Evening star., 1940-03-21
Inquiries Started
In Violent Deaths
Of 3LocaI Men
Attorneys Son Leops From
Bridge; Mon Is Found
Shot in Baltimore

The violent deaths of three men
were under investigation today. They
were:
Cornelius De Witt Van Buren,, %,
son of a New York attorney, who
leaped to his death from the Taft
Bridge last night after leaving a
note explaining he had found a
key to the above"
Charles F. Pace, IS, veteran chief
financial clerk at the Senate, who
was drowned off Hains Point yes
terday.
A man identified as Marion w.
Hart of 1904 Rhode Island avenue
NV, found shot to death in Bal
timore hotel yesterday.
Mr. Van Buren was seen to climb
to the rail of the Connecticut avenue
bridge about 7:20 o'clock last night.
His body plunged about 100 feet to
the roadway of Cathedral avenue
and, police say, was struck by an
automobile
Driver Fails to Stop.
The driver of the car did not stop.
c. A. Hand of 200 Pennsylvania
avenue, Falls Church, Va, found the
body and an Emergency Hospital
ambulance doctor pronounced Mr..
Van Buren dead on the scene.
The widow, Mrs. Helen Van
Buren, of the l7OO block of @ street
NV, identified the body at the
Morgue and Coroner A. Magruder
Macdonald issued a certificate OF
suicide.
In Mr.. Van Buren's room at 1901
N street NV. police found a note
from his father, De Witt Van Buren,
OF New York. The letter indicated
that the young man had been out
OF work and inclosed a $40 check.
Two notes, almost identical, in
Mr.. Van Buren's handwriting, were
found in the room. One was ad-
dressed to Dad" and the other was
unaddressed. They said:
i will always be close to YOU, but
l have found key to the above and
l am going to open it,"
Senate Pays Tribute to Pace.
The Senate yesterday paid trib-
ute to Mr.. Pace. who was seen to
slip into the river shortly after
noon. The upper house recessed
out OF respect for the financial
clerk after Senate Majority Leader
Barkley had eulogized Mr.. Pace for
his long record of service. Senator
Pepper, Democrat, of Florida iolned
In the expression of sympathy as
representative of the State from
which Mr.. Pace had come in 1918
Mr.. Pace had been in poor health
for some time and had been absent
from his office for several weeks
He lived at 1851 Columbia road
NV. with his sister, Miss Elizabeth
Pace.
Arthur R. Olson of Silver Spring,
Md, told Park Police that he saw
Mr.. Pace take off his coat and sin
into the choppy waters. Using a
life preserver, Mr. Olson recovered
the body within a few minutes, but
f1remen's efforts to revive Mr.. Pace
were futile.
Mr.. Pace was a brother of Msgr
Edward Aloysius Pace, who was vice
rector emeritus of Catholic Univer-
Sity when he died in 1898.
Coroner A. Magruder Macdonald
issued a suicide certificate.
Body Identified Tentatively.
Baltimore police said today they
had been unable to make a positive
Identification Of the man they be-
lleved to be Mr.. Hart. The tenta.
tive Identification was made from 6
Social Security card found in hi.
pocket.
The man was found in room or
the 18th floor of hotel in Balti.
more. A bullet wound was in hi.
head, and revolver lay at hi.
side. He had registered at tn,
hotel under another name, giving 6
Chicago address
A man named Marion w. Hart
had been employed here by the
branch of the Life Insurance Co
of Virginia last year.
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