have
| been deemed unnecessary, but that as a
result Of investigation the bodies had
| been disinterred this week for further
examination. and there was strong talk
| of arrests being made soon.