The Washington times., 1922-12-17
ted His Fortune in Few Weeks Am
", and Won "the Highest Paid Cho
J HlSecrets Behind the Scenes of How

4 >
pened.
.ss 1fThorne had been neglecting Miss Lygo 70
Fyounger and prettier woman, who happened to be
a~ife This lack Of consideration for her irrits
stAttie Mary. The idea Of q divided allegiance
extremely distasteful to her sensitive feelings.
, implied an odious comparison and she decided to
. my friend Mr. Thorne good and proper.
n $50 she summoned her neglectful sweetheart
her rooms in Chicago hotel for little talk. 81
girls seldom do anything in hurry. and pretty N
Lygo certainly didn't mean to work the old 'suici
business II she could succeed in melting Mr..
!. Thorne's marble heart in any other way. But
sfvshen he came and had chair without remov-
ling his gloves it became apparent that "sui-
: eide" was Mary's last card.
She excused herself for q moment on the
pretense Of refreshing herself with a cold
= plunge. This may strike the reader as very
informal excuse for leaving the company of
!. gentleman caller, but show girls are seldom
+ bound by the conventions that regulate the be-
Z havior of ''the common people," as those diff.
fering with their views are called.
81, Now. there were dozen way of commit
ting suicide" that would be likely to touch Mr..
!. Thorne. Swallowing bichloride of mercury is
considered the best by most of the chorus girls.
for the reason that the poison can easily be
. pumped ont of the stomach with little or no
damage done to their looks or to their figures.
One Of the most recent bichloride victims
among the show girls is Miss Helen Lee Worth.
ing, who was not long ago adjudged the most
beautiful girl In America, just as my wife.
!. Jessie Reed. was acclaimed the most beautiful
show girl on the American stage.
4 Just what led up to Miss Workings trou-
\ 56les IL do not know. o., At the time her father
,.s seemed to think the matter concerned mystic
rious young man named lack" and he prom.
ised to light into Mr.. Jack hot and heavy If his
!, daughter died. But apparently there was no
danger Of that. Off-hand, do not recall q
single fatal consequence to all of the suicides
4 a have heard Of taking place among chorus
s.Komen. s~
When she woke up in Bellevue Hospital
pretty Helen advanced the familiar statement
that she had mistaken the deadly tablets for
! headache powders" but the policeman who
-was called to her studio apartment had diff
fercnt impression of the affair.
However. "the bichloride route" this form
suicide" Is known. may be quite painless and safe.
:, Il Is not considered romantic nor interesting and
I Lygo was staging little drama that day in her b
rQom.
-e z Jumping out of the window might have mo
/, Mr., Thorne, but it would also break some bones
Mary was not ready to 60 quite that far Forum
i 1y, her eye fell upon the little gold safety razor
IL an indispensable article OF every actresss toil<
I, oand her mind was made up.
81 She would show Mr.. Thorne how lady sht
be. treated. Closing one eye, she opened the bl
4 and swiftly drew the sharp steel across her deli
I white arm. For an instant there was no pain,
numbness. The instrument had been too sharp.
looked and realized that she had cut deeper than
had intended; and as the blood oozed from
wound the young show girl understood with q. wav
teSret how foolish she had been and shreket
fright.
Her screams reached the ears. of young
= Thorne. who rushed into the bathroom and bel
His sweetheart writing on the floor, shrieking
terically. while gentle trickle of red blood 90
from her arm. The frantic young man immedia
summoned half dozen physicians. q tourniquet
applied to the wound (court plaster would have /
,su6icient1 and Mary Lygo was put to bed with sv
sad look OF martyrdom on her face. (,
or course, the incident had all the effect I
Mary could have desired. plus lot more that
didn't expect After Mary had been put to sleep
q .ThOrne returned to gay party that had been In
'rupted BY his visit to Mary Lygo and told all Of
boys and girls who were there what Mary had d
because she loved him. Any attempt at suicide
the part Of . woman il very fiattering to the
j who has caused her unhappiness. II implies that
& man y q very enchanting fellow, who can win
woman around his, finger and make her miss
4 when he ID away. So Mr.. Thorne talked freely al
= tthe matter, and denied with bushes and mo-
smilss that he was the heart rt-breaker that Mary I