Major
Walker
Takes His
Life at Sea
NEW YORK, April 20 - Maj. Stoughton Walker, whose father,
Gen. Francis Walker, was president of the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, leaped last Sunday evening from the rail of the Mauretania, which
arrived here yesterday morning.
Maj. Walker was in the dry goods business in
St.
Joseph,
Mo., having married
Miss Jessie Brittan, daughter of John S. Brittan, millionaire head of the J.S.Brittan dry goods company of that
city. Mr. Walker was secretary of that corporation.
A second class cabin passenger, John Boice, saw the
merchant make his way through the third-class quarters, climb upon the rail and
leap out Boice immediately gave the alarm and the buoy was hurled after the
man.
Speeding at about 25 knots an hour, the
Mauretania
had gone a mile before she could be stopped. A boat was lowered and for two
hours search was made without result.
Maj. Walker had sailed on the
Mauretania
from
New York three weeks ago.
For many years he was an officer in the National guard of
Missouri.
He had been in bad health recently.
His relatives in
St. Joseph
were informed late last evening that the major had been lost at sea. They were
not told that he had killed himself.
Besides his wife, Maj. Walker leaves one child and a
brother, Francis Walker. A son of ten years died last spring. The major was 46
years old.