Police Seek Writer of Note Found on Suicide
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William Cooper, Who Sat in Stupor From Poison for Hours, Died in Cooper Hospital Early To-day Without Offering an Explanation.
Missive in Pocket May Be the Cause
The attempt of William Cooper, of 27 North Twenty-first street, East Side, to end his life had successful culmination at Cooper Hospital shortly before 7 o'clock this morning. County Physician Dr. William S. Jones made a post-mortem examination of the body this morning at the hospital mortuary and found that death resulted from laudanum poisoning. The body was removed to his late home in East Camden this noon by Funeral Director John Crawford.
The following note, in a woman's hand, and partially explanatory of the man's suicide, was found in his inside coat pocket:
"Dear Will: — If you can let me have 50 or 75 cents do so. I would not ask it but when I got home he flew all over me, so you see I want to show him I got paid.
"I can't wait until Clara gets her money because it will be so late on Saturday he might take a tumble to it, and you know it would not do for me to leave home because he may make trouble for me with my mother.
"You are not prepared to give me a home, nor could I go to mother, so for peace sake let me have it. If not send it, then let me know if you could send it by Saturday morning.
"I can say the man will send it down with me. I think he suspects something.
"With love to you double fold.
"You said to me last night that you would have to draw more money, so if you love me help me out of this scrape."
There was no signature appended to the missive, but the police are endeavoring to locate Clara.
Yesterday afternoon Cooper purchased a vial of laudanum in a drug store under the pretense that he wished to make a poultice for a face ache, and swallowed its entire contents a short distance away, as the empty bottle was found in a coat pocket when he was searched at Cooper Hospital.
About 3 o'clock he walked into Coles' saloon, on Federal street near Twenty-fourth, and took a seat in a back room where for a few minutes he watched a pinochle game. Presently he fell into a deep slumber, but outside of his stentorious breathing which the card players thought was heavy snoring, but was really one of the deadly accompaniments of laudanum poisoning, no notice was taken of him until about 10 o'clock when the saloonkeeper attempted to wake him up. Not being able to arouse him from his stupor, however, Coles called in a policeman who had him sent to Cooper Hospital.
The patient's trouble was at once diagnosed by the experienced hospital physician, Dr. Underwood, and every appliance was brought into action, such as the administering of emetics, flaggelation to stir the sluggish blood and lethargic senses and walking up and down in the open air to prevent him from falling into the sleep that knows no wakening, but all to no avail.
The man was beyond human recall and he lingered in a comatose condition until ten minutes of 7 o'clock this morning, when he died.