Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1921-08-25
MEMPHIS MAN
PLUNGES To
DEATH SUNDAY
Out of Work, Despondent, ]. A. Rob
erts Was Driven to Suicide
Sunday Afternoon.

35, Duke Court, member of the sal
wage corps of the city fire department
until three weeks ago and formerly
stree tear conductor, leaped over
the railing in the middle of the Har-
ahan bridge and met instant death in
the middle of the Mississippi river,
100 feet below, while his wife looked
on in grief stricken amazement.
An" Instant before he committed
suicide Mr.. Roberts handed his wife
an envelope containing two letters,
one addressed to her and the other to
his father, A. J. Roberts, of Wynne,
Ark, asking forgiveness for the step
he had contemplated for week or 10
days, it is believed.
"Please, my dear wife, one of them
read, forgive me. / could not get
work and you and the babies are
starving to death. 1t will be much
better for all of you when | am gone.
| have only one request to make OF
YOU and that is to keep my children
away from whisky always. This is
the hardest letter | have ever had to
write. Please forgive me-"
To his father he wrote a similar
letter, asking him to take his wife
and five children home to Wynne,
Ark, which is also the HON eof his
wife's parents, Mr.. and Mrs. B. F.
Sanders, Mr.. Sanders and Roberts
father were Immediately notified by
Captain Kehoe, and arrived in Mem
phis early last night.
Mrs. Robert told Mrs. Maetilda Wal
lace, police matron, that her husband
suggested that they go for a walk
after the monday meal.
eve took a car to the Harahan
bridge" she said. "My husband said
we would enjoy walk along the river
bank. When we approached the
bridge he suggested that we walk
across it. l had no idea of what he
had in mind, so / readily complied.
When we reached the middle of the
structure he threw an envelope at me
and jumped over the railing. The
river swallowed him up and | guess /
must have tainted them"
Morris Sebulsky, of Earle, Ark, and
Harry Isaacs, of 331 Lewis street,
Memphis, who were driving in car
toward Memphis, reached the scene
about two minutes after it happened.
Mrs. Robert had partly regained, her
composure and related the suicide to
them between violent sobs. They car
ried her to police headquarters.
Mrs Wallace, the matron, said: II
have heard women sob many, many
times, but something attracted me
when Mrs. Roberts was ushered into
the captains office and Immediately
came down stairs to see what the
trouble was. There was intense and
pure grief in her sobs. Then she told
me the story of how her husband had
been out Of work for almost month;
of how he tried his level best to get
a job, but met with negative responses
everywhere he went.
1--WE came to Memphis from our
home town, Wynne, about two and a
half years ago. Ny husband went to
work as a motorman for the street
railway company. He worked there
about year and half and went to
the fire department, in the salvage
corps. Various times he would be-
come intensely respondent over the
high cost of living"
/ Officers Emberton and Fleet car
ried Mrs. Roberts and Mrs. Wallace
to the littl ehomssin Duke Court. Five
little children ranging from II years
Of age down to the twins, bare Q, met
their mother at the door. The only
one who could craps the gravity OF
/ the situation and understand in a
measure what had happened was