The morning news., 1894-10-15
SUICIDE BY STARVATION.
A Chicago Scientist Records His Sen
sation While Slowly Dying.


sation While Slowly Dying.
From the Pittsburg Dispatch.
Chicago, Oct. 10 George NJ. Sloan, law
yer, mathematician and socialist. died
yesterday on Wabash avenue of starva-
tion. The ending of his life was volun-
tary. He was the leader Of the socialists
and a wing of the anarchists for ten years
previous to the Haymarket affair. He
opposed Spies, Parson and Ling He be-
lieved in the ballot, and not in force, to ac-
complish revolution.
He was a classmate of Edwin NJ. Stan
ton and James G. Blaine at the Washing
ton and Jefferson college in Pennsylvania,
He was involved in the John Brown raid
on Harper's Ferry and fed to Ireland
where he remained for several years.
This summer he determined to commit
suicide. He tried the pistol and rope, and
both failed. Then he decided on starva-
ton and morphine. He was without food
nearly sixty days. He began starving him
self early in August, and iotted down in
diary his condition and feelings from
day to day. This is how he wrote, with
the wolf at his vitals: .t,.
August g. Sunday-The wasting away
begins to show in my arms and legs, also
in my chest My eyes are weak and my
muscles don't obey
September II can't make any more en-
tries My pen is heavy, my brain con-
fused, mouth nauseous. Now the inieC-
tion seems to produce no inflammatory
action. 1t lies like a great white blister
under the skin, and all around it the flesh
remains white or natural color. Scarcely
tinge of red shows the flesh conscious
of foreign substance. Vitality must be
very low: pulse is just discernable to
sight and little better to feeling.
September 6-HOw little is needed to sus-
tain life. All, but I'm tired-tired of life
Yet the danger of making a miss of It
is too great. Now l almost feel the end
ing. The hunger torture is savage; will
apply some chlorofcrm to pit of stomach.
September 23 26th day-Can scarcely see
and cant move but by a huge effort 1t
Is much more serious affair than I
thought it, this leaving life; nausea in
describable
From Sept. 16 to Sept. % the slowly dy-
ing man chronicled faithfully the pro
gross of his plan to starve himself to
death The internal pain he suffered
turned his thought to a quicker suicide
but he resolutely forced himself to keep
along the path he had chosen. Again he
wrote:
September 26. seth day-The nausea is
savage, I lie exposed that l may
be chilled as much as possible. When /
teel ike fainting will cover up. Whether
in this prolonged act, l am wrong or right.
40 not argue. II Is my pleasure to quit
NE because it offers me a more lingering
death with constant pain in the interval:
and TO quit it in this manner because
against the intellect which so departs
surely nothing can be said of a derogatory
nature by any one whose opinion is worth
having.
From the fortieth day his diary shows
how he wondered that death did not come
lie began to think that starvation would
not end his life, and he had curious ideas
as to mans ability to defeat death with
/ out food. His diary closed Sent % u,bc,
he wrote, Il am blind" and then he be-
| gan a discussion on the money cost of
labor He was conscious within twelve
hours of his death
The coroner held an inquest and re-
turned verdict Of suicide by starvation.