The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-12-18
WEIRD MESSAGE
TO HERALD SAVES
CALDER'S LIFE
Telephones News of His At
tempted Suicide About a
O'clock in Morning.
SOURCE OF CALL LOCATED
BY STRENUOUS EFFORTS
REPORTERS FIND INSENSlBLE
VICTIM IN OFFICE INTIME
TO RESCUE HIM.

<~%@%A*+%%%<<%
y On reviving at the police station
y emergency hospital S. II. Calder in
y broken sentences told this story of =
y his dangerous filtration with DEATH
y Il was on my way home l was =
+ feeling bad. l stopped at the store =
y to get my TubbeTs and my nluffler- =
= i unlocked the door and went>inside &
y and opened my desk Then some =
y body came from somewhere 1 don't y
y know where He asked me if z
y wanted to die and / said that 1 did ,
y 1 wanted TO lie down and forget
= everything. I asked him to show me y
\ the way.
There was a bottle of wood al y
= cohol on my desk. He held il up be- y
y fore me and said, Take this. He y
= held the bottle to my lips and =
+ drank it-nearly all. Then / got out +
Y Of my chair was burning up. l
+ threw off my coat and vest and col
4 lar. l asked him for water but he I
= wouldn't give it to me. l started TO y
y go TO get il myself and fell down on y
y the floor helpless.
y He sat down in the chair. Never
= mind who, l know him and I'll see =
y him some time. when ! am home
= home six feet under the ground =
y Then he telephoned to The Herald. =
\ He said: Sam Calder has commit y
4 ted suicide That's all he said. y
+ Then he got up and ran out of the y
y door. There was no light, but y
y could see him running by the win
y dow.
'.Then came the ringing. was !
y lying there helpless on the floor and y
y there was ringing. ringing, ringing y
+ in my ears all the time He WAS y
\ ringing the telephones II was mad y
y dening. tried to get up to answer =
y them but couldn't Then came y
\ biackness. That's all. He wanted y
y me to kill myself He helped me do y
4 it. But / wanted to die. I want to =
a IL. 1t IL Il
<%<<$<%$*%<%%+
To the fact that he telephoned TO The
Herald the moment he attempted suicide,
Samuel H. Calder owes his life Because
of his apparent desire that the story OF
his suicide should appear in The f9stlcald
his attempt 10 XIII himself was unsuceess-
ful-and this in spite of the fact that he
did not tell who nor where he was when
he telephoned.
The strange and for some time inexpU-
cable message came to The Herald offife
Thursday morning just after the paper
had gone to press. The newspaper men
who had been on the dog watch were
turning out the lights and preparing to go
home when the telephone rang. Through
the telephone came the sound of the voice
of the man who had just taken three
ounces of wood alcohol in an attempt at
suicide
II wanted to tell you people that Sam
Calder had committed suicide" was the
message.
Before the man who answered the teie-
phone had an opportunity TO ask for any
of the details the person on the other end
of the line hung up his receiver.
The first impression was that the mes
sage was fake that some misguided
practical joker in a CHASTITY attempt to be
funny. had telephOned- Through the Bell
telephone central il was learned that the
telephone call was from 1874 and from the
information operator ii was learned that
this was the telephone of s. H Calder. An
attempt was then made to ring back the
number For five minutes the telephone
operator rang the number, but there was
no answer.
Quest for Inform alton.
The conclusion was reached that IL It
were true that Mr.. Calder had actually
committed suicide his relatives would
know of it. Hence w. w. Calder. a cou-
sin, living at 173 X street, was called by
telephone. Mr.. Calder had heard nothing
of it and was at a loss to explain the mys-
terious telephone message that came to
The Herald office.
tried From the information operator it
was learned that $. Fl. Calder had a tele-
phone at his place of business. 135 East
First South street, and that the number
was 1374-the same as given by the Bell
operator. The Independent operator was
asked to ring this number and for several
minutes both operators rang the two tele-
phones, but there was no answer.
From the information operator of the
Bell company it was learned that at the
residence of s. H Calder. $50 South Sew
enth East street there was a Bell tele-
phone Main 1885, NY. A call was put in
for this number and Mr.. Callers daugh-
ter answered the telephone. She said that
her father had not been home and that
she did not know where he was. She said
that he and Joseph S. Merrill had recently
opened a piano store at 135 East First
South street.
Reporters to the Rescue.
Two reporters were then sent TO the
piano store. The store was in darkness
and nothing could be seen by looking
through the windows. The door was tried
and found to be unlocked. The reporters
went in and with the aid Of a pocket
searchlight lighted the store.
Between two painos near the rear OF the
Continued on Page 2.
AN ADVOCATE.