Ellinwood, Barton County, Kansas, 1927
Osborne Man Takes Own Life in Hotel Here Saturday Evening
Bernard J. Millet, aged about 32 years, committed suicide in the Hotel Wolf dining room in this city Saturday evening about 7 o’clock, shooting himself through the head with a bullet from a 32 caliber automatic revolver. Although the bullet entered his right temple and came out through the top of his head, leaving a gaping wound through the brain, the man lived for almost five hours, expiring just a few minutes before midnight.
The exact cause for the taking of his life is unknown, relatives professing to known of no reason why he should have committed the deed but from letters on his person it is believed that unrequited love was responsible. Reports are to the effect that he was engaged to one of the popular young women of Larned and that engagement had recently been broken off, and brooding over this is the most probable solution of the mystery as he left no letters or word of any kind.
Just when Mullet arrived in Ellinwood is not known, nor is it known where he came from to this city, but it is presumed that he came here from Great Bend on the 4:30 train Saturday afternoon, as he went into the clothing department of the Stephan & Isern Mercantile Co. establishment shortly after that time and purchased new trousers, shirts and other articles, and later went to the Jung barber shop where he had his shoes cleaned and shined The fact that he had a small package of clothing which came from the Wells Store in Great Bend leads to the belief that he came to Ellinwood from that place.
Shortly before 6 o’clock he went to the Wolf Hotel and registered and told Leo Wurm, the manager, that he desired to go to his room and clean up before supper time. He went into the dining room a few moments later and ordered his supper and started eating, but loitered over his meal so long that all of the other guests had left the room before he had finished, and at the time the shot was fired there was no one in the room but one of the hotel employees, Miss Leona Hirsch, who was straightening up the tables. Miss Elizabeth Werner was playing the piano in the room.
While Miss Hirsch was straightening the other tables she noticed that Millet kept putting his hand in his right coat picket and seemingly fumbling with something in his pocket and was otherwise acting in a peculiar [illegible] remaining so long at the table, and she became alarmed and was just starting to leave the room when he suddenly pulled the revolver from his pocket and placing it against his right temple pulled the trigger. Both of the girls immediately rushed from the room into the kitchen adjoining, giving the alarm, but those in the kitchen could hardly believe that this had taken place on account of the fact that he had held the revolver so closely against his head that the noise of the explosion was deadened. They had heard the revolver fall from his hand to the floor but thought nothing of the noise. Mrs. Leo Dick was the first in the room and found Millet slumped over in his chair and the blood streaming from his head. A physician was summoned instantly but an examination showed that the bullet had plowed clear through the brain and nothing could be done to save his life.
Steps were at once taken to get into communication with relatives and friends. He had registered as being from Spearville, Kansas, but a call to that place brought back the information that he was unknown there. A Legion card on his person showed that he was a member of Post 49, at Osbourne, Kansas and another that he had registered from the army draft at Larned in 1917, and a call to that city brought back the information that he was a former resident there and had a brother, G.I. Millet, who was a clerk in the post office in that city.
Both the brother and his wife came to Ellinwood at once, arriving here some hours before the young man passed away, but they could give but little or no information as to how he came to be in Ellinwood or why he would have desired to take his life.
The dead man had been a resident of Larned for a number of years, and for the most of the time was employed in the shoe department of the Krouch store in that city. For the past year and a half or tow years he had been living in Osbourne where he was employed by the Salina Produce Co. The brother in Larned had had a report that Bernard had left Osbourne about the middle of the week and that his whereabouts were unknown, and at the time the call was put in from Ellinwood to tell him of his brother’s act, he was telephoning over the country and trying to secure information as to his whereabout.
The brother in Larned had had a report that Bernard had driven a truck to Salina one day the middle of the week, and tat he had parked the truck on the street and told the man who was with him tat he would be back in a few minutes and had disappeared and his whereabouts from that time until he appeared in Ellinwood are unknown. He had no grips with him when he arrived here and only a few articles of wearing apparel done up in bundles. There was a fine gold watch and about $17 in cash on his person.
The remains were taken to the Weber Undertaking Parlors where they were prepared for interment. Coroner R.J. Wheeler, Sheriff Sam Hill and County Attorney Lamoreaux came down from Great Bend and a formal inquest was held with F.J. Weber, Marie Dick, ?.B. Herold, Will Apel, Charles Jenish and Jake Harmetz as the coroner’s jury. Miss Leo Dick, the Misses Leona Hirsh, Miss Elizabeth Werner and Jake [obscured] who was one of the first in [obscured] after the shooting, were [obscured] and a formal verdict returned [obscured] the deceased had come to his [obscured] by a gunshot wound self-inflicted.
The dead man’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. J.L. Millet, are residents of Wichita, and the remains where were [obscured] day night taken to that city for interment. Both of the parents are more than 80 years of age.
The deceased was a native of Kentucky but had spent most of his life in and around Larned and is had to have been most highly [obscured] in that city. He had been in the service for about a year during the World War but had not been overseas, spending practically [obscured] at Camp Funston. In addition to being a member of the [obscured] Legion Post at Osbourne [obscured] person showed that he was a [obscured] member of the Country Club [obscured] of that city.