Evening journal., 1921-05-19
Sensation Of Facing Death
Told By +. K. Lane in Letter

WASHINGTON, May 19.-To some /
OF Franklin X. Lanes most intimate I
friends here there had come before /
ms death a remarkable message. die /
tatod 10y him in the hospital in
Rochester. MINI. after the operation
which preceded his death by only a
fcw days.
Tho message showed the former
secretary had undergone the opera
tion with full consciousness and ac-
ccptance of the fact that ne might
not survive H. II told I'm detail Of
his sensations before. during and
after the operation. of which he was
fully conscious. as the condition of
his heart would not permit the use
'f general ancsthetic The mes
sage follows in part:
'lt is Wednesday afternoon and l
am now sitting up In bed talking to
ny good friend Cottcr. Until yes
/ tcrday did not clearly visualize any
ono thing i'm this room and did not
know that 10 had a window except
| THAT there was a place that noise
came through. but I did know that
% had yellow oak door that stared
at mo with its great big square eye
a day and all night Last Friday.
] took the step that / should have
taken months yes, years ago.
~ Today, most tentatively I
crawlod onto "a chair and ate my
first mouthful of solid food But
four day ago I managed to shave
myself and ] am regarded as pretty
snry.
II have seen death come 10 men
boo various ways. some rather novel
and western. once saw a man
hanged. And ] have seen several
men shot. and came very near going
. out that way myself two or three
times but always the other fellow
aimed poorly. 1 was being shot at
\ because / was newspaper man. and
| 7 should have been shot at. There
must be public concern in what is
4 printed. as we'll as its truth. 20 jus
ufy it. That is something that news
|l papers should get to know in this
II country. After tho earthquake in
! San Francisco / saw walls topple out
upon a man. And l have had more
intimate glimpses still Of the pictur-
y. csque and OF the prosaic WAYS by
i which men come 10 their taking off.
But never before have 1 been
! into tho valley Of the shadow. and.
say what you WILL IL is great act.
; ] have said during the past months
4 of endless examination. that a man
with little curiosity and little humor
and a little money. who was not in
q too great pain could enjoy himself
4 studying the ways Of doctors and
4 nurses as he journeyed the invalid's
IL IL q
cry path for me- as much as an,
4 path could be in which a man SUI
4 forcd more humiliation and distress
a and thwarting and Illustration. ON
Il lao whole. than ne did pain.
But here was a path the end of
a.ch ! could not see. was moi
.liriled TO take H. Ny very latest
advised me against taking &c.
4 a,l live some time without TAX
II was a chance to win, ano
iL"
.tt point occurred details re.
n- Preparations for the opera
Wlfh a note of the fact that
efs an-sfHetlc could not be ap
.lc1 or account Of the patient
4 ho art. which had been cutting ul
some didoes'. The statement con
inucs:
For tSc days I had knowledc,
hat this operation was TO take plao
i 70 THIS tifne and my nerves had no
l. hocn iust a. good as they shoul.
have iecn Thuse men who slovi
twelve hours perfectly before beini
" .lcctrrcutfS have evidently lc,
11re Tranquil lives than have. o
+ have less concern as TO tho future
Al now I was TO know the gre
secret For forty years J hau Docs
q ordering. wondering. often / ha
.aid % myself that l should sun
u-on Go my mind whom this moin, H
L- .amo some words that would h
...I.. .hai "a synthcsis Of my philos
3d.. Socrates said TO those VIII
ly after he had drunk m
$50 evil can hcfal a goo
r .hcr ne be alive or dead
lro.e how far from that w
.r ..u, in these 2400 years.
rhe arothcgm however. was n,
r.-if. 20 i-.. l.causc 10 involved
tior that 1 was a good mar
-r.' don't know anyone who ha
right 10 so appreciate himself
't I had come TO the conclusio
.fha. perhaps the best statement q
uy creed could be fitted into IN
words Il accept which TO me NEAR
that II in the law Of nature my IN
iividual spirit was 10 go back iui
the great ocean Of spirits my on
-sluty was to conform. Lead Kind
Light was all the gospel I had.
accepted"