Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1858-07-20
THE RECENT SUICIDE OF BERLIN
NIGHTS EREE.LOXER.

OF A BERLIN
Nights FREE.LOVER.
The suicide of young nan of 10, named
Charles Latcha, one of the Free Lovers at
Berlin Hights, Ohio, was announced in the
tribune OF Tuesday, the Age Of Freedom, the
organ OF the Free Lovers at Berlin Hights,
publishes the subjoined letter written by Latcha
q few hours before his death. Its insane and
blasphemous sentiments he reafirmed during
hts surviving hours after he had fred the fatal
shot
10 THE BERLIN SOcIALIsrs-VALEDICTOR
Justice demands that should give you my
experience before taking my final leave Of YOU
And will give 1t as briefly as possible, as we'll
as can
1 was the only child of an i'll mated pair.
They were Orthodox, though not very strict;
they were what were called "good respectable
folks" Neither of them were uncommonly de-
veloped in any direction. They "loved each
other from first to LAST mother tells Inc. 1t
must have been a very blind love, Three
years after their marriage / was born-a puny
little thing with an angular brain. But in the
eyes OF my parents was Of course, a little
angel, young God. One year after my birth
my father died. l was left in care of nv
mother and grandmother, who kept house to-
gether. My grandmother was a Presbyterian
Church member, and lived up TO God s laws as
revealed through the Bible, as we'll as she
could. Looking back to the time when 1 was
but four or five years old, 1 remember a deem,
melancholy feeling which has cursed me to this
day. This feeling was my natural condition.
L experienced little interval of happiness
now and then. l was not like other children.
L did not play. / was unhappy My mother
taught school, and L went to her school when [
was five years old. She petted me, humored
me, let me have my own way almost always
Sometimes grandmother interfered, and re-
monstrated with mother and talked seriously
to me- Mother and grandmother were very
kind to each other. Well, in short, was
spoiled.
Grandmother died when was thirteen years
cid then the housekeeping broke up, and l
was apprenticed to printer to learn the art Of
printing.
uncle came and took mother and with him to
Michigan. We staid there awhile, and then
moved to another place, and then to another,
and finally to Iowa, where we lived three years
At nearly every place We lived l got employ
ment in printing office =
became Fres Lover while in Iowa
through the medium Of Nichols's Monthly
Then through the Social Revolutiouist heard
OF Berlin: l came to Berlin and found it was
my home bad expected the same.
Well, have been happier since have come
y Berlin than L was anywhere else. But my
Soul has not found another with which to rest
my heart, no home.
In my younger days L was self-conceited,
owing to false training; but since coming to
Berlin, L come to a truer knowledge of myself, |
and discovered that L am a poor, miserable |
specimen OF humanity-and that has added |
another weight to crush my aspiring soul. !
possess awful aspiration-I want to be good, |
wise angel; but, with my miserable organiza- |
ton can never be even goOd-never
When was miserably existing in the world, |
and looking to Berlin, thought, "In Berlin I |
Will be happy; there I will find brave and |
loving and free men and women, and will be |
happy" And have found the Berlin Social |
lists as brave and free as expected, but have |
discovered that NO earthly, outside conditions |
can make me happy. 1 exiled myself from the |
world, to save myself; bnt I cannot Be sared |
And none Of you will say L did wrong. You |
will say, 1t is we'll Yes, on the contrary.
1T would be wrong for me to stay here, q burden |
TO myself and those around me. am of no ac- |
cOnut. Let me die die, die |
You have all been good to me, and 1 have
meant TO be good to all. If have not been
good to any one, ask forgiveness And my
prosecutors forgive, and those who have SLAM
dered me, forgive; forgive all believe in
Necessity.
There are but few of you but will be sur
priscd at my final act, you thought I was
happy. L tried to appear happy. L did not |
want to cause others unhaPPiness kept my
/
one OF you said to me, you look as thou Oh |
you was in pain" l turned it of as though
nothing was the matter with me. But there
was something the matter with me; 1 was in |
pain. There alcays was something the mat
ter with ms''
And here L unite my protest against and ut |
ter my curse upon Marriage And l curse |
Religion And 1 curse God" the Father
Monster ts7-1
And say to you, seriously, from the depths |
oil my sympathizing heart Do not bring chill |
dren into existence, to suffer, If you cannot |
parent healthy happy child-if you do not |
KNOW you can do this-refrain, D refrain |
ioa will be happier without me. And the |
chair upon which L sat, and the rooms lin |
gered IN, and the things touched, will be- free |
from my blighting magnetism; and thus you |
Will Dc happier. And the spears of grass |
which tread upon and sicken will gain new |
strength and a happier life when am gone |
Most Of you will only think me as having |
passed on to a happier sphere but see 10 |
existence beyond, and think 1 know what |
death will be to me; and welcome the great |
tate OF silence which the Universe has in store
Tor Its abnormal child l die-as have lived |
alone Farewell,
There was silence deep as death:
And the boldest held his breath
a inn ~