The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-09-04
GOT FATAL ACID DOSE
IN BOTTLE OF BEER
Norfolk Young Man Dies After Drink
ting Mixture In Rear OF Hotel
Bar,

bar.
Norfolk, Va, Sept. 3.--Did George
A. Hamilton himself mix the fatal
drink which ended his life within
fifteen minutes after he had swallow
ed 1t yesterday afternoon about 4:40
O'Clock in a room In the rear of the
Hague Hotel bar Eighteenth and
Church Streets, or did someone else
have hand in the affair? The police
are inclined to accept the suicide
theory upon the face of the situation,
but Mrs. Sarah T. Hamilton, 3l4 West
Twenty-sixth Street. whose main sup
port the dead man was. Is firm in the
conviction that her son was the vic
tim of foul play.
Hamilton died upon the operating
table at St Vincents hospital shortly
before s o'clock yesterday afternoon
as the result of carbolic acid poison
ing. He drank the acid mixed in beer
in a room In the rear of the Hotel
Hague bar. He purchased a bottle of
beer at the bar and carried 1t into
rear room. A few minutes later he
staggered back into the main bar
room, and sank to the floor before the
rail,
i've swallowed carbolic acid" he
gasped. and lapsed into unconscious
ness
The dying man was lifted up and
carried into the rear room Of the ad-
joining drug store, and r. C. Kennedy,
a clerk In drug store, fastened to APP
ply an antidote. He poured quanti-
ty of alcohol through Hamilton's lips.
and other people in room helped in
an effort to save his life. In the mean
time. someone telephoned to police
headquarters that the man had swal-
lowed poison. The police emergency
wagon was sent to the place, and
Hamilton was taken in 1t to St Vim
cents Hospital. One of the officers
on the wagon carried to police head
quarters the beer bottle out of which
Hamilton drank the concoction that
caused his death. The bottle still
contained some of the mixture of car
bolic acid and beer.
While motive for Hamilton's kill
ing himself Is yet to be found. the
investigation made by the police last
night pointed toward suicide. Detec-
tive G. W. Cruett made thorough in
vestigation of the case last night. The
bottle which had originally contained
the acid was found last night behind a
desk in the room where Hamilton
took the fatal drink. 1t was empty,
and the paper label had been torn
off It The police have found no one
who actually saw Hamilton mix the
drink
Mrs Sarah r. Hamilton. mother of
the dead man. told a reporter last
night that some one whose name she
did not know. came to her house late
yesterday afternoon and told her that
certain man had poured poison into
| a bottle of beer which her son drank.
She said that the man called the
name Of the person who had COM
mitted the act, but that she could not
| recall It. Mrs. Hamiltons statement
was supported by several other wo-
| men in the house, who said that they
heard the same report
! ]. ". LAscara, a brother-in-law of
the dead man, does not lean toward
the foul play theory. He is OF the
opinion that Hamilton committed sui
eide, although he Is at a loss to as
sign motive for the act
| George had no enemies" said Mr.
Lascara last night, ''and there was no.
body in the world that know of who
would profit by his death. I am GER
tain that he committed suicide"
Hamilton was brtcklayer by trade
and was thirty-three years old. He
was unmarried. For the past several
weeks he had been at work on an ex-
tension at st. vincent's Hospital.
He is survived by his mother, Mrs.
Sarah r. Hamilton: two sisters. Mrs.
J. v. IAscara and Mrs. w. D. Cope
land. of Norfolk. and three brothers,
James e. Hamilton. Of Philadelphia;
B. ]. Hamilton, of Charleston, s. c.,
and John F. Hamilton. of Norfolk.
Funeral arrangements have not been
completed.