Rensselaer Journal, Volume 10, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 May 1901 — SUM Of R. N. POLLOCK [ARTICLE]

SUM Of R. N. POLLOCK

The Fugitive Cleveland Banker Kills Himself. HE PREPARES FOR THE DEED. • ——————— Takes His Own Life In Seattle Hotel by Sending a Ballet Through Hl* Head — Identified by Tailor’s Hark—New* in Cleveland. Prepared with a dozen means to cause his own death, a man who has been practically identified as R. N. Pollock, the missing banker of Cleveland, committed suicide Wednesday in the Hotel York, Seattle, Wash., sending a bullet crashing through his brain. Fearing that this might prove unavailing, the suicide, before placing the revolver to his temple, arranged on a table alongside his chair a box of

fifty Smith & Wesson cartridges of a caliber corresponding to the weapon, a keen-bladed razor, a two-ounce box of “rough on rats” and a phial of 100 aconite tablets. When the body was found at 2:30 in the afternoon by a chambermaid in the hotel rigor mortis had set in, indicating that death had occurred at least twelve hours before. The remains were found in a rocking chair, with a gaping wound in the right temple, from which the blood had freely flowed, making a large pool on the carpeted floor. Burned All His Papers. The suicide made a partially successful effort to conceal his identity. He had burned a number of letters at a small gas heater in the room. The charred remains of the papers were found, but the writing was quite obliterated. Pollock arrived in Seattle Monday night and registered at the Hotel York as James Fisher of Spokane. He had no baggage and paid for one night’s lodging, indicating to the landlord that he would leave the following day. Pollock was not seen by the employes of the hotel all day Tuesday and Wednesday. Wednesday afternoon a chambermaid was instructed to enter the apartment, believing the guest to have gone. The door was found to be locked on the inside. It was burst open and Pollock was found dead within. The blood from the wound in his temple had streamed down over his clothes to the floor and had coagulated. The coroner was at once notified and made a careful examination of the room and the body. No baggage or linen was found to indicate who the man, was, but upon removal of the body to the morgue it was discovered that within his coat was the name R. N. Pollock and the trade-mark of a Cleveland tailor. In an inner vest pocket were found two railway tickets, one on the Great Northern .railway, issued at Grand Forks, B. C., May 3, and the other on the Oregon Short line in Idaho. Both tickets were signed James Wilson. Two tax fund certificates issued by the city auditor of Cleveland were also found with the tickets. Pollock was well dressed, wore a gold watch and dog’s-head charm. He had S3O in gold and silver in his pockets. He appeared to have been about 30 years of age, of light complexion and

wearing a small brown mustache, The remains will be held pending the full establishment of his identity. New* Broken to Widow. Mrs. Robert N. Pollock Wednesday night at Cleveland heard the news of her husband’s suicide at Seattle from a policeman, and said she had been expecting it ever since his bank closed. The expert, examination of the cash accounts of the closed Cuyahoga bank of which Pollock was president was completed Wednesday, and it was found that the cash account balanced to a penny. It is now thought Pollock took little or none of the bank's money with him.