The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-06-21

Foster adjourned for the day and Hunts Vile practically suspended business until dctmls of the tragedy became known through newspaper extras. Friends of the dead man tonight found if difficult to credit the view that he committed suicide and Solicitor Joseph R. Tate de- cared that the suicide theory had not been accepted.
 ''It bears some of the earmarks of a suicide, said MT. Tate, but this story has not been accepted, and there will be a rigid investigation. The fact that there were no powder marks about the head that he was apparently shot in the left side of the head and lay upon his left side causes me to reserve decision in the case'
 There were some who believed that MT. Peasants had taken his life in fit of tenn orary insanity They recited that he was known to have been man of highly nervous temperament. This is beliey ed in face of the fact that Mr. Pleassnts had not commented to any great extent on the case and had not ap- reared depressed by it. He attended the Lawler funeral Sunday afternoon without display ms unusual emotion and Monday morning was present in court when the special grand jury was organized, Miss Sanford, following her discovery of the body tainted and 1t required sometime to revive her.
 CAN FIND NO MOTIVE
 Returning to the doubts entertained as to it being suicide, no one was able to name a motive for murder. MT. Pleasants was known as one of the most inoffensive of men and it is de- clared that he had not al enemy in Huntsville. There are, how ever, some peculiar features about the case with
 ;n1 lot ion yya 1.ifQ n n While Coroner Poole has announced
 t:iat it is such a plain case of suicide that an inquest is unnecessary and will not be held, a superficial examination of the body by pr. Burnhan disclosed
 that the head showed no powder marks
 Then, too, the fact that he should have
 sent bullet into the left side of his
 head is inexplicable. Iris was an awk-
 ward movement for aright-handeu man,
 ss was MT. Pleasants, and it would
 have been necessary for him tc have pulled the trigger with his thun. An
 other item is the fact that he was iv- ing on his left side. Inasmuch as the shock of the bullet would have knock cd Dim over it is argued tina. he should rave fallen on his right side instead of tls left. No one was seen to go up the steps to MT. Pleasamts' offire, aud no one came down the front way. It is almost impossible to gain access tn
 the offices from the rear as they are latticed up and there is 2 6c-foct drop to the ground, the building being erect ed on a terrace. Few people heaId the shot fired, which is not strange on ac- | count of the frequent passage of autJ- mobiles, as it might easily have been
 mistaken for blowout of ire
 CONSIDER SUICIDE INCREDIBLE | Tt is incredible to me that MT. Pleas ants should have killed himself" said Shelby Fletcher, prominent cottor 1 broker and friend of the dead man | There was no motive for it. He was a man of comfortable means, an excellent practice and probably the best constitu- | tional lawyer in the north of the state ] He was in demand in all parts of Ala i bama. And I know of no motive fol anyone killing him."
 Since my connection with the Lawlel l case, there has been no mention of MT I Plea sants," said Solicitor Tate. "He was in no way suspected of connection witt | the affair and I am at loss to under stand where he should have gotten tht 1 idea" "H
 I 'I had spent the morning with Mir | Pleasan ".saG A. D. Rogers, and Jeff him not more than 30 minutes before he
 was found dead. At that time he was cheerful as could be and l don't think I ever saw him in better spirits. We hac ] been on the mountain practically all the
 morning surveying land and there wa. 1 no hint of anything unusual in his man
 ner. I do not think that he was unduly 1 worked up over the murder of Judg
 Lawler. He attended the funeral Sun 1 day afternoon and manifested only tn emotion of a man who had lost friend. | MT. Pleasants was nephew of th' | late Judge David Shelby. judge of tn, l United States court of appeals He wa. regarded as a man of brilliant futur,
 and would probably have been on thu
 appeal bench. As it was he had served
 as federal judge pro. tenn. some year lago.
 "Drys" Win
 1 Duluth. Minn.. June 20.-Complete re