The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1894-10-01
A FATAL OPERATION.
a Young Woman Drops Dead from
a Doctors Chair.
PROBABLY KILLED BY COCAINE.

She was Undergoing a Painful Process
for the Removal of Facial Blemishes,
and the Drug was Used to Lessen Her
Suffering.
CHICAGO, Oct belle White, "a years
Of age, daughter of Benjamin 5. White, a
wealthy lumberman of Grand Rapids,
Mich, died at Woods hotel while under
treatment for the removal of facial blem-
ishes. Death was caused, it is supposed,
by the use Of cocoine TO deadeu the pain
from the application Of an electrical cur
rent which constituted the means Of treat
ment. The operator was DR. Sophie Santa,
of the DR.. Sophie Santa company. Eliza
A. James, the business partner OF Dr..
Santa, was assisting in the operation at
the time In one hand Dr. Santa held the
electric needle and In the other a sponge
saturated with a 4 per cent. solution OF
cocaine, which she applied at intervals
to deaden the intense pain caused by the
needle. She had almost completed the
treatment when Miss White gasped for
breath and before the operator could as
sist her she slid from the chair to the
floor dead
Aid was hastily summoned and restora-
tives applied but without avail, the
young woman having died almost in
stantly. DR.. Tallman, the only physician
called, arrived too late to be of any assist
ance, and as the people in the room where
the dead girl lay acted in rather a strange
manner he informed the police, and DR..
Santa, with her assistant, were locked up
until the exact cause of the young wo-
mans death is known. There is no
~ l. Il
anything but the result of an accident.
DR.. Tallman described his visit as fol.
lows:
"When l reached the room I heard
through the closed door womans voice
repeating, is she deadY l knocked sew.
eral times. At last an elderly woman
opened the door. When she saw me she
banged the door shut again. l felt sure
that something was wrong, and forced
myself in. told the woman was physi.
clan, and brushing her aside found two
men making violent efforts to revive a
woman. As soon as I looked upon the
woman saw that she was dead. said:
You cannot do anything; that woman is
dead
The elderly woman who opened the
door began lamenting, and cried OUT 4
only used per cent solution. That would
not have killed her. "A 4 per cent. solu-
tion of whatY / asked. She replied: Co
caine. She said the young lady was sit
ting on a chair while she was at work re
moving the outer cuticle from her face.
To deaden the pain she kept brushing the
face with the solution of cocaine
Seeing that any devices were of no
avail left the room. 1 had heard enough
to warrant me in thinking that the inter
ested people intended to hush up the af.
fair if they could. telephoned to the
Harrison street station, and advised the
arrest of all the parties in the room as the
only way of finding out the true story.
"An amusing incident occurred when !
left the room, that has its serious aspect
in showing to what extremes of danger a
woman is willing to go in order to beau
| tify her face Outside in the corridor was
| an old woman, well dressed. Shestopped
me and asked if there would be any
danger to her in taking the treatment.
She said she wanted to get rid of her
wrinkles, and was ready to try the treat
ment. told her of the fate of the young
woman, and she replied that she knew
the girl had died in the chair, but she be
lieyed herself strons enough to bear the
pain without flinching,"