Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-12-20
TOOK CARBOLIC ACID
William Pollard Bought and Drank Slnif in Cones
 Pharmacy. |

past an order clerk in the employ of the Waterbury Clock company, con- mitted suicide shortly after II o'clock this morning at J. w. Cones phar- macy, corner of West Main street and Exchange place. He went into
 the store and asked MT Cone to put
 up an ounce of carbolic acid for him. The order was turned over to one of
 the clerks and then Pollard said he
 wanted a little Bromo seltZer. The proprietor prepared this for him and after placing it on the marble slab he
 turned to do something else. In the meantime the clerk had returned with the carbolic acid, properly marked,
 and passed it over to the customer, who reached for it and without the slightest hesitancy removed the cork from the vial, emptied the contents into the Bromo seltzer and swallowed
 the dose. It took effect right away and thereupon the victim admitted
 that he had drank acid and all. Be- fore he had time to say anything else he collapsed. MT Cone and the
 clerks rushed to his aid and endeavor-
 ed to administer an antidote, but their efforts proved of no avail. He
 died very shortly after taking the dose. Medical Examiner Crane was
 called and in searching his pockets for some means of Identification he found a card marked Clarence A. Dod- ic
 the additional fact that people in the
 store claimed to know that the dead
 mans name was Dodson, it was given
 out as such and bulletined by the pa
 pers. The body was taken to Null ville's and MT Dodson's wife notified.
 She called at Mulville's and had the remains transferred to Gray's. At the latter place MT Gray, who knows MT
 Dodson very well, discovered the
 mistake, and then hunt from one place to another was undertaken to
 find who he was. MT Dodson, who
 was at work when he heard of his death, hurried to the undertaking rooms, but he was not able to iden- tify the remains, although he had
 notion that he was an order clerk at the Clock shop. He explained the
 presence of his card in the mans pocket by the fact that last week
 when the clerk was giving out the cards to members of the Mutual Aid
 associa tion in the factory, he told MT Dodson that he hadn't his among the
 others, but that he would get him one
 and let him have it the next time he met him. It was evident that Pol lard got the card for Dodson and had
 1t in his pocket. but didn't meet him
 before taking the fatal draught. He was finally identified by a clock shop pay check found on him, num- bered 135. At the factory a Demo- crat reporter learned that his name
 was William c. Pollard and that he
 had worked there up to last Wednes- day. He hadn't been discharged,
 but on and off for the past week or
 so he was in an ugly mood and told Frederick w. Nettleton, paymaster at the factory that he was tired of life
 and intended to commit suicide, but
 the paymaster had no idea that he
 meant it.
 Pollard was about twenty-seven
 years of age and came here from New Haven. He boarded with his sister,
 Mrs Godfrey Reed of 50 Leavenworth
 street. until about a month ago when Mrs Reed moved. At that time Pol lard rented a room at the Boys club.
 Those who knew him at the club say that he was a very agreeable young
 man and none of them could account for his rash act He was not hard
 pressed for money, about $10 being found in his pockets. and he had a
 good position. A rather peculiar thing about the case. and which shows that he was in earnest when he told the paymaster that he intended to do away with himself, is that dur ing the past two or three days he made purchases of carbolic acid three or four times, evidently intend ing to use it, but probably when he
 got home he thought better of 1t and threw 1t away.
 Medical Examiner Crane turned
 over all the evidence and the mans
 personal effects found on him to De-
 putty Coroner Makepeace. The suicide caused quite a sensation. especially
 at Mir Cones. the Clock shop. at the
 home of Mir DOdsOn and last but
 worst of all at the residence of the dead mans sister
 The office help at the Clock shop received the reDOrteTs kindly and
 showed disposition to assist them to
 the fullest extent in getting at the facts.