The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1912-03-16
HI & BENJAMIN


IiI Iiutsi Of BENJAMIN
~ n Nathan at his home in
New York city, during the
lRst days, 81 July, 1870,
ruTI nun vas one Of the most SEN
hHp QN ssHonal crimes 81 the
gk|NBDEn All, by reason both of
KNNRAANIG tue mysterious fiscgm.
NNSNnDipRI stances attending on 1t
and Of the status Of the
dead man. Beniamlp Ma.
than WAS q broker and private banker
IN VAL stfeet. possessed great for
tune and Ind d reputation second to
none snoHg AS fellows. a. few days
before independence day in 1870 he
moved into his country hou5e IN Nor
ElstoBhs New Jersey, while his luxuri.
ctsIys furnished town house at No. 2
west T@entythird street he gave
oFef % the decorators and upholster-
an, % be made ready for the autumn:
once, oF twice week It was the bank
er,s haBlt to visit his ONCE to consult
WITH Ills confdeItial clerk, andsthen,
after i short trip home, to see how
tlie workmen we're progressing to re-
turn TO Mprristown.
OH July 20, making one Of these
peftodieal trips to the city. he was de-
ttined later than usual and planned
20 spend the night al. his house in
town. One Of the motives that in
spffed thiS determination was his de-
sife III spend the. following morning,
which was the anniversary Of his
mothers deathsin the synagogue to
which hefbelonged. His visit proved a
Ssurprfse tosthe housekeeper. Mrs,
Kelly, whose son, William Kelly, did,
occasional Jobs about the place. But
his SONS, Frederick and Washington.
the former Of whom was his fayorite,
while the latter was somewhat Wild.
were in town and expecting him.
Washington. Nathan, unlike his bro
tiier, refused to settle down to steady
work, and3livedthe life Of man about
town: He had already severely tried
his fathers patience, but their rela-
y tons were not yet at the breaking
point. 5s@
The heat Of the past few days had
given way to a cool wind, pEssaglng a
4thundet storm. MI. Nathan resolved
90 retire early, and directed Mrs: kel-
III 10 arranged bed Of mattresses upon
tie floor of the reception room upon.
the second story. Immediately iadjoin-
n Ing which was alittle hall room in
which he kept his private papers, 1t
was the bankers intention to spend
part Of the evening In looking over
hese and, incidentally. the housekeep'
ing bills. He passed several hours IN
the little office arranging his AFFAIRS,
while outside, Q violent thunderstorm
broke oyer the city and peals Of thun-
5 der deadened all other noises "a,
IA little sate5stood m one corner OF
MI. Nathan's Office. At length he
r1se. locked his papers away in this.
placed the keys in his pocket and pre-
\ pared for rest Soon after he had re-
tired his son Frederick. who had been
paying some calls that evening, re-
turned, paused5at the door OF the I'M
: promphl bedroom, and finding his
father not yet asleep. stopped TO wish
him goodnight. A little while after
ward washington Nathan entered the
house, and as he afterward declared
looked into the reception, ROOM but
finding his father asleep passed up to
his own room on an upper story With.
out awakening him.
Patrolman John Mangam OF the
Twenty.ninth precinct was that night
on duty In, the district In which the
Nathan mansion was situated 1t was
one Of the worst nights that he had
known: The rain leli in sheets @hicn
hooded me roadway the llsn.nins
flashed continuously ana tne tnunuer'
clgps came almost unintermluehty.
Fpr 3 moment, as Mangam alterWard
Z declared he saw light nasn III inc
house Of the banker, Dut II u'Sap'
: peared again and all was DARK
At.six o'clock Mangam passed along
TWenty.third street toward Sixth ave-
\ nue.. on his way to meet the relief, AS
he turned upon the last round OF his
beat voice from The Nathan mansion
i, 4. l,, tnAA