The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-31
Indicted Man Attempts Sui- eide Before He Faces
 Trial
IS TAKEN ID HOSPITAL
 AND CASE POSTPONED
With the same Poison That Dr.
 Crippen Used in Staying His Actress Wife

New York, December 30.-With head erect, shoulders squared and eyes lev
 eled at the battery of cameras trained
 on him, Joseph c. Robin, the indicted banker, stepped from his sisters home this morning to face arraignment, calm a in the knowledge that he, had swal- lowed a dozen of hyoscin, the subtle and deadly alkaloid with which pr. Crippen killed his wife. Belle Elmore. He collapsed before he could be taken into court with the exclamation: I'm Aa dead man; I've taken poison tab let's"
 & The case was postponed in the great yshst excitement, stomach pump was Hurriedly brought into play and the 6ick man was carried first to the prison Hospital adjacent and later to Bellevue, where he lies tonight in the prison ward. No charge of attempted suicide < is entered against him and it Is ] Thought he will recover although the action of the poison is slow and much 2 will depend upon the mans vitality. 4 Time of Taking Poison
 The time at which Robin took the x drug is approximately fixed by the tes- q timony of pr. Austin Flint. retained # for Robin by William Travers Jerome. # his counsel; pr. Louise Dobinovitch, # his sister, and the two detectives from # the district attorneys office who rode zwith him from his sisters house to a4the criminal court building. Dr. Flint aEtold the court that as nearly as he scould judge from the symptoms the in n Eabout three quarters of an hour when
 he collapsed. The twsH detectives were 5positive their prisoner swallowed noth- ef ing on the way.to court. pr. Robino- s@yitch said her brother was in the habit < of taking byoscin in small doses to sx xcounteract the effects morpnIas, E which hs -sed to deaden the stapbing pains by which gall stones make them x sselves known. She kept the drug in
 her house and said she thought her
 brother swallowed 12 tablets. At Belle 8sue tonight the examining surgeons ' Estimated that Robin had taken about
 one-tenth of a grain.
 Seemed in Good Health
 Robin seemed in good health this \ 4morning-better than at any time since
 his troubles came upon him-and he
 made no effort to screen his face from
 the cameras as hitherto The first sign
 of illness was when he staggered on
 stepping from the automobile to the
 criminal court building In the elevator
 he weakened SC rapidly that the de-
 tectives had to lift him to a couch. *fThere he sank into inconsistencies and
 was not revived until the stomach pump
 had been worked vigorously. It's prompt
 use undoubtedly saved his life.
 # Outside the corridors of the criminal courts building fairly hummed with ex-
 citement, but in the court of general ses-
 sions itself Judge Grain was transactins
 business as usual when w. T. Jerome
 stepped rapidly down the aisle.
 Your honor," he began hurriedly, q
 am here in the Robin case. It appears
 that the defendant has taken drug
 He cannot be stimulated. An ambulance x shas been called and surgeons are now Vpumping on his stomach. The circum- Nstances are unavoidable
 III On information that the prisoner could 4 not be arraigned the case was postponed
 until the receipt of further advices as tc
 Robins condition.
 Hyoscin and It's Effect
 # Hyoscin is described in the textbooks n as an alkaloid of henbane and in its ac- Fl tion a cerebral and spinal sedative. Cases # are recorded in which a dozen tablets of & one-twenty-flfth of a grain each applied ,. to the membranes of the eyes have pro-
 duced severe general toxic symptoms. In $ large dozes it is a dangerous depressve # of the respiration.
 # Robins frustrated attempt today leaves 'F the question of his sanity still open. Dr.
 William M. Mabon for the state and Dr
 Austin Flint for his counsel examined k him last night and found him physically '4. able to appear in court today, but did * not pass on his mental state
 M Tn the affidavit submitted by his sister ~ when she applied for his commitment tc I4 an asylum, she swore that he attempted 4 suicide last Saturday and gave that as M evidence of his alleged insanity. # There were no further developments to- |H day in connection with either the North ern Bank of New York or the Washing ton Savings bank, both of which are IT. the hands of the state banking depart ment, but the state department of in surance took over the affairs of the Title and Guarantee company of Rochester N. T., and large force of accountants