The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-02-14

Cohultions in the room pointed plain
" to suicide. But in a letter which
IT, Blanchard left he made mysterious
hlnts OF big business deal in which
he was involved, and in which he
warned that, If anything happened to
MIN. no matter how it looked. the two
men in the deal with him would be
responsible, and could explain.
They either are the two finest men
] ever met, or they are the most un-
mltlgated scoundrels, and if they are
the latter, they would not stop at
murder" Dr. Blanchard wrote in his
letter, which he had placed in
stamped envelope. addressed to Gov,
n; Z. Blanchard, Hotel Nueces, Corpus
Christi, Tex"
DR.. Blanchard registered at the Ho-
tel Chisca from Shreveport, La He
last was seen alive at O'Clock Friday
night, when he got the key from the
desk and went to his room on the Sec
ond floor.
Ex- Governor Notified.
The Gov. N. C. Blanchard" to
whom the letter is addressed, is be-
heVed by police to be Newton Grain
Blanchard, former governor of Louisi-
ana. Whether or not DIR. Blanchard is
letter. A telegram has been forwarded
TO the Texas city hotel. by order of
Detective Chief Jake Gwaltney.
Detectives Billy Joyce and Joe Bishop
were summoned to the hotel, when Dr..
Blanchard's body was found. Nothing
in the room was touched before the
detectives went over the ground.
They found the body on the floor. a
bullet hole in the left temple. A 3S40
bullet, fired from Winchester carbine,
had torn clear through the head,
spreading as it left the back, right side
of the skull, and tearing out a large
piece of the skull bone. The bullet
tore on into the wall, where they found
II imbedded.
Used Powerful Rifle.
DR.. Blanchard, if the case is suicide
as It looks had rigged an ingenious ar
rangement on his dresser for taking his
own life, The rifle was about 80 inches
long. He had taken handkerchief and
knotted 1t in loop form on a dresser.
The stock of the rifle then had been
placed in the loop, which served in lieu
of a shoulder rest. The weapon then
was pointed at the victims temple, as
he stood before the mirror to get proper
aim. The condition of the body indi-
Gated that Dr. Blanchard was standing
thus when he pulled the trigger
The rifle was brand new, and had
been fired only once. The lubricant
used in gun stores to keep off rust was
plentiful upon the discharged cartridge
which remained in the weapon. A new
box of cartridges with only one missing
was found in the room That missing
cartridge was i'll the rifle.
=, Inability to purchase pistol in
Memphis, due to court order and police
activity, evidently prompted Dr. Blanch-
ard to get the next best weapon for
destroying himself-a short carbine.
Big Deal Hinted.
Two teegraps, which may have re-
lated to the mysterious deal" were
found in the dead mans room. The
first, from Charlottesville, Va, said:
sold property. Received part payment.
Remainder paid March |. Win wire
again" 1t was signed Jameson"
The second telegram, dated Jackson
vile, Fla, read: 'On my way to At.
lanta Will be delayed day with au-
ditor Have wired jameson and Gilman
to wire me there" This telegram was
crunpled and torn, but bore the sigma
ture &c. c."
The letter of Gov Blanchard, which
was lying on the writing table, was
lengthy one. 1t told of the big deal,
and warned the governor that if any
thing happened to the doctor, the fol-
lowing men should be looked up and in
vestiguted thoroughly, DIR. Blanchard
therCupOn gave the names OF the men
with thorough descriptions of each. One
he said, h&d left Tor Virginia IA day or
two before, to sell some property there.
The letter spoke of a wonderful trip,
which might be compared to that of
Sinbad the Sailor" which DIR. Blanch-
ard just had returned from. The doc
tor expressed the wish that the gov
ornor could have been 30 years younger,
so that he might have been along. The
dead man was about 45 Years of age, and
Gov. n. c. Blanchard's age, in Who's
Who in America" is fixed at IS.
Detectives believe that the sound
proof rooms of the Chisca smOthered
the shot which took Dr. Blanchard's $
lie. The body was taken in charge by
T. r. Hinton & Son, undertakers, pend
ing word from a telegram which police
have sent to Gov Blanchard at Corpus
I'hriatl