Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-09-05
TELEPHONES Her
INTENT TO DIE
WOMAN DOCTOR ATTEMPTS
TO KILL HERSELF
Or. D. Frances Smith Revived After
Inhalins Gas and Held in Deten-
tion on Suspicion OF Being
insane

Almost Immediately after telephonins
to The Herald office that she intended
soon to end her life, DR.. d. Frances
Smith, one of the most highly educated
professional women in the west, last
evening attempted to commit suicide In
her room at 757 South Hope street by
inhaling carbon monoxide.
DR.. Smith was not successful in her
effort. She was taken to the receiving
hospital, where she was revived, and
later she was sent to the detention ward
on the suspicion that she is insane.
When DR.. Smith telephoned to The
Herald office she seemed In good spirits,
and 1t was believed she was joking; Dut
the precaution was taken of telephoning
to the apartment house in which she
had been living. According to the land
lady, DIR. Smith had made TWO attempts
to end her life within twenty-four
hours. The first was also an effort at
asphyxiation and was discovered, but
DIR. Smith declared the gas had escaped
by accident.
DR.. Smith came to Southern Califor-
MIA from Chicago nearly two years ago.
She first settled in Pomona and then
went to San Pedro, whence she came
to Los Angeles a year ago.
In the fall of 1907 she had apartments
at 1855 South Hope street, but was COM
pelled to move in February of that year
after a mysterious fire had occurred in
her room which damaged the building
to a considerable extent.
At the time of the fire it was alleged
that she had purposely fired the build
ing because of some fancied grievance
against the landlady. This DR.. Smith
vigorously denied, stating that the fire
was caused by the explosion of an
alcohol lamp. She then moved across
the street to her present location, ana
has lived there since.
DR.. Smith is a graduate of an old
line school of medicine and is also the
possessor of diploma from homeo-
nathic institution of note. Within the
past three years she became student
of osteopathy and is now Arm be-
lever in that school. Her ideas, how
ever, are far in advance OF even ths
most radical teacher of osteopathy, and
for that reason she never has been
recognized by practitioners of the pro-
fession in this CITY.
Subject to MeIanchoIia
The coldness with which her profess
sional brothers and sisters received her
advances of friendship and cooperation
made her subject to fits of melancholia,
and it was while she was under control
of most depressing attack of this kind
that the fire occurred in her apartments
at 756 Hope street.
When she moved across the street
her moods became still more unsettled
than ever before, and on several occa-
sions her conduct was such as to cause
doubts of her sanity in the minds OF
those with whom she came in daily
contact.
Last Thursday she called at the rooms
of Mrs. M. H. Kelley her present land
lady and handed her two silver dollars.
She asked Mrs. Kelley to keep them for
her and out of the sum- to pay her
funeral expenses, as she said she would
die within few days
DR. Smith also gave Mrs. Kelley 81
and asked her to send 1t to DIR. Claire
Murphy, but for what use she did not
state.
After returning to her room she closed
her door, turned ON the gas and laid
down to die, but Mrs. Kelley followed
her and discovered the olen gas jets
and turned them off.
DR. Smith explained that 1t was an
accident, but last night when she was
discovered in her room with the gas
turned on full again Mrs. Kelley called
the police and had her removed to the
receiving hospital.
The woman will be taken before a
medical board for inquiry into her mem
tai condition.