The Portsmouth Herald
23 March 1917, Vol XXXIL, No. 153
Pages 1 and 5

Misses Ethel Stanton and Margaret
Spalding, Wellsley College Girls, in
Double Suicide—Shoot Themselves in
Local Cafe After Running Away From
School.—Stanton Girl Heir to Fortune

The strange girl love that made the
pangs of separation such that they
could not live together led to the sui-
cide of Ethel Stanton, aged 22, of
Dana Hall, Wellesley College, and a
wealthy young lady of Cincinnati, and
Miss Margaret Spaulding, aged 18, a
physical instructor at the fashional
Miss Garland school of Newton, in the
Portsmouth Cafe, at 10.50 last night.

Just why they came to this city to
carry out their suicide pact will always
remain a mystery, but the movements
of tho girls from the time they left
their respective schools on Wednesday
afternoon has been followed by the
authorities and their relatives.

The suicide, which was the strangest
in the crime annals of this city, was
carefully planned, and both girls had
determined that if they could not be
together they would end it all. They
came here, on Wednesday afternoon
to the Hotel Rockingham, where
they registered as Ethel Shannon and
Rose King. They had a suitcase between
them and their actions about the
hotel were those of well-bred young ladies.
Thursday they were about the
city and shortly after six o’clock came
to the Portsmouth Cafe where they
ordered and ate a hearty meal. They
took the last booth in the rear of the
café and after their dishes had been
cleared away they lingered, and every
once in a while they would pull out
the light, when the waitress would
go to investigate they would order
cups of black coffee.

The young women while in the booth
were eating continually and surprised
the waitresses at the several orders
they gave. Their long stay in the
booth gave the proprietor and others
the impression that they had made
arrangements to meet some parties
who were delayed in arriving. The
only queer thing noticed by the wait-
ress during the time they passed in
the cafe, was the turning off of the
electric lights when any one ap-
proached the locality of the booth. In
paying for some of the food, Miss
Stanton offered a five dollar bill and
the change came to $4.15. She insisted
on the waitress taking this amount as
a tip. The waitress remarked that she
would not take about the money. Miss
Stanton said: “You may as well take
it as I won’t need it; it will be of no
use to me.” The waitress left the four
dollars and took 16 cents.

At 10.50 the people In the restaurant,
and there were several there, wore
startled by two shots in rapid order
from the rear booth, several made a
dash for the booth and they saw the
lifeless body of Miss Stanton across
the table.

A revolver was found in the hand of
Miss Stanton and it was at first sup-
posed that she had first shot her com-
panion before turning the weapon up-
on herself. Miss Spalding was found
to be breathing and was removed to
the hospital in the police ambulance
in charge of Dr. M. A. Higgins who
had been called on the case by Edward
Voudy, proprietor of the restaurant.
She died later without having spoken.

In examining the revolver taken
from the hand of the dead woman,
Chief of Police Hurley found that but
one of the five shots had been fired; the
other four bullets being undischarged.
A search of the booth discovered the
second revolver on the floor under the
bench. It was a 22 caliber gun of
cheap model.

Dr. H. L. Taylor, acting medical re-
feree in the absence of Dr. George E.
Pender, was notified and viewed the
remains. He gave permission to un-
dertaker J. Verne Wood to remove the
body after taking possession of the ef-
fects of the dead woman. Lying on the
table was a slip of paper with the
message, “Notify Hon, C. F. Halshbury,
Johnston Building, Cincinnati, O.
Rockingham Station, Ethel Stanton.”
She was well dressed and was well
provided with funds. In her pocket
book were two return tickets, Ports-
mouth to Wellesley, Mass. It is sup-
posed that she was a student at Welmouth
to Wellesley, Mass.

Among the effects of the other girl’
was it pathetic letter addressed to her
mpther, Mrs. O. F. Spalding, 38 Paul
street, West Newton, in which she
bade her good-bye, saying that it was
best they do this and begging that
they might be buried together. The letter
contalned no hint as to the reason
and was signed “Peggy wad Ethel,”
written In the handwriting that signed
“Peggy, the name Ethel being in a
different handwritlng, A commutation
ticket on the Boston nnd Albany rall-
road between Boston and Newton was
also found In her bag.

Among the other effects found on
Miss Stanton were numerous letters
from real estate men in reference to
property she evidently owned in Tor-
onta, Canada.

From the relatives of the Spaulding
girl a little clearer motive of the dou-
ble suicide was gained. The Spauld-
ings attended Dana Hall with the
Stanton girl and they were together so
much the mother of Miss Spaulding
became worried and thought that the
influence of the older and much
wealthier girl was not good for her
daughter. She was taken from
Dana Hall and sent to Miss Gar-
den’s.

Both Miss Spaulding and Miss Stan-
ton took the separation much to heart
and they have been meeting at various
places. On Wednesday, when Miss
Spaulding did not return from school,
the parents became suspicious and they
phoned Dana Hall and found that Miss
Stanton had left the school that fore-
noon. They then started to trace the
girls and found that they had been in
an apartment store in Boston where
they purchased a suit case and later
they also discovered that they had
purchased two revolvers in Boston, but
there the traces ceased and while they
had every force they could gather at
work, no trace of the girls was found
until the fateful message was received
at midnight last night of the suicide.

Miss Stanton is the daughter of Gen-
eral Passenger Agent Stanton of the
Rock Island and Pacific railroad and
her parents were divorced some time
ago. The mother remarried to Snyder,
the wealthy packer of Cincinnati, and
the girl made her home with her moth-
er until she and her second husband
were killed some years ago in an auto-
mobile accident. The girl was left with
a large fortune.

In a letter that was addressed to the
mother of Miss Spaulding, the girl in
a pathetic manner and of the fact that
she had led a life of perfect love and
that she could not bear the thought of
separation and it was best that she
should die. She also penned her mother
a rather lengthy poem which
was left unfinished.

The investigation of the dress suit
case which Miss Stanion carried to the
Rocklingham, made by the police today
threw no light on the mystery as it
contained nothing whatsoever other
than a pair of corsets.

The request made by the suicides
that they be hurled together will not
be permitted by the parents of Miss
Spaulding.

Today two brothers and an uncle of
Miss Spalding arrived in this city and
after interviewing County Solicitor Al-
bert R. Hatch and the chief of police
to obtain all the information possible
as to the girls’ movements in this city,
went to the undertaking rooms of J.
Verne Wood, and directed that the
body of Miss Spaulding be sent home
on the 1.43 train this afternoon.

Early this forenoon the authorities
received a telegram from Hon C. F.
Malshbury of Cincinnati directing that
the body of Miss Stanton be sent to
his address, No. 128 Johnston building,
Cincinnati, O. The brother of Miss
Spaulding refused to discuss the case
with the reporters, stating that they
believed it had publicity enough.
Both were very much affected by the
sad end of their sister and were very
anxious to get the body home with
all possible haste.