The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-09-20
In HOTEL CORRIDORS.


some such terrible poison that is sure
to cause terrible suffering before death
comes to their relief" said one or a.
group of men at the Oxford am not
a chemist nor a pharmacist. but I am
sure that i'll wanted to die could choose
a much more comfortable route in leav-
ing this weary world. There is one pols-'
on that few people take with suicidal
intent, or at least if they do no one is
acquainted with the fact. The poison
refer to is potassium cyanide and IT IS
deadly enough to suit the most deter
mined suicidal aspirant. Potassium
cyanide is a drug that is used great
deal in manufa cturing and deaths are
frequently caused by inhaling the
fumes. 1t Is used in certain processes
of silver plating and is also used by
jewellers to clean furnished silverware
Chemists and photographers use IL, or
did use 1t, in removing the stains from
their fingers. The drug acts upon the
heart and a small quantity taken IN
ternally will stop the hearts action IL
does not take long for the drug to act
and death results quickly after the
poison il taken and is almost painless.
Unless a large quantity was taken ~
would be almost impossible for a post
nortem examination to reveal the
cause of the death. A physician once
told me of an instance of poisoning from
cyanide of potassium that impressed me
and has always caused me to have
dread of it. He was standing talking
with a young friend, photographer,
ried in his vest pocket. Suddenly he
paused and gasped: Doc, have SWaI-
lowed a piece of cyanide OF potassium
/ had q piece in my pocket and thought
it was a piece of Glove Within three
minutes he was dead. The doctor told
me that he afterward experimental with
cats and dogs and found that the drug
caused a quick and painless death. he
said that he administered very large
chunk of it to a duck and afterward
cut it up to see the effect on the organs
He threw the pieces in the alley ana
the next morning found several dead
dogs and cats in the immediate neigh
borhood. He was positive that their
death was due to eating the poisoned
duck. I haven't any intention of conn
hitting suicide, but if the notion should
strike me, / believe I would get my
ticket over the potassium cyanide
route"
There used to be great times In CEN
trail and eastern Kansas during the cpl
demic of railroad building" said man
from southern Kansas, land we would
have about as much excitement over
voting bonds as the western counties did
over the county seat troubles. Every
town in those days was to be a future
railroad center and the inhabitants
would go to bed at night with visions
of car shops and imaginary trains float
ing through their brains Whenever it
was rumored that a railroad was to be
built, every town on the supposed route
would hold mass meetings and appoint
committees to call on the officials to see
if they could not get their assurance
that the road would come through that
town and put up division shops. There
is not town in central Kansas today
that has not at some time fought to Sc
cure some road that never came. Others
refused to vote the bonds the roads de-
manded and the roads built around
them. There are dead towns all over
Kansas that killed themselves by re-
inns To or h
Lawrence-that committed
suicide by voting too many bonds. I
was driving in Cowley county at the
time the D. M. & A was built in that
county. The road came in from the east
and was supposed, at that time, to be
building to Denver from Nevada, Mo-,
by way of Coffeyville. OF course Ar
kansas City and Winfield began to lay
their plans to capture the road. each
wanting to be on the main line of the
great trans-continental road to be. The
Arkansas City fellows got the lead and
the question of voting bonds for the
road through the southern tier of town
ships came up. If the bonds carried
Winfield would not get the road, SO
that town started in to make a fight to
defeat the bonds, thinking that if they
were successful in so doing that they
would get q chance to vote bonds for
the road to come their way. Bill Hack
ney, who was the Whole Thing In Win
field in those days, led the fight for that
townships when the bond question was
mp and worked night and day, but when
the vote was counted 1T was found that
the bonds had carried. Hackney swore
that the reason he was unable to defeat
the bonds was because he wore a night
shirt while out campaigning and the
other fellows had got onto the fact and
used it against him. He said that he
had heard they We're telling it among
the farmers and had taken the shirt
out and buried it, but that his informa-
ton came too late. Winfield afterward
got the main line and Arkansas City a
branch of the road, so the fight turned
out all right for both parties"
II don't believe that many of the
stories told of the Inhabitants of Arkan-
gentleman who had recently visited the
country around Yellville. II have paid
several visits to that state and, out side
of the large towns, I found that the peo-
pie were ignorant to q. degree unequalIed
by the people of any other state / have
visited The first visit made there was
for the purpose of looking up some land
that had been mortgaged. The mort
gage was held by eastern people and the
firm by which l was employed handled
their business. There were several mat
ters to look up and all of them were In
the western part of the state. I went to
to drive to my destination or wait for
a boat to go down the river and run my
chances of getting rig at some of the
little river towns. I decided on driving
from Fort Smith and secured the SER
vices of a bright young man as driver,
/ had the exact location Of the land /
wanted to see; that is. I had it in eoun-
ty, township. range and section and did
not apprehend any difficulty in finding
it. We were out two days and got
tangled as to our whereabou before
we got near the land. The country was
thinly settled and it was a more difficult
matter than ] thought it would be- but
finally, by inquiries at every cabin