The Story Discredited

Friends of the McKinley Family Do Not Believe Attempt Was Made
to Desecrate the President’s Tomb.

     Canton, O., Oct. 1.—Friends of the late President McKinley emphatically discredit belief that the shot reported fired by the guard Deprend at Westlawn cemetery last night was on account of any attempt to desecrate the tomb. They do not attempt to explain the strange story of the guards or account for the firing of the shot which cemetery officials and other residents nearby say they heard, and they do not believe that two men would undertake to make an attack on the vault with seven soldiers on guard or near at hand. It is believed that the military authorities will make a thorough investigation of the stories told by the soldiers on guard Sunday night. There are unconfirmed rumors that the shot was fired on account of an accidental fall and also that it was the result of personal differences.