1914-03-21a

Hamilton Deputy Police Chief Whatley carefully inspected Room 18 of the Terminal Hotel where James Gow’s lifeless body had been found.

          A steamer trunk with various personal belongings was opened and its contents gone through. On the chiffonier, a picture of Gow’s daughter had been placed on one side of the mirror, on the other side of the mirror were a pair of tiny wooden shoes – it was later learned that the shoes had been made by Gow’s daughter.

          The police inspection did not take long, and soon the undertaking establishment, Blachford and Company, was telephoned so that the body could be removed from the hotel.

          The crowd on the street had increased substantially by the time the hearse arrived :

          “Outside the hotel, hundreds of morbidly curious spectators congregated to watch the corpse being taken to the morgue. The police formed a lane as the body was brought out of the hotel.”¹

          ¹ “Gow’s Suicide Causes Sensation”

          Hamilton Herald. March 21, 1914

          Almost as soon as news of the tragedy began to circulate, James Gow’s wife was contacted at her home in Buffalo to tell her of the suicide.

          A reporter with a Buffalo newspaper telephoned Mrs. Gow.

          She said to him :

          “ ‘I have just been told of my husband’s death over the long distance telephone by a friend of mine, and naturally, I am greatly shocked.’

“Her voice was shaking with emotion.

          “ ‘ I do not know what I am going to do. I do not know what I should say. I have no comment to make. I really don’t know what to do or think,’ she continued.

          “ ‘ Are you going to Hamilton to attend the funeral?’ asked the reporter.

          “ ‘ I don’t know. I haven’t made up my mind. I really don’t know what to think. It has been such a terrible shock.’

          “ ‘Do you know how your husband died, and have you acquainted your daughter with her father’s death?’ asked the representative.

          “ ‘ Yes, I know the circumstances of my daughter’s death, but I have not told my daughter of them. She does not know that her father has killed himself. I simply told her that he was dead.’ ”³

               ³ “Wife Hears News : Mrs. Gow Greatly Shocked by Husband’s Tragic Death”

          Hamilton Spectator. March 21, 1914

          A coroner’s jury was assembled and each member chosen was instructed to go to the morgue in the evening to inspect the body.

          Also in the evening, a reporter had a long conversation with A. B. Mackay. As Mackay had been staying at the Terminal hotel, the interview was done in a first floor parlor of that hotel, in fact the room where the suicide was almost directly above the men as they talked.

          Mackay freely discussed the case and his friend’s death with no trace of nervousness :

          Throughout the interview, his cheerful attitude remained unchanged, and the only time the smile flitted from his face was when he paid tribute to his dead friend.”²

               ² Mackay Pays Tribute to His Dead Friend : Declares Whiter Man Never Lived Than James Gow : Has Absolutely No Idea of Leaving City.”

          Hamilton Spectator.   March 21, 1914.

          Mackay’s statement follows :

          “In the death of James Gow, Hamilton loses a white man – as white a man as was ever born or lived in this city, and I lose a good friend, as loyal a friend as a man could have. He was a man with a big heart; a man who never tuned a fellow down; who, if he met one who was down and out, would give him the last cent he had.

          “The people of Hamilton didn’t understand Jim Cow. He was generous to a degree, and it was his great big heart that caused him all the trouble he ever had. No man ever heard Jim Gow say a word against his worst enemy. He is dead and gone, and only those who really knew him can appreciate him for what he was worth.”²

               Mackay asked the newspaper man what opinions Hamiltonians were sharing about the suicide of Gow :

“He was told the general feeling was that Gow feared to face his trial, and that his death was the result of the charges pending against him.

“ ‘ Jim’s death was due to financial and family troubles,’ was the reply. ‘He had worries that the public knew nothing about.’ ”²

Mackay also asked about the view that the public had concerning the matter for which he and Gow had been sent to trial:

“He was told that many people thought he was preparing to leave the city. This suggestion he dismissed with a smile.

          “ ‘There is no reason for anyone to fear that,’ he said. ‘I don’t want to discuss anything that has a bearing on the case, but you can announce most emphatically that I will be on the job when the case is called. I have too much at stake financially in this city even if I had ever given such a thing as flight a thought. I have a big office building here, and twenty-two houses, besides other interests. If I went across the border, to the old country or any other place, I could be brought back, and it would be accepted as an acknowledgement of guilt. I have never thought of such a silly thing as running away. Only one side of the story has been told. I put in no defense at the preliminary hearing.’ ”²