The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1917-01-04
DEATH Of !
GIANT IS
MYSTERY
Coroner's Inquest Fails to
Establish Any Additional
Evidence Post Mortem
Results Puzzling -"Spec-
ialists" on the Stand.

How Mike Pustarits, the giant for
eigner of Whiting. met death Tuesday
evening in the offices of the Hammond
Medical Specialists at So State street. is
as great question in the minds Of au-
thorities following the coroner's inquest
this forenoon as it was after the post
motem failed to reveal any convincing
evidence, other than congestion of blood
which might have been due to electrical
shock
The presence Of Pustarits. a patient
Of DR.. George Farver of the institution.
in room fitted up with rheostat al
the time he was stricken, leads 10 the
natural conclusion that electricity was
the cause of death. Evidence at the in
quest showed. however that the rheo-
stat carries only a hundred volts of in
direct current-hardly enough to prove
fatal
Agreeing that the foreigner. who
ighed 200 pounds and stood six feet
high. was alone in the room at the time
and was found groaning on the floor in
a kneeling position, Manager f. Pill
scher, DR.. George Yates and Sam Err
Itch. an attendant. told the coroner they
were as much mystihed by the sudden
death as anyone There being no evil
dence TO dispute the statements of the
three men as to the circumstances, and
in view Of the fact that the post-mortem
has not determined but that the death
might have been from natural causes. it
appears that there is no case against
the specialists,
That the Hammond Mems Specialists
have acquired a fortune in Hammond
in three years is a notorious fact The
concern. which is patronized largely by
foreigners. is owned by E. Pillischer.
the manager. and is said to have a reve-
nue. Of more than $4,000 month III
The last year Pillischer purchased the
building in which his offices arc To-
Gated at a price Of $4,000. and he is
building $4,000 building in Gary for
The branch at that city
Farver. the licensed physician neces-
sarv to make the business legal and
DR.. Yates, who is relieving him owing
"a the formers illness, were at the in
quest today, although apparently iar
from well.
Attorney ". J. McAleer appeared al
the inquest and questioned the wit
sses Dr Yates was put on the
stand. He said he graduated from the
pnsh Medical College and had prac-
tfced medicine for fifteen years in
Tnglewood. Chicago. He stated that
he frst saw the froeigner in a kneel-
ing position in the small room where
an attendant had taken him to pre-
mare for a treatment Yates had come
"a Hammond to relieve Farver who
was ILL., Farver was next on the
stand. Pustarits. he said had been a
patient of the Hammond Medical Spe-
efalists three years ago for two
months and again in August of lasi
year. His case was diagnosed as tor
pid liver.
"Pustarits was a powerful man.
said Or. rarver. "but his heart actor
was sluggish and he was addicted te
over-eating. Recently his brothe- diee
very suddenly and he told me he fear
ed he would go the same way"
sam Ehrlich the attendant, told th'
coroner he ushered Pustarits into th'
5ftle room and told him to prepare 70.
treatment when came back ;
few minutes later / found him on hi!
knees. groaning" said EhrIich. Il cali
cd the doctor who was to have treated
him. He died a little later"