Evening star., 1934-09-16
MOTIVE ISADSENT
IN SPEER Staying
Police Hunt Former Student
in Killing of Bay State
SchooImaster.
ny the Associated Press.

by the Associated Press.
MORTIFIED, Mass, September
I5.-The apparent absence of any pos
Eble motive bafied authorities tonight
IN tracking down the slayer Of Elliott
speer, IS, headmaster Of the Mount
Hermon Preparatory School for Boys.
speer was shot in the breast in his
itudy last night. A charge of buck
shot from shotgun crashed through
l. closed window. He fell to the floor
rs his wife rushed into the room.
State, county and local officials CO.
operated in the investigation OF the
rhine, which occurred almost on the
we Of the reopening of the school Tor
he new year, set for next week.
District Attorney Joseph T. Bartlett
!, # Greenfield directed the questioning
(, 4 the faculty of the school, employees
n the school buildings and the near
w inn. operated as part OF the
chool Enterprise, and residents OF the
urrounding neighborhood.
Maid Saw Flash Of Gun.
The only information bearing
irectly on the Staying came from
frs. Constantine George, maid In
he Speer home, and her husband,
1, mployed at the inn. Mrs. George
Aid that through a WINDOW IN
mother part of the house she saw
1e flash that accompanied the re-
+ ,rt of the gun and imediately after
' ard caught glimpse OF man run
ing into the nearby woods.
Her husband told the investigators
tat a short time before the shooting
fe saw q large closed motor car orlve
Tito the school grounds and after tne
q footing he saw the same car speed
q 1t. His description OF the auOoiho-
BILE, however, was vague.
The investigation extended 10 tne
s,stern part of the State when 1t was
i armed that a former instructor at
he school was living in Cambridge.
When he was questioned he couio
1 lrow no light on the crime.
From the fact that the school is
u ader religious auspices authorizes
! Ivanced the tentative theory re-
Ii sious fanatic might have done tne
D aooting. r. .
Tonight police admitted they were
q arching for a former student. IN nus
e .rly teens, for questioning. Ine poy'
n was learned, was expelled from the
{, hool after several warnings, ana naa
v iced threats of reprisal. Although q
:, sident of another State, the boy nao
h en- seen in the vicinity of the scnool
= ,,;ro tba Summer. No inkling as
n his identity was made pubic.
Phone Call Received.
THE state police were notified that
. man giving the name OF Sydney
r. Md of Brookline had telephoned the
2 ,ston police this afternoon that ne
:, hid tell them who killed DR.. Speer.
q ookline police officers were detailed
r. Question Gould, but they felt little
b, pe of learning anything OF value.
iater tonight the investigators
h, re were informed that questioning
OF Gould had brought out q state
n, mt that on Thursday night he gave
Z hort ride in his car to man VINO
fe d him he was on his way to Mount
IA rmon School. His description OF
th S man was forwarded here.
can't. Charles j. van Amburgn,
ba listics expert, was sent by the State
f1t tective Bureau from Boston TO TINS
to IN today to examine the siugs
wi ich killed the head master. Mean
w. lie, police searched the woods near
tn school grounds without nnoing
ar trace Of the shotgun used IN the
sh oting.
Som Of Mission Official.
or. Speer, well known in educa-
tic nal circles for his liberal views, was
tb son Of Rev. DR.. Robert Eliiott
sr ,er. secretary of the Presbyterian
Br ard of Foreign Missions and Q
tr, stee of the Mount Hermon school
Hi widow, the former Charlotte Rose
w lies, is the daughter Of DR.. Henry
II, inter- welles, jf., a member OF the
sts tf of the Presbyterian Board OF
Ne sional Missions in New York. Fney
we e married at Wilkes-Barre, Pa, In
NJ, rch, 1921, and had three children
'riyate funeral services will be held
Mt ne Speer home tomorrow afternoon
ar | the body will be taken to Engle-
VIC ID, N. j., for burial. There will be
a memorial service later at the school,
WI .ch was founded by the late Dwign'
I. Moody, famous evangelist.
: ''onight the spacious grounds OF
th. school were still carefully guarded