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Lyon County, Kansas

SALESMAN'S BODY TAKEN FROM RIVER

John M. Branch Found Dead in Car That Had Plunged into Stream Near Emporia, Kan.

Emporia, Kan., Sept. 9----The body of John M. Branch, 26, of Independence, Mo., was recovered from the Neosho river near here late this afternoon to close a search that had been in progress since Tuesday night.

The body of the Independence man, a salesman for a Kansas City firm, was found in his car which plunged into the rain-swollen river about 4-1/2 miles east of Emporia. The body was recovered by Undersheriff Al Locke and Fireman Charles Schroeder, who dived into the water.

Efforts to drag the automobile from the water was hampered when the top of the vehicle ripped off as it was being brought up. The two men dived into the water and brought Branch's body from the vehicle.

The man was identified by Webb Morrow of Kansas City, a long-time friend of the salesman, and by Branch's father, William Branch, of Omaha, Neb.

The car was located about 150 feet below the bridge on U.S. 50-S and was in water about 11 feet deep.

Evidence was found Tuesday to indicate that the automobile struck a section of the bridge and plunged into the river. Firemen and volunteer helpers had been searching for the car since Tuesday.

An earlier report of the discovery of gasoline on the surface of the water failed to lead to the location of the vehicle and the occupant. The car was found approximately 150 yards from where the gasoline was seen.

The body was taken to an Emporia funeral home.
(Joplin Globe ~ Friday ~ September 10, 1948)

IT MAY BE MURDER

Emporia Man Dies From Injury Received January Last

Emporia, Kan., March 29---W.E. Dodge died here today. He was a son of E.E. Dodge of Madison, this county. According to his physicians his death was caused by a bruise received in January last, resulting from a kick given him by Joseph Hayl of Madison. The story is something of a romance. Five years ago Dodge and Mrs. Gertrude Hayl of Madison eloped. Miss Hayl got considerable property from her parents. More than a year ago she died of consumption and left a will which caused her property to revert to the Hayls. She is alleged by the Dodges to have thought she was leaving her property to her husband.

Young Dodge contested the will. The suit was tried at Eureka and he won it. Returning from the trial he is said to have been assaulted at Madison Junction by James Ward and Joe Hayl, his wife's brother. It was here that he is said to have received the injury which resulted in his death last night. For a short time he seemed to be recovering, and then an abscess formed. Slanderous reports were circulated concerning young Dodge, which his parents and he supposed were started by his enemies. Dodge, realizing the humiliation which he had placed on the Hayls by defeating them in the will contest, was in favor of dropping the whole affair, but his father insisted on their prosecution on the carge of assault. They were arrested and would have been tried at the April term of court in Eureka. The complaint will be changed and they will have to stand trial on the charge of manslaughter or even murder in the second degree.

Young Dodge resided in Emporia and was regarded as a bright young man. He was a member of the A.O.U.W. and had many friends here.
(Kansas Semi-Weekly Capital) ~ 30 Mar 1900)

MYSTERY IN A HOTEL FIRE

Woman, Not Registered, Believed To Have Perished At Emporia

Other Guests Heard Screams For Help, But Were Unable to Aid---Man in Whose Room Blaze Started is Held

Emporia, Kas., March 21--- The burning of the old Whitley hotel here last night has given the Emporia authorities a mystery to solve.

The mystery centers about guests' stories of a woman, trapped on the third floor of the building, who is believed to have perished in the flames. All of the women whose names were on the hotel register have been accounted for, yet several of those in the hotel at the time of the fire assert that the mysterious woman could not have escaped death.

The local autorities believe that if a woman did perish in the fire it was someone who was not registered, but was brought into the hotel claudestinely by one of the men guests.

MAN HELD FOR INVESTIGATION

W.R. Bass of Emporia, in whose room the fire started, is being held for investigation. He was not in the hotel at the time the blaze was discovered, but the authorities believe he may be able to throw light upon its origin. The theft of a motor car from the front of Carl Nation's residence at the time of the fire may have had some connection with the destruction of the hotel, police officials are inclined to believe.

Aside from the strange woman reported to have been lost, all of the hotel guests except on escaped. James Daniels, a salesman for the Chamberlain Weatherstripping Company of Topeka, is still missing. It was believed for a time that C. L. Selman of Eldorado, Kas., also lost his life. He is an oil well driller, and it was learned today that he had telephoned his wife from the place where he is employed that he was safe.

Some of the city officials are inclined to doubt that a woman was among the victims, but several guests insist that they heard her scream for help, which no one could give, and say that she was in such a location that she could not escape.

HEARD WOMAN CRY FOR HELP

Dr. R. R. Rhodes of Kansas City, was one of the guests who heard the woman scream. He was in a room on the third floor and escaped, with his wife, by means of a rope.

"I heard a woman's voice calling for help," Dr. Rhodes said, "but we could not reach her."

Jack Fisher, Emporia wrestler, who had a narrow escape from death when a rope which he was lowering himself burned through, causing him to fall nearly three stories, corroborated Dr. Rhodes.

"I heard a woman screaming in the hall," he said. "I was unable to get to her and am sure she perished in the flames."

Mrs. Rhodes displayed exceptional coolness during the fire and her escape from the burning building. She saved a $2,000 Liberty bond and some cash.

WAS AN EMPORIA LANDMARK

The Whitley hotel was an Emporia landmark. it was built forty-two years ago by Col. H. C. Whitley, a pioneer, who was a secret service agent after the Civil War and helped break up the Ku Klux Klan in the South. The hotel was the scene of many political conferences that had an important bearing on Kansas history. It was there that Shawnee County men arranged the deal that sent Charles Curtis to the United States senate.

The ruins are still burning and it will be late this afternoon before a search for the bodies of the mising can be begun. E. P. Jay, deputy fire marshal, is here to conduct an investigation.

Plans are under way for the construction of a 6-story hotel to take the place of the burned structure.
(The Kansas City Times ~ 21 Mar 1921)

RECALLS OLD POISON DEATH

Emporia Itself Once Had A Mystery Like The M'Mullen Case

A Few Days After Marrying a Young Girl, J. H. Walkup Died of Arsenic Poisoning---Points in McMullen's Favor Discovered

Emporia, Kas., Aug. 16---The arrest of W.H. McMullen, a farmer 62 years old, charged with poisoning his wife several days ago in their home in Neosho Rapids, a nearby town, causing her death, has started the people of this county to talking again of the noted Walkup poisoning case, which came up here twenty-five years ago.

J. R. Walkup, a councilman, widely known in public life here, died rather suddenly of arsenic poisoning. He was 55 years old and his wife was very pretty and only 17 years old. He was reported to be wealthy. He had attended the New Orleans Exposition and there met pretty Minnie Wallace, then 16 years old. They became engaged and married a few weeks later.

A few months after their marriage he died suddenly and under mysterious circumstances. The stomach was analyzed and arsenic poisoning found to have been the cause of his death. The young wife was charged with the murder. She was here among strangers and without friends. William Jay, a wealthy lumberman and banker, took an interest in her and advanced the money to defend her. It was proved she had arsenic to beautify her complexion. She said her husband took it for stomach trouble.

THE MORPHINE IS ALL THERE

Walkup's first wife had died several years before and he had a family of grown-up children living here.

At the first trial the young wife was acquitted. Later she went to Chicago and was married there. She never returned to Emporia.

The McMullen case is food for gossip throughout the county. McMullen will be given his preliminary hearing at 10 o'clock Wednesday morning. Doctor Fuller, the complaining witness, is searching the Neosho Rapids neighborhood for evidence that McMullen had tried to do away with his wife on former occasions. He was the doctor who gave Mrs. McMullen a dose of morphine which he says was only one-fourth of a grain and not enough to have caused her death. In the complaint to which he swore he says the McMullen gave his wife an overdose of the morphine which he left there to be given her several hours apart.

A strong point of McMullen's favor was found this morning. Doctor Fuller says he left ten one-fourth grain tubes of morphine at the McMullen home, one tube to be given Mrs. McMullen every four hours. Doctor Fuller gave Mrs. McMullen one of the ten tubes before he left the house on the first call. Nine of the tubes of morphine still are in existence.

THE DAUGHTER KNOWS NOTHING

Mrs. Jackie Sutton, daughter of McMullen, came to Emporia this morning. She lives with her husband near Burlington, Kas. She said that nine of the tubes of morphine were found in the house after the death of Mrs. McMullen. Doctor Fuller said this morning that he expected to use Mrs. Sutton to testify that on former occasions her father had tried to do away with his wife.

Mrs. Sutton says that she will not testify that her father had either threatened or tried to kill his wife on former occasions.

Doctor Fuller, who is taking the chief interest in the case against McMullen, says that Mrs. McMullen went to the home of Frank Miller, a neighbor, several weeks ago and asked Mr. Miller to protect her against her husband, who was trying to kill her. Miller told a representative of The Star this morning that he never heard McMullen make any threats to kill his wife. He said he knew they had family quarrels, but not to the extent of threatening her life or even a separation.

Owen Samuels, prosecuting attorney here, said this morning that he expected to prove that McMullen had tried to do away with his wife on former occasions and expected to use that as cooroboration. He is depending on Doctor Fuller to obtain testimony for him.

NEIGHBORS BELIEVE IN HIM

A representative of The Star talked with several of McMullen's neighbors this morning. All sympathized with the old man and deplored the prosecution. They said they did not believe he had killed his wife. They said they knew that McMullen and his wife quarreled occasionally. The thin that convinces the neighbors that he did not kill his wife is the fact that nine of the tubes of morphine which the doctor left there are accounted for.

When McMullen discovered his wife's condition he called in several of the neighbors. He called Doctor Fuller by telephone and asked him to return at once. Doctor Fuller refused and told McMullen to give her some whisky for temporary relief. McMullen then called up Doctor Hughes and Doctor Reeser of Hartford and they went to the McMullen home at once and tried to save the wife's life. She lived several hours, but never regained consciousness.

Dennis Madden, attorney for McMullen, said this morning that he expected to prove that the condition of Mrs. McMullen was such when Doctor Fuller called to see her that even a small dose of morphine would have killed her.

Doctor Fuller sas that Mrs. McMullen was suffering with liver trouble and neuralgia when he arrived. It was the first time he ever alleuded her. She was suffering great pain. He gave her one-fourth grain of morphine to relieve her. He stayed with her several minutes and the morphine showed no bad results.

Doctor Hughes and Doctor Reeser say the wife was suffering with dyathesis and other complications
(The Kansas City Star ~ 16 Aug 1909)

THE MYSTERY OF EMPORIA

The last piece on earth where one would look for the development of suicidal mania would be Kansas, and the last spot in Kansas where such a tendency might be expected to manifest itself would be Emporia. Travelers on the great Santa Fe system are always on the lookout for this goodly town. They crane their necks far out of the car windows when the train passes through the place, to catch a glimpse of the stately Normal school, standing at the head of Commercial street, and to obtain a view of the handsome stone college on the hill, built by the Presbyterians in the middle '80's.

In the enchanting pastoral scene which forms at this season of the year an emerald setting for the town; in the wide, clean thoroughfares which are intersected by the railroad track and which open up one leafy vista after another to the eye of the tourist; in the fresh and comely faces of the pretty girls, who, to use a Kansas provinciallism, "make the trains," and are always to be seen at the station, there are no tokens of disaffection or misery. There is a certain note of cheerfulness even in the clamor of the hackmen, and in the bells which call the wayfarer to brief refreshment in the lunch rooms near the depot.

An acquaintance with the people of Emporia tends to strengthen the impression that they are fortunate and happy. Several fashionable whist clubs stimulate the social activities of the community, and the intellectual development of the feminine population is assured through the agency of a number of literary organizations.

The masculine youth of the town betake themselves to wholesome and manly sports, and find a fruitful source of pleasure in a base ball team, which is the joy and pride of the community. The arts are not neglected, and a brass band of rare excellence bids dull care begone and throws a gauntlet in the face of melancholy, in order that there may be pleasure for all, a roller skating rink and a natatorium offer their allurements to those who may care to embrace them.

Why, of all the places on the great, round globe, should Emporia be selected as the scene of many successive suicides? That is the question which is puzzling the people of the town, and for which nobody can find an answer. Within two years there have been twenty-four attempts at self-destruction in and about Emporia and seven within the last thirty days. It baffles the understanding of the wisest citizens and defies explanation by the most analytical observer. What makes the mystery all the more profound is the fact that a large proportion of these attempted and, in many cases, successful suicides are caused by disappointed love. It would be much less remarkable to hear that they were induced by poverty and hunger, for the fruits of the soil in Emporia are not more abundant than the encouragements to tender association and fellowship. The very air of Kansas is filled with romance, and in Emporia it is surcharged with sentiment. Why the lovely maidens and the ruddy swains of that community should be crossed in love and seek relief in muddy creeks and rivers is past all understanding. It used to be accounted a dull year at the State Normal school in Emporia when all of the single teachers didn't marry off, and when most of the boys and girls in the graduating class didn't become engaged. What malign influence has spread itself like a noxious pestinence throughout the community, to lure people to death by their own rash deeds?

The mayor of the city, who has evidently gone into the subject with much gravity and earnestness, seems to account for the mania on the theory of initiative crime and has forbidden the newspapers to exploit suicides or to make any mention of them. There may be some basis for this conviction in a town where rivalry is active in the matter of houses and furniture and other vanities of the flesh, but it appears hardly tenable that the influence of example should apply to death. The mayor's experiment, however, will be attended with unusial interest and will be instructeive to the country at large, though how so starting an event as a suicide can be kept quiet ina community where a secret like a marriage engagement has never been kept for more than two hours is something that has yet to be found out.
(The Kansas City Star ~ 16 June 1901)