A Desperate Act at the St. Elmo
A Seattle electrician is hospitalized in Vancouver after a suicide attempt follows significant gambling losses.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
James Murphy, a 30-year-old electrician from Seattle, lies in a hospital in Vancouver, Washington, with his mouth and throat severely burned by an ounce of pure carbolic acid. Murphy had traveled to Vancouver from Portland with the intent to end his life. After checking into the St. Elmo Hotel, the proprietor forced his way into Murphy’s room when he failed to respond to rapping; Murphy was discovered on the floor in convulsions. Upon regaining consciousness, he provided a note to contact his cousin, a Mrs. Johnson in St. Johns, Oregon. It is reported that Murphy had recently lost $70,000 in gambling operations in Denver and New York.
“James Murphy... lies in a hospital here today with his mouth and throat terribly burned by an ounce of pure carbolic acid, which he swallowed yesterday because he had grown despondent.”
Public reporting on mental health crises was often blunt and devoid of empathy in 1909, framing self-harm through the lens of moral failing or 'despondency.' Today, such coverage would focus on available crisis support rather than publicizing the details of a personal breakdown.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.