The Columbus weekly dispatch., 1904-11-24

reSSOr Is hard and the wages OF
sinis death is again exemplifed in
the case of poor Ben Suggs, who
committed suicide Monday night
by taking an overdose Of land
anum. Suggs was good
machinist and an industrious
workman. and had he left liquor
alone could have made a good
living for himself and family by
working at his trade, but ne was
cursed with d seemingly insati-
able appetite for strong drink,
and this greedy love for liquor
finally resulted in his death.
Some months since Suggs was
before Mayor Gunter on arather
serious charge and was sen
enced to serve sixty days on the
streets. He served a part of his
time, and the remainder Of the
sentence was held up by Mayor
Gunter with the understanding
that if the man was ever brought
before him again he would be
compelled to finish out his time.
Suggs became intoxicated
again last Sunday and on that
day and the day following re
NAMED under the influence of
liquor and other concoctions of a
perniciOus character whi b
caused him to labor under the
impression that he was to be re
arrested and put back to work on
the streets, and it is said that he
told a number of his friends than
rather thon face this ignOminious
fate he bad made up his mind to
commit suicide He talked TO
several of his com panions in
very sad and disheartened man
ner Monday afternoon, and even
went so far as to shake hands
with some of them and bid them
goodbye, but as self destruction
is frequently a mania with per-
sons who are in an intoxicated
condition they paid little atten-
tion to his hints at suicide.
Between five and six o'clock
Monday afternoon the unfortun-
ate man went to his shop on
North Market street. and after
taking a big dose of laudanum
telephOned his brother-in-law,
Joe Johnson, who lives in Rob
ertson's addition, and telling him
what he had done asked him to
come at once to the shop. John
son started up town Immediate
~, and in the meantime DR.. ]. w.
Lipscomb was summoned and
remained with the stricken man
until he died, doing everything
in his power to save him. DR..
Lipscomb began his work by
trying to restore Suggs to con-
sciousness by means of artificial
piration, and for several hours
men were kept at work chatting
the PATIENTS body and limbs in
order that the blood might be
kept in circulation At first it
seemed that there was no posi-
bic chance of saving his life, but
about eleven o'clock he rallied,
and for a while it looked as
though he might recover. With
the aid of DR.. J. D. Mccullough,
who in the meantime had been
called in. DR.. Lipscomb about
midnight administered an injec-
ton of strong coffee, which is an
antidote for laudanum, with the
hope that the patient would re-
vive. The effort failed, however.
and shortly after one o'clock the
poor man breathed his last.
1t is always pitiable to see a
woman in distress. and the pic
ture presented by Suggs wife as
she sat beside him Monday
night was heart-rending. As
soon as the woman learned what
her husband had done she came
to him and as she sat in the din
gy, i'll lighted, little shop moan
ing and signing there was not a
heart which was not touched by
her deep and inconsolable grief.
She. more than anyone else will