The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-08-29
NE M YORK FACES
 NE w MYSTERY IN. SUTPHEN'S DEATH.
Police Probing GiIded Past Of Reckless Spender For
 Pleasure

NEW YORK, August 2S.-suicide or murder2 Back and forth rocked the police today as they studied the gilded past of John H. Suthpen, who, although he was only private sec retary. scattered S75,000 year in his mad round of the gay white lights In quest of pleasure.
 The authorities tonight had not es- tablished to their complete satstac- tion either the murder or suicide theory but through their quizzing of witnesses they learned that the vic tim whose life was ended Sunday morning by poison after a late Sat- urday night party had been known to throw as much as $500 week in favors to head walters and orchestra leaders in his favorite cabarets. They learned, also, that even for Broadway, he was a heavy drinker.
 Continued search of Suthpens ex- pensively decorated apartment on Central Park West, where hls body was found, revealed in an ash tray near the lounge, piece of paper such as headache powders might have come ln These were sent to a chem ists for analysis to see if they con- tained the deadly posion that cut short a gay life in the midst of it's revels
 Questioning a man, his wife and her sister, found in the apartment when a medical examiner answered a telephone call, the police learned that Suthpen and the three Saturday night had launched themselves early on 8 party in a Broadway cabaret and weuded it's way up town to d night club where 1t ended at four a. m.
 Then the quartet moved to Suth- pens apartment and sat up two hours longer to see an eclipse of the moon they had heard was to take place. Finally all retired out Sut- pen
 What happened in the next hour : is unknown to the police.
 The three who had retired said they knew nothing until they were awakened a few hours later by the entry of the police.
 Friend Finds Him Dead
 At seven a. m. sutphen telephoned a friend. Ernest E. Dunlea, saying: I'm sick; come over"
 Dunlea awakened Julius Beekman business associate of Sutphen's and went to the apartment. Accompanied by Miss Catherine Morn, switchboard operator, who carried a pass key, the hair let themselves into Sutphens suite.
 sutphen was lying on the couch Gead. He was in his shirt sleeves,
 
 According to the detectives, Miss Morn noticed four whisky glasses on the table. and, knowing that a doc tor would be in a little later-for -Sutphen was under treatment for all oholism-removed and washed the glasses. The police were convinced she did so out of kindness and not through a desire to shield anyone, but if Sutphen drained his death potion from one of the glasses the evidence was destroyed.
 Police Puzzled.
 The police were puzzled as to why Sutphen, with three persons sleeping in the apartment with him, sum Carey advanced the theory that if Sutphen had taken his own life q ghastlv sense of humor mi ght have induced him to summon his friend to find his Hfeless body.
 District Attorney Wilson said his investigation had showed that sew eral persons would benefit from Sut- phens death but that there also " ere motives for suicide, Detectives studied the source of Sutphen's money supply.
 Tn addition to his salary as the secretary to George A. Helme, a to- bacco and snuff manufacturer, he was said also to have been interested in an automobile accessory concern and to have inherited a sum of money from the wife of business man in Englishtown, N. J., where his mother, wife and 5-year- old child are now living.
 To offset this income. however. the police found he was paying SIP, 900 a year for his apartment was main taining his wife and child and had thousands to cast away for pleasure.