The San Francisco call., 1898-02-20
Secrecy and Premedita- ton Attended the
 Fatal Deed.
The Misguided Mans Sister Says He Was Not Insane,
 but Desperate.
LAST ACTS OF HIS LIFE.
He Swept and Garnished His Office Ready for His Suc-
 cessor.

T have sold a story to The Call; to my dying breath I swear they do not know what is in it.'' Such was the ex- traordinary statement made by the newspaper man who committed sui eide in order that his wife and those dependent on him should at least have daily bread for some time after his death.
 That such a thing might one day happen in connection with a man who had spent his life in newspaper work and wished to make a dramatic exit from this world has long been a topic of conversation among reporters, but when the story of such a suicide as printed in yesterdays Call was read the newspaper men were aghast at the terrible realism and professional se- crecy displayed by the deceased man.
 On Friday evening last Livernash visited the editorial rooms of The Call and said he had story to dispose of at a certain figure. He hinted that the story was in connection with a Fed eral official who had been guilty of em- bezzlement and that it would have a sensational development. He was told that If the story were worth using and could be substantiated he would be paid the price he demanded, but in the event of the paper not being able to print his communication his manu- script would be consigned to the waste paper basket. He agreed to the terms proposed and left the office, saying he would write the story and send it in by a messenger. Not a word did he utter of his suicidal intentions, nor give any clew as to whom the official implicated might be.
 The messenger who brought the news of the suicide brought the promised manuscript, and the entire story was given to the world yesterday morning. The mere fact of bargaining for a price which could only be secured by his own death, and keeping the whole matter secret until he had terminated his existence, mark the occurrence as one of the most extraordinary that has ever happened.
 He was not insane; he was a des- perate man." is the statement made by the wife and sister of J. J. Livernash who committed self murder on Friday night last. That they are speaking from an intimate knowledge of the facts which led to the dead mans self destruction cannot be doubted for an instant, when it is borne in mind that they had for months gone without the ordinary necessaries of life in order that the husband and brother, the idol of the family, might have the money which he said he so sorely needed.
 The suicide of Livernash is the sequel to the old, old story of the man who could not say No" Unable to resist temptation, utterly at the mercy of. any designing scoundrel who made his ac- quaintance, he was helpless and pitt ably weak when enticed by so-called friends to do that which. for the sake of his wife and family he should have avoided as an unspeakable evil. Gamb- ling and the incorporate use of strong liquors have been the cause of many suicides, but in no other case on rec ord has there been such -blooded reconciliation and preparation, as we'll as such an intense desire that his wife should benefit more by his death than she ever could have hoped to do from the kind of life he was living
 Miss Lizzie Livernash, when seen yesterday, said: "The letter left by my brother was not the raving of an insane man, but simple statement of a man who was driven to desperation by adverse circumstances. All that he stated regarding our misfortunes with the Healdsburg Enterprise was true. We were turned out without a dollar. AS soon as MT. Menihan acquired pos- session of the paper he turned us out bag and baggage. My brothers accounts are not in disorder. The largest amount he could possibly be short Is the small sum of $50. I have looked into this matter thoroughly this morning. The truth is that he was desperate. and of