The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-11
search for him the murder oM wife leone

he been exposed. arrested and tried FOR
the murder of the wife he poisoned in
Cambridge there would have been, most
likely. nc attempt to kill Mr.. Morgan. to
attempt to destroy the Capitol at
Washington no plots to sink steamships
carrying arms to Germany's m
There would have been, In short. no
such explosion of violence as startled
the world in the past week.
Muenter, as has been said. first saw
the light of day in Uelzen. Germany,
on March %. 1871. His parents were
In moderate circumstances He was a
German Of the Germans. something that
was always s~A,ected throughout the
police investigation of his final crimes,
although he insisted ~strenuously that
his parents were not even born In Ger
nany and that he himself arrived On
earth at a little town in Wisconsin.
When he was : years 81 age he went
&c the gymnasium at Celzen. in the
p ~ovince OF Hanover. and remained
there for ten years being well grounded
particularly in languages.
Nuenter q Master Of TOnGaes.
He turned gu. to he n remarkable
l~inguist. a master of the German ongue
fluent In English and Spanish. and salts
factorily able in several other European
I 4 MIC" NaVii NO " sNihcAoi
knows that curious tongue and In later
years he believed that a great world
language could be constructed by meld-
ing German and Gaelic, preserving the
best parts Of each. 1t IN not "A dream
which would appeal TO most German
scholars in these days, very probably.
.Acquaintances of Muenter's in Harvard
recall that he used TO ak to himself
in this queer lingual h~odgepodge and
- A. A,.ttl go "a
foundation for his new world language.
constructing a vocabulary and grammar.
When other teachers or his students
declined to take interest in the %conce.,-
ton he displayed vexation. sometimes
niger. Dunderh,ads, ne called them.
and plodded on with his work.
In the years OF Muenter's youth, the
late sos and early '9os, there was con-
siderable German immigration to the
United States. Muenter's parents were
caught in this westward flowing cur
rent. lust what year they came Is
uncertain. There are some stories that
they arrived in 1889 or 1900, but the
records Of the Cambridge police have X
that the Muenters landed here in 1892.
The family went to Chicago and young
Mlenter began to teach German for a
livelihood, Then q entered the Uni
versity OF Chicago In 1895 and was
graduated In 1899 with the degree OF
bnchelo" OF arts. While studying at
Chicago he taught French and German
In preparatory schools, In Racine College
and the Kenwood School. He gave in
struction in German at the South Side
Academy, an affiliated chool OF the
University OF Chicago, from 1897 to
1900.
Won His I~nstructors' Praise.
At this time young Muenter appeared
to be perfectly normal, mind and body,
His instructors praised him for u~ntir!ng
industry. His student companions were
not especially fond OF him because he
had no liking for athletics or gay FRANKS
He was too much the model youth to be
popular with his companions. Blu they
did not actually dislike, They called
him a grind and let it go at that.
Among the friends he made in this
period OF his life was Prof, Chester
Nathan Gould of the Germanic depart
ment of the University of Chicago
Years later, when Muenter, as an In
structor AT Cornell, under the name oi
Frank Holt, encountered Prof. Gould II
an office OF the university he gave
Gould IA blank stare and the Chicago
professor remained silent. He saw ne
reason then or later to expose the man.
real lnPn'llN. Suc0 encounters nhnpentf
several times in recent years. but Hol
carried things OF with n high air ant
untroubled composure and his former
acquaintanccs and friends were no
minded to throw light on his past. The,
saw. as they thought. that the man wa'
trylng to live honorably and u~sefully
They were not sure that he vas guilt,
Of murder. They believed that In al
fairness II WAS their duty TO forget tina
Erich Muenter had ever walked tn,
earth.
While studying and teaching at Chi
cago Muenter met and fell in love will
Leona Krembs. whom he married OF
September ., 1901. They lived yer.
happily. or so it seemed to their friends
Mrs. Muenter WAS "A very sweet an,
charming girl, OF unusual attractivcness
She was devoted to -er husband. Whel
he married her he had Just r~eturne,
from postgraduate work In Germany
where he studied at the University o
Berlin. He took also a short course a
the SorbOnne, in Paris, He managed I
find time also. this industrious man, I
give instruction in the English Ian
runge In Berlin.
His Ecccntricitics Noted.
shortly after his marriage he receive
an instructorship in the University o
| Kansas, at Lawrence. There he mad
many friends, who noted. however. tha
he was "A little eccentric that his idea
swung wide and high and that he In
! clined to studies somewhat frowne,