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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 1908)
THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAU PORTLAND, ; SUNDAY MORNING; . FEBRUARY '2; 1903 v , .I reakdowi) Dboald be a kmm to tbe art f - .'v'ji r s hi ii Mil . hi mm 6 . vVf .'(,7 III ' L'iJ M kioD.Pocirri Peclare U ,EATH roll of the panic! How little attention has been paid to the most startling, the most thoroughly farming phase of the financial gale that re cently steep t over, us, threatening more dam age than it did, fortunately. .' There were many fatalities in the storm; there was an actual death roll of the panic, as there is of every panic. In some cases over taxed nature, refusing to respond to more exacting demands, simply quit and lay dowjt the burden. Other exits from the trouble were more speedy and tragic, as they were made in the shape of self-murder. There toere many suicides not sufficiently prominent to attract the attention of the world. An astonishing increase in the mortality 'from heart disease marked the closing months of last year, especially in New York, the financial storm center. The increase there over the preceding year was nearly 30 per, cent. In the lull following the storm thought- . ful men, viewing the wreckage, have shaken their heads and de flared it all a solemn warn ing to the nation. "We must slacken our speed, we must stop running after wealth like mad men," they declare. Judging from the record of the last half year, we should. 1MV ;' - - Vvrf 111 V f r r ' ' 1 I Vvv.-.-'-W- . ' ,. Mi.iU'.' ,''.4, vm u y SOME OF THE PANIC VICTIMS . . - v CtuirlM T. Barney. depoMd prealdentC Knlokerbeeker Trait Company, aulclda. Profinanr L. M Undora-ood. of Colombia Untverait. aulcida. attar raurdcroua attack on bla wlfa. Mra. Nlchola IL Smith, aulcldat aftar klllint husband Ura. B. T. Bondbaa. worried heraelf Into fatal illneaa, Howard Maxwall. bank prealdent. luietda. ValantiDa Hyderdahl dealer In china, aulolda. Oaorre Fraltman. diamond polliber. aulclda. Clara Bloodcood. actreaa, aulclda. Wortb VaJace. retired millionaire, aulclda. Brnert T. Btedman, lawyer and real aetata man. killed by train; auppoaed aulclda. B. O Hayemeyer. bead of the Busar Trnt, wbeea ayatem. weakened by the atreaa of combat, waa ' unable to withstand a sudden Illneaa. MORE ftppalllnr atUl is the prophecy of physician that the roll la not complete; that during- this year many more will die as a result of the financial flurry men and women whose conatl totlona bay been weakened by mental and physical tress. Nerrous systems racked and torn beyond bop of repair: hearts dangerously weakened, energies sapped, tJnbltlons crushed; death staring them grimly in the face! Frenzied Finance and Heart Failure! 4 . .This is the story of the past; the awe-4nsplrlng prophecy for the future. , .Wben the recent report of Dr. W. K. Oullfoy, registrar feftno Bureau of V1U1 Statistics of New York city, show ed an astonishing Increase in the number of deaths from fcsart disease during the latter part of the year in Man hattan, scores of physicians came forward with warn ings declaring the increase to be due to worries over difficulties In the money market What they said, con densed Into so many words, was this: 1 "'Worry weakens the heart It lowers the resisting ower of the body. Men worry over financial losses; they suffer from continual strain; the heart is weakened, there comes a loss, a great shock, and they succumb. Heart disease stares the financial men of tbe country in the face. And heart disease is the handmaiden of death! , Eulcldo has ended the days of hundreds. But suicide may be averted. Heart disease, however, attacks the Victim unawares; it weakens the life forces insidiously, ' then suddenly snap! All is over. V( PACE IS QUICKENING Speaking of this phase of the matter. Dr. Thomas Darlington, president of the Board of Health of New Tork. declared: "Increase of heart disease is due to the stress and strain of modern life, and X have no doubt that the re . cent financial flurry. has been a factor In some of the recent deaths. The pace at which men live has been steadily accelerated. Long hours, nerve tension, lack of outdoor exercise, neglect of recreation and amusement, constant hurry and effort all these must be considered. "It is time for Americans to adopt the simple life and to- slow down, instead of constantly subjecting them If.fves to the effort to maintain high standards of living. 7 he Englishman as he advances in years gradually re tires from the activities of business, but tho American ..CfiPr?v.M.,f spolM,d' and when there comes a great " JI.?irr .m.eun are "kely to succumb." '.S LSl!Ti .-f ,men wno ccumbed on this l?ur?ozit llJ?; i?8eph ColliRe- well-known -Buness Trt:?VeTeyer- Sald Dr. Collins: 1 jjusiness stress ana strain, due to firmnrtni rfisturh. am r other depweaed condiuona, ciSms t. ton hv causing Bhyalcal deblUtetlon of those who ar tr Jiw gainst fheso adverse condition0 Menare 1 b? the work and strain. wur" oul D ' "When adversity arises and stress - -a train these younrold1 men find their vitality so depieedhat or similar aliments as they, did in lorm yelr, 5Ti recent death of Hury O, Havemeyer waa a case eiacUy a Duriiis; tha last Mix months the number of suldd. has been astounding. Men of supposedly unlmpeachabia ' tfaaracters hava resorted to the poison bottle and tha bullet to escape meeting the results of the storm. concpiouous example waa Charles T. Barneyi formerly presiiipnt of tba Knickerbocker Trust Company, thi failure of which precipitated runs on New Tork banks, Mr. Barney shot himself In the head on the morning rf NavombAr 10. Before the Knickerbocker crash be had let a director In no fewer than thirty-eight buslneas enterprises. He waa president of the Knickerbocker Trust Company. Knickerbocker Safe Deposit Company, New Tork Loan Improvement Company, and vice presi dent of the Century Realty Company, the New Tork Mortgage and Security Company and the Title Insurance Company. Fall of the financier was brought about by his asso ciation with Charles W. Morse In the Morse banks, the National of North America and the New Amsterdam. When the Morse banks failed bankers turned their eyes to the Knickerbocker with suspicion. To one of the directors -of tbe trust company, who taxed him, Mr. Barney admitted that he had a loan of mora than $300,000 from the National of North America and (80,000 from the New Amsterdam. A demand was made on Mr. Barney that he take up these loans. In despair be declared that he was unable to do so. When the officers of the National Bank of Commerce, which cleared for the Knickerbocker, learned of this they rave notice that they could no longer clear for the Knickerbocker Trust The directors of the Knickerbocker Trust thereupon asked for Mr. Barney's resignation, which was tendered on October 2L On October 22 the trust company closed Its doors, after paying out t8.000.000 to deposltora "RIVER OF SUICIDES" And the panic was on! People filed In line before the New Tork banks waiting their turn to withdraw their money. Such excitement had rarely been seen In New Tork in recent years. And In the meanwhile not a few were going to the "river of the suicides." Hard pressed by creditors, Barney took the quickest means of escape from his troubles death by his own band. Two days later, while men were still shuddering at the death of the unfortunate New Tork banker, came the news of the frightful tragedy In the home of Lu"en Marcus Underwood, a professor of botany in Columbia University. Professor Underwood was one of the most notable men in the world of botany. He was the author of a number of books and was an authority on American fern a During the financial upheaval he lost most of his Investments. Although he brooded on the loss, he bore up bravely until he read of the death of Barney. Then his spirits sank. At noon, on November 16, as he sat at luncheon, his wife remarked that he was looking better. "Tes. I feel somewhat relieved." he replied. During the meal bis eyes rested upon a knife on the table a long, sharp knife. While they were eating dessert the man reached slowly for the knife, grasped it, and with a cry Jumped from the tnble. Seising the terrified wife he slashed the blade across her throat Casting her to the floor, he jumped for his daughter, brandishing the knife in the air. The girl es caped, and the mad man. thinking he had killed his wife. a.K y, " waod. himself death. fatally stabbed Injured. Dramatic was tbe suicide of Clara Bloodgood, the famous actress, who killed herself in Baltimore, Md., on the night of December 6. She had suffered heavy losses during the panic. While the audience was pouring into the Academy of Muslo to see the production of "Truth,-" Clyde Fitch's new play, the actress placed a revolver in her mouth as she sat In her room at a hotel and shot herself. She died almost Instantly. Driven mad by fear that he would lose his invest ments. Major Frank McLaughlin, a politician and capi talist, of Santa Cruz, Cal., shot his daughter Agnes through the head. Then he called his friend, former Lieutenant Governor Jetter, on the telephone and told what he had done. When Jetter and a physician arrived McLaughlin lay on the floor gasping In the throes of death, an empty bottle in his hand. He had taken prussla acid. On December 28 Ernest O. Stedman, who had lost $1,000,000 during- the panic, was run over by a north bound subway train at the Fourteenth Street Station In New Tork city. Charles Rouft.-motorman of the train and the only witness of the tragedy, declared that the man had deliberately thrown himself on the tracks. Mr. Stedman was a well-known lawyer and carried on extensive operations In real estate. His friends said In an Interview, in which be advises Amer icana to slow down, be ajys: "Every American baa before) bla eyas t)M example of the well-known mulU-mllllonalrea, who worry themselves mora about bow to get rid of their money than others do to earn It What la the use to them of their mountains of gold, which they bar heaped up by dint of work and cunning, talent and vto. Invention, enterprise, perseverance, speculation, exploi tation and cruelty t "They are envied by fools, hated by minions, despised by idealists, admired by Jackanapes. They hava over strung nerves; they know no simple, wholesome Joy; their life Is devoid of any real satisfaction; their pre dominant feeling is a thirst for gold which becomes all 'the more burning the more fully it is satisfied. "The great danger of excessive money making eon slats in a man letting himself soon be carried away by It, to regard It as an object In Itself. If one has coma to money making for money making's sake, on la lost unto the evil one. "It is too easy to forget that money In Itself la merely a symbol. It represents the good things which can be procured with It It has a value because the good things have one. In Itself it is Incapable of afford ing the least satisfaction; It. Is a promissory not for satisfactions, but this promissory note is a meaningless rag so long aa it la not presented in exchange for tho satisfaction. "Ask yourselves sometimes In the midst of your mad race whither you are running? Quo vadlsT and why you kill yourselves In order to advance aa quickly aa possible? Stop of your own free will before you break down. Earn money in order to exchange It for Joy. Re place your Ideal of quantity with an ideal of quality. Break fewer records, but gain for your Individual Ufa Instead of ambition, hope; Instead of competition, lovei Instead of triumph, happiness." Girl Gardener in Man's Garb LIVING near a small village near Norwich, England, is a young and pretty girl gardener who baa adopted mle attire for her work. It is a large and beautiful garden over which th young lady reigns. She baa men assistants and a neat little cottage to rest In when tha day's labors are over. Flowers and grapes are her specialty, and the fol lowing la her explanation for wearing male attire: "It is almost impossible," she said, "to move about among flowers and plants in a skirt without breaking some of them down and without the skirt soon hanging In tatters. Besides, the feelings of a woman In skirts are never quite comfortable when she finds herself at tha top of step or a ladder. "First" she continued, "I tried a skirt that reached to my kneea ard high leggings. But the costume waa pronounced far from elegant Nothing remained, there fore, but to give up skirts altogether. Needless to say,' however. It is only while I am working in the garden that I wear trousers. As soon as my work Is over and i whenever I have to go beyond the garden boundaries I get back into skirts. "In my opinion, it is impossible for a woman In skirts to work in a garden Skirts were Invented rft a time when women performed little manual labor, and. as must ine be obvious, culture." bey could not be more unsulted to h or ti the only reason for the suicide If such it was was financial losses, his entire fortune of more than $1,000,000 having vanished in the failure of a building operating company of which he waa vice president and treasurer. On the death roll of the panlo are names of scores of unknown persons whose savings were swept away. Of the deaths from heart disease which resulted from worry one can only hazard a guess. And from all the deaths one can take what lesson? The aim In America, says Max Nordau, is to become a millionaire. Health, happiness, peace of mind are sacri ficed In the frantic struggle. The end is what? Success or vanqulshment. And to what does this success amount? Hair Doctoring for Women i t T T TOMAN'S hair has been called her crown of glory, and every self-respecting woman val- V tiea her hair at far mora than its weight In gold." says a recent writer. "Women hair doctors would rank far above the or I dlnary man's barber," he says, "for there would ba F nothing derogatory In doing professionally what every ' woman does for herself more or less amateurishly; be sides, th prevention of baldness Is as legitimate and dignified a business aa any other branch of hygiene and therapeutics. "Hair, as things go In this world. Is one of tha parts of one's anatomy that the family physician Isn't much good at. For one thing, he is generally not eon- , suited till too late, and, for another, tbe preservation of the hair usually implies more manipulation than a busy doctor could give to it, even If such work were suit able for a man." This la Just where the woman "hair doctor" would eome in. This profession would offer "great opportuni ties for distinction and wealth," while calling for na departure from "woman's sphere," in the modern ac ceptation of those words. This "medical specialty" la actually recommended to college-bred women who are in aouDt wnai to turn to a aengntruuy Humorous auggesm uuu. Ik Perils of Gettipq fat a ZD IN CHICAGO, the other day, August Doel, weighing considerably more than 200 pounds, was seriously injured on a street-car plat , form because of his lize Not being able to get in the car he was com polled to stand on the platform. At one stop. where a number of persons were trying to get on, while others,, were endeavoring to get off, Doel's bulk proved greatly in the way. "Push him out of the way," called a would-be . passenger, and the crowd on the platform surged forward, sending the fat man headlong to the pavement. When picked up he waa found to be badly injured. ' Many are the perils of getting fat There is little comfort for the person of much avoirdupois in this world and doctors say there is a growing tendency to corpulency. - w HAT is doing It nobody- can positively tell; but that something is. doing It ail physicians agree. Mpii MtiMitllv: nt th United Rtata are F" .ti.n on avoirdupois with the. same abandon with 3Thlh lhey takinr oft their suspenders. Th belt r?'.?r,t a,- n corpulent. .i.1 i year or, so ago, , physical culture Jn its most ' K? itiJ0Pm "n ha nation In It powerful grasp, and all th mea who Wfrcn't hefting dumbbells wr pushing garden rollers. Biceps and deltoids grew up like majorities where the election officers all belong to the party we don't belong to; chests swelled like the heads of successful candidates on the glorious day afterward;' waists shrank like the expense accounts in sworn affidavits to tbe costs of the campaign. ' Then they forgot it Physical culture was a mighty . good thing, you know; very healthy and sanitary and stimulating and all the rest of It: But a man can't be late at th offlc avry morning for th sake of matu- v .". ' " " tlnal exercise, and he can't stay up every night half rubber an lictur after bedtime in order to do ground and tumbling and tear thaVllnina- out of an India m chest exDander. . . .. The peaceful life for theirs, if they did have to dia at the aarly age of 10 Instead of 111. " . m - .?our8e. the danger of carrying too much flesh, from the standpoint of the physician, is well known. The corpulent one rarely takes sufficient exercise, hi breathing . become inadequate, .his heart grows weaker, under, Increasing strain, other organ fcro Ha- bla to disease. H la a fit subject for apoplexy and heart troubles. Most certainly be Is continually afflicted by phys ical discomforts. The sleeping-car berth Is too cramped; It la a horrible nuisance to lace and tla bla shoes; when he piles into the bathtub there Isn't room for much water. Then, the girl to whom the fat man Is attempting to make love must have learned to think a great deal of him if she can suppress a snicker at his effort! to get on his knees gracefully. His very caresses, gen erally, are elephantine and' clumsy. Many are the troubles of the overstout Th maa of vast girth fills the barber chair so generously that it is uncomfortable; be occupies so much space In tha j street car that other passengers glower at him; build- j ers of theaters never provide extra slsed seats for him. He must always be on or ahead of time, for undue haste is not compatible with bulk; he cannot run to I catch the street car. When he is compelled to stand upon the platform, the other passengers there become I sore at the extra crowding and make disagreeable and I insinuating remarks. I Mr. Doel, of Chicago, is the only fat man actually I xnrown on a car piatiorm, so tar as tnere are recoraa i to show, but many are the times when an exasperated I crowd wouta nice to ao just that tning. DREADS HOT WEATHER And it isn't the fat man's fault at all. He doesn't want to present the lines and dimensions of a barret It is with the utmost pity that he regards the. thin Individual,, who says: "I am doing everything I can to get fat, but cannot" Especially is this pity pro nounced In .summer. - . Jit you are not an Idiot stay thin," he warn all his attenuated friends. For if there is .one misery high above another. If there Is an acme of physical ,i,irin at fminii hv tha fat man in hot weather. Of course, the fat woman has as -many troubles- more, perhaps, because th very ract or ampie ro tundltv is not only magnified, in her eyes, out it ma nifloa avoi-v nthr a ttendant ill. 1 Nothing, perhaps, makes an extra stotat maid, o matron feel more entirely ridiculous Jthan the beha vlor of a cab as sne settles oacx on tunuiuui oj the driver attempts to climb to hi sea& Tio.irwnrrl aroea the overweighted cab body, upwar ..h- .hafti t hrentanlne- annarentlv. to lift th wan off Ha feet-and passersby look and smile. Tha Htok-aa mad Pi". me. What of the future, when men and women ara toj t mn,h mn PArnutflnt than now? I Many large cities are 'preparing for that time. Iff would seem, by constructing subways instead of more? olnvaCeil roaas. DUt . wnai or our susrunri i auuea ' . .. .... ........ . i . rnoma. our elevators and our theater seats Will the long-suffering fat man rise up mand tha comforts that ara due aim? and d
