Evening star., 1926-11-22
Colored Man Flashes by Off,
Ger So Close He Brushes
His Body.
TAG TIED TO CLOTHING
REVEALS HIM AS B. WARD
Legs Crushed Off by 504-Foot Drop.
Second Suicide in Three
Days.

Another man jumped to his death
from a window atop the Washington
Monument at 1:40 this afternoon, only
about 4s hours after Henry c. Ander-
son. Spanish War veteran, had leaped
to eternity from an unguart,ed portal
in the observation tower. He was
identified by tag tied to his clothes
as B. Ward, colored, of 724 Thirteenth
street northeast.
The tag, Of stout wrapping, was
tied to a buttonhole Of his coat,
evidently in preparation for the jump.
jump.
Two guards and a sightseer, J. J.
Jensen Of the Department of Agricul-
ture, were in the observation tower
at the time Ward made his leap, but
none of them saw him go over. the
ledge. A guard, August Crossant, at
the door of the Monument below,
missed being hit by the plunging body
by inches. Ward flashing past so
close that he touched the guards
clothing.
Lands Feet First.
Apparently Ward landed feet first
and, unlike Anderson, who was mashed
beyond recognition, only his legs
showed outward results of the 504-foot
drop from the observation tower to the
ground. Both legs were broken, but
no other visible signs indicated the
tragedy Of his death. One heel was
ripped off his shoe. Later examination
at the morgue, however, showed that
most of the bones in his body were
broken.
Guards Had Turned Back.
This is the fourth suicide to occur
from the top of the Monument, and
the third since 1923, the last two vic
TINS before Ward having chosen Win
dows through which to hurl them
selves to their death. The first sui
eide was a woman, who leaped down
the elevator shaft from stairway,
landing near the top of the Monu-
ment.
Ward chose the east window for
his tragic exit. Jensen and the two
guards had just turned their backs
on the man, apparently. None OF
them noticed him acting queerly
Like Anderson he seemed absolutely
normal. When they turned again
Ward was gone; his body already
lay on the concrete almost squarely
In front Of the entrance to the Monu-
ment through which he had walked
a short time before.
Crossant, who narrowly missed being
crushed by the falling body, was the
same guard who Saturday morning
heard "a pistol shot," as he thought,
and ran around to the north side OF
the Monument and found Anderson
dead from a deliberate plunge from
the top Of the Monument. This time,
however, the suicide fell directly in
front of him.
Guard Is Stunned.
Crossant's duty is at the entrance
to the Monument. He was there, as
usual, except that this time he was
outside getting some air. He felt a
sudden rush and then a heavy object
brushed his clothes. Stunned for a
second, he looked to the pavement to
see Wards body huddled before him,
the man having been killed instantly.
An ambulance was summoned from
Emergency Hospital, but there was
nothing for the doctors to do. Ward
was about 40 years of age. The
morgue was notified and the body
was ordered removed Immediately.
Guards recalled seeing Ward enter
the Monument during the early after
noon. No other visitors arrived at
that time and the elevator did not
make a trip, so it is safely assumed
that the man walked the long flights
of stairs to the scene of his self
inflicted execution. All elevator men
were certain that they had not had
Ward as a. passenger.