The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1922-04-15
SUICIDE LEAVES
LONG LETTER OF
EXPLANATION
Document Found Among Effects
of L. F. Hurstaouse Shows
Worried, Unbalanced Mind

The rathos in the sNicde Of i. F..
Hursthouse was increased Friday al
ternoon by the finding among his Ell
fects OF Il document Il which his dis
tressed mind attemptsd TO sci forth
the reasons for the Aeed. which he
had evidently been Etemplating for
some time. Checks representing his
entire salary from IL /. Smith, N
whose filling station be was employ
ed, were also found Gncashed in his
room at 20 West Main street
The coroners jury which adjourn
ed after short session Friday morn
ing, reconvened this morning. The
manuscript left by the t. ceased was
introduced as evidence and yerdict
cf suicide was returned.
1t is estimated that between Two
and three thousand people viewed the
body at the Gen: ry-Fttch morgue M
to o'c ock Friday. Many Oi those
who came were we'll acquainted with
the dead man, but faiIed to recognize
his slim, ruddy featuFs in the pale,
swollen face. with is Eliscolored eye
lids.
The body is now lying III the Cen
try-Futch chapel in "a gray Casket
covered with flowers, wreath having
Hbeen sent by the local post of the
American Legion, a tribute 10 Cap
Htain HursthOuse as Il soldier OF the
allies in the world war. Funeral scrY-
ices will lie he'd this afternoon at 4
O'Clock at the Galloway cemetery, DR..
j. NJ. Gross, pastor of the First Meth
odist church. officiating.
Mr.. Hursthouse was born in New
Zealand over thirty-siX years ago,
and has been in this country three
years. Nothing is known here as to
what relatives he may leave in New
Zea AID, his only surviving relative
acre being his wife.
Mr. HurSthOuSa'S Statement
Following is the written statement
left by Mr. Hur5th0use ard found in
his room after his death. 1t bears
no salutation and is dated January
30:
81 have for weeks tin fact ever
since the storm last October. | think
it wasl known that | had made an
awful mess Of things. p until then
/ thought everything was all right,
and | had no idea that | was no
living an honorable, straight lie.
found out, o. realized that, through
stupidity, carelessness, or some such
fault, | had gotten things into a thor~
oughly bad state, which meant seri-
Gus loss to others Being thoroughly
disgusted with myself and finding
myself unable to see any way cf get
ting things right and fearing that !
would go quite insane, | endeavured
to sell what | could as soon us posi-
BILE in order to forward any money
realized to A. c. Dent, Bank OF
Queensland, Queensland, Australia,
to whom | owed over SIS, 400 as a
minimum. | sold the farm and sent
$4500 through the State Bank OF
Lakeland | wrote to Mr.. Dent tell
ing him what the situation was here
and explained how it had come
about. warned him that | felt
quite unable to cope with the situa
ltion. and that there was little hope
of his receiving any further money.
The only remaining assets are money
in the State Bank, money due from
J. Wilson OF Wilson Bros, dealers III
mules, Lakeland. Mir. Wilson took
my mules to sell and agreed to give
me $500 net for them but | was TO
give him time to negotiate his deals.
Mr.. Price (Ford expert took my
Fcrd and agreed to sell it as best he
could. He is to deduct from price
realized his charges for repairing
and selling, etc. | have left some odd
clothes and things at Mr.. McPher-
son s, Hiawa,ha grove. Maitland.
'I want to say that everybody has
been most amazingly kind and gener-
GUS to me and that | have failed TO
pull myself together under the cir
cumstances seems more than proct
that my whole mind is gone.
"The awful mess into which | have
got my wife and my friends is terri
BILE, and as these people have been
wonderfully good | very fully realize
my own terrible actions and the
worst is that l cannot see any way
of putting things at all right, and
find that every day | live l but make
the situation worse. 1t seems that
mind, body and soul are all gone to
ruin and so far gone that there is
no hope of recovery
when / think of the wonderful
way my wife has stood by me and
the same way my friends have done
everything. I am so overawed by my
terrible messing that can see moth
ng but horrible hell on earth for
Lthose who have cbfrlended me, and
they are all so splendid. No more
awful state of affairs could possibly
exist and the situation is absolutely
without any possible solution so far
as I can see. 1t is worse than imag-
nation could conceive. and ! cannot
see anything but terrible disaster.
"My mind fails absolutely to grasn
the situation in so far as putting ev-
erything to right is concerned, Meth
er can ! see how anyone else car