The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1913-06-13
Mr.. PAINTERS DEATH AND THE
INSURANCE COMPANIES

INSURANCE COMPANIES
Several weeks after his tragic
death, so thoughtful and conservative
a paper as the Estero American Eagle
contains the following narrowing ac-
count of the mutilation of Mr.. Paint.
er's body.
That paper says:
A little over week ago the Florida
papers were full of the particulars of
the tragic drowning of E. o. Painter
head of the Painter Fertilizer Com
pany. and one of the best known and
most highly respected citizens of Flor
ida, who fell overheard from a ferry
boat in Jacksonville while on his way
TO his place of business. Mr. Painter
carried probably the heaviest insur-
ance on his life of any man in Flor
ida. 10 say nothing of being one Of
the most heavily insured men in the
entire country. carrying policies
amounting to 81 100000 in a half dOz-
en- of the big life insurance compan
les. II now develops that Immediately
surance companies sent surgeons 10
Jacksonville who. without consent OF
the relatives. mutilated the body ter
ribly, removing the brain and vital
organs and shipping them TO Balti-
more for chemical analysis. The very
evident purpose of this outrage on the
part of the insurance companies was
to prove that Mr.. Painter really died
of some organic disease, rather than
by drowning, and to get out of paying
insurance money, although there were
numerous witnesses to the tragedy
Even if it were the case, the com
panies would still be liable for the in
surance money, as Mr. Painter had
been physically examined by their
physicians and accepted before the
insurance policies had been issued to
him. There should be some stringent
law enacted which would send to the
penitentiary these vultures who sWOOp
down on human cOrpses and mutilate
them without the consent of friends
or relatives. 1t is an outrage to the
entire state.
If true, the above would have been
a terrible thing, and would have de-
served not only condemnation but Sc
we're punishment, but it was untrue in
every part and detail.
1t seems to us that anyone ought to
have known that it was impossible for
the insurance companies to have got
ten possession of the body of the dead
man except by stealth, and that would
have merited the most swift and CON
dign punishment.
The whole thing was a piece of
newspaper sensationalism, that ought
to receive the stamp of disapproval of
every decent newspaper in the state.
The insurance companies not only
did not mutilate the body, but had no
connection with it whatever.
The autopsy was held at the request
of the Painter Company, with the as
sent and approval of the family Of the
deceased.
This being true it occurs to us that
the newspapers that have printed
these heart-rending stories are due
the insurance agents an apology, and
should hasten to make it as sweeping
as possible
AS far as we know, the Ocala Ban
ner was the first newspaper to print
the true story of the autopsy, and for
which it receives the following letter
which explains itself
Letter From Mr.. Wilcox
Jacksonville, Fla, June 1913.
Hon. Frank Harris, Ocala, Fla:
Dear Mr. Harris-I thank you very
much for the statement which you
printed in your paper, correcting the
impression that certain papers had
tried to make that the insurance
companies had Mr. Painters body
"cut up" The fact is. that Doctors
Perry and Boyd, representing the fam
lily, had almost completed the autOp-
sy before the coronors surgeon, Dr.
Upchurch, reached the undertaking
establishment where the body was
carried Furthermore, the whole
thing was done and over before the
companies were informed that Mr.
Painter was dead.
think you have done a public ser
vice in printing what you have, and
am very much obliged to you.
Very truly yours,