St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-10-01
DOCTORS TREATING HER
With an Electric Needle for
The Removal Of Facial
BlemiSheS.
A SOLUTION OF COCAINE
Used to Deaden the Pain
The Drug Apparently
Too Strong.

CHICAGO, Sept. SO. - Belle White,
twenty-three years of age, daughter of
Benjamin 5. White, wealthy lumber
man. died at Woods hotel this morning
about 10 O'Clock, while under treatment
for the removal of facial blemishes
Death was caused, it is supposed, by
the use of cocaine to deaden the pain
from the application of an electrical
current. which constituted the means of
treatment. The operator was DR..
Sophie Santa, of the DR.. Sophie Santa
company. Eliza \. 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 sponge saturated with
4 per cent solution of cocaine, which she
applied at intervals 10 deaden the in
tehse pain caused by the needle. She
had almost completed the treatment
when Miss White gaSped for breath,
and, before the operator could assist
her. she slid from the chair to the floor,
dead Aid was hastily summoned and
restorativeS applied, but without avail,
the young woman having
Died Almost Instantly.
DR.. Tallman, tile only physician called,
arrived too late to be of any assistance.
and as the people in the room where tine
dead girl lay acted in rather a strange
manner. he informed the police, and
DR.. Santa, with her assistants, were
lnal-ad nf ha
young woman'S death is known. There
is no thought, hcwever, that the death
was the result of anything but an acci
dent. DR.. Tallman described his visit
as follows:
when l reached the room | heard
through the closed door woman's voice
repeating. Is she dead | knocked
several times. At last an elderly woman
opened the door. When she saw me she
banged the door shut again. felt sure
that something was wrong, and forced
my way in. told the woman l was a
physician, and, brushing her aside,
found two men making vigorous efforts
to revive woman. As soon as looked
upon the woman L saw that she was
dead. | said: You cannot do anything,
tnat woman is dead The elderly
woman who opened the door began
lamenting and cried out: Il only used
four per cent solution. That would
not have killed her. "A four per cent
solution of what?' l asked. She replied
Cocaine
She said the young lady was sitting
on chair while she was at work remoy-
ing the outer cuticle from her face. To
deaden the pain she kept brushing the
face with the solution or cocaine. Seeing
that my services were of no avail, l left
the room. had heard enough to war.
rant me in thinking that the interested
people intended to hush up the affair if
they could. Itelephoned 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.
San amusing incident occurred when
left the room that had its serious as
pect in showing to what extremes OF
danger woman is willing to go in
order to beautlfy her face. Outside OF
the corridor was an old woman, well
dressed. She stopped me and asked il
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 treatment. 1 told
her of the fate of the young woman
and she replied that she knew the CIR
had died in the chair, but she believed
herself strong emo ugh to bear the pair
without tllnching, obviatiug the neces
sity of cocaine"
The father of Miss White is a bust
ness partner of Don J. Leathers, tn,
we'll known capitalist of Grand Rapids
Mich.