The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1912-03-16
On H.lM. EaRERT

most from the date Of the tragedy
that Washington Nathan was the
guilty person. There Is little to sub
stantlste this theory. EstFapged
though the father. and son bad beenF
and this was shown by the terms %
ESathan's will, which practically distni
herited Washington-theretIs no rea4
gon TO believe that the latter was IA
particle. The very violence Of tho
blows delivered makes such alsuppoSl-s
tion improbable, for the murder had
evidently been accomplished by a res;
o1ute and determined man But It Isl
unfortunate in the interests Of Wash
ington that the crime was never
cleared up. The friends Of the MUIR
dered man were anxious that no
breath Of suspicion should fall upon
/; the son, and in placing obstacles In
the wagof asfree investigation by the
authorities they unintentianally per-
apetuated the belief that Washington
WAS the guilty party.
The FIRST care of the police was To-
inform themselves as to the move,
ments, habits and character Of all the
inmates 81 the Nathan mahslon.' When
! Patrolman Mangam 'first saw,the two
brothers upon hensteps he noticed
that there was blood upon Ffederfckss
socks and shirt front. This was easily
l.explained, however, by 4Fredericklls
statement that when he saw'hls father
dead. in an access Of grief he had
flung himself upon his body Wash
tngton Nathan had exhibited no such
emotion, however. His demeanor was
not that Of dutIful son suddenly be.
reaved OF a father. For whole week
after the murder he wore handker.
chief so arranged as to conceal his
throat. The stories concerning his
life and associates that leaked out
were such as to irnpel the authorities,
TO place him under the surveillance Of
friends, who pledged themselves to
produce him at a moments notice. But
the inquest held by Coroner Rollins
released Washington, and for the timp.
the suspicion that had been directed
against him. was removed.
After the inquest the actions OF the
police and their dilatory proceedings
were strongly commented upon in thel
press. They appear to have failed al
together to light upon single clue. /!
! That the murder was an inside jobi'l
should have made the detection of thei
criminal a practically. easy one. When;
investigation failed the detectives fell
back upon the theory that the murder
had been committed by a novice in;
crime, for no professional burglar
they argued, would have brought such .
a toOIsGsSthe 2dog" into the house, Beg
sides, such tool would have been:
useless for breaking open the mahog-a
any drawer which had been rlfed. .
What IS probably the true explanq-l
Etion of this mysterious case? 4
The man upon whom suspicion fell
most justly appears to have been VIII
liam Kelly, the son Of Nathan's house,
keeper The probabilities are that he !
admitted some confederates into thet
house with view to robblng the SAFE
and that they succeeded in obtaining,
the key and in opening 1t, but in doing
so aroused Mr.. Nathan, who engaged I
in the struggle which brought about
his death. He must have recognized /.
young Kelly, and this circumstanceJ
made 1t essential in order to insurel
the safetysof the party that the old
bankers mouth should be closed for-S
ever. This would explain the many,
unnecessary blows that were deliy-y
cred add the ferocity of the attack,
which did not cease until all life had3
been battered out Of the body Of thaE
victim. It was afterward shown that;
Kelly had been the associate OF;
thieves, and he was never able to ext
plain in satisfactory manner his.
whereabouts on that night.
The suspicion attaching to WASH
ington Nathan-in all probability un.y
| iustly-may be explained by his vi.
cious life and character, and by the,
fact that he was estranged from hlsi
father and had been diSnherited..
Friends OF the family. fearful Of In!
creasing this feeling. acted unwisely,
in endeavoring to thwart the detec-f
tives instead OF aiding them to clear
1.-THE young mans character. n
One OF the stories .old with view,
OF demonstrating Washington Nathan'st
completely was to the effect that Al
mysterions bundle of bloody garmentBl
was smuggled out OF the house upon
the morning after the murder Yet 1T
is significant that, with more than
$45, 600 at their disposal to be paid for
lthe detection OF the murdeFer.dhe de-
tectiyes were unable to inveigle the:
washerwoman who received the family:
laundry into acknoYledgirg this high-t
ly Significant fact Little stress nced.l
therefore. be placed upon 1t. But Que
unYlse actlon which tended to confirm
1.-THE suspicion OF the people Of New
! York was the removal Of the carpet
| In the reception room TO ceanef's'
almost Immediately after Bcniamins
i'Nathan's body had been laid out, sol
that every blood stain on It might be
removed. Atthe same time the walls!
were repapered,
Why did Superintendent Jourdanl