SUICIDE BRIDGE.

Western Star, 8 December 1933, Page 3

SUICIDE BRIDGE.

SYDNEY'S GRIM RECORD. - A GUARD~AT LAST. SYDNEY, November 23. " At,long last the New South Wales Government has been moved to erect a guard on the pedestrian track over the Sydney Harbour bridge in the hope that the number of suicides will ■ at least be decreased. In tho brief history of s the famous bridge, 40 people have jumped, or fallen from it into the harbour, and of them, 37 have been killed. A young girl of 17 who jumped from the bridgo about three weeks ago. is still alive to tell the tale, and the doctors marvel at her lack of injury. The girl-herself remembers little of the occurrence, and it is perhaps just as -well. Although the .suicides have .been at the rate of one in every 16 days since the bridge was opened, until-this week the authorities have turned a. deaf ear to tlie demands that something should be done. The Government • has adopted the attitude that if people wanted to commit suicide they would do it anyway, and if they were prevented from falling from the bridge they would seek death in'some other way. - The form.which the guard will take has not-yet- been decided, but.it, will be in the nature of a structure that will make it extremely difficult for anyone to climb to the top rail, and still more, difficult to jump to the water far below. The cost will not be more than £SOOO, and it is'difficult to understand why the Government has waited so long. It is a'significant, fact that a great majority of the. suicides during the past 18 months have selected the bridge, and that there I has been a great falling off in the toll 1 at places previously popular with those who wished to do away with themselves —notably the famous Gap, at Sydney Heads. Since the bridge was constructed the Gap has not claimed more than V<o victims, whereas in the preceding 12 months there were 12 victims. Men and women in every walk of life have been included among the bridge victims, but the. majority of them have been out of work or sufferers in somo other way. This week's victim waa Brian Angel, a relative of-. Sir Arthur Corian Doyle, a highly educated and cultured man who had become despondent as a result of unemployment. He had been a tea pkiMev in" India and had come to'Australia for health reasons hut he had been unable to find any work. He was a keen student of the classics, 1 and was talented in many other direct tions., But in these times of depression ho found no use for h}s talent? in Australia.

SAFE CROSSING. ATLANTIC FLIGHT. COLONEL AND MRS LINDBERGH. WELCOMED IN BRAZIL. NATAL (Brazil), December 6. Colonel and Mrs Lindbergh landed ' hero this afternoon after a flight of 1875 miles in 15 hours from Bathurst (West Africa). Their average speed was 118 miles an hour. They were accorded a rousing welcome as they landed on the harbour. The city declared a half-holiday and crowds swarmed the banks of Pptengy river where it sweeps into the ocean and watched the landing. Colonel Lindbergh revealed that he and his wife exchanged positions at the controls v and radio. ' He did most .of the piloting. They were in constant communication with land, and the crossing was uneventful. Officials here expected slightly Letter time, but considered the flight sat-. isfactory considering the winds. Colonel and Mrs Lindbergh are the guests of the American Consul. They have not announced their next destination.

PETROL PUMPS RAIDED. DETECTIVES TAKE SAMPLES. SYDNEY, December 7. Astonishing revelations are promised as the result of the action of. detectives in taking samples of about 20 petrol pumps in the city and suburbs. Th<>y also secured samples from the companies supplying these bowsers. Tho Gov eminent analyst is now comparing the samples. It is also stated that an officer of one patrol was the victim of an attempt to run him 7 " down in a car.

- MURDER AND SUICIDE. STATION HAND'S DEED. SYDNEY, December 7. With a joking remark as a prelude, Eddie O'Keefe, a 16-year-old _ station hand, shot dead Miss Patricia KenSmith, aged 20, a daughter of the manager of Merridong station, near Orange. He then shot himself through tha temple and died in tho hospital. .The motive is unknown. FOG IN ENGLAND. TRAFFIC DISLOCATED. ELECTRIC TRAINS COLLIDE. LONDON, December 7. A dense fog over a wide area dislocated traffic. ■ Ten air liners tvere forced down in Kent when en route' to Croydon. Electric trains collided in Cheshire and a driver was killed, Mersey ferry steamers collided and six women- were injured. A bus craa.s occurred at Manchester. The discomfort was intensified in North London bj J, large area being blacked out by a power house explosion. ■ The cinemas and streets were in darkness for three hours, adding to the danger.

THE FALL OF A PRINCE TRAGIC DEATH IN PRISON CELL: Romantic tales from the - Arabian Nights of princes who rose from poverty and obscurity to fame and fortune, only to fall into disgrace and captivity, are recalled by the death in a prison cell of tho once all-powerful Persian Court Minister Abdul Hussein Khan Teymourtache, says a London paper. A heart attack is stated to be the cause of death.

Teymourtachc, who was formerly a royal prince of Persia, was sentenced a few months ago to terms of.imprisonment totalling eight years for alleged abuse of office. Originally an officer in a Cossack cavalry brigade—in which the' present Shah of Persia is stated to have served as private—he rose to become the power behind the throne of Persia, playing an important part in Anglo-Persian negotiations. • Tall, strikingly handsome, and of fine physique, he was a brilliant orator. His vivid personality, coupled with rare gifts of diplomacy, gained him the title of Mystery Man of the Middle East. ,

He became Minister of Commerce, Agriculture, and Public Works in 1921. Then, when the Persian Constituent Assembly, following the proclamation of the deposition of Shah Sultan Ahmad, elected Riza Khan Pahlevi, tho Prime Minister, as the new Shah of Persia. Teymourtache became his "right-hand man," being trusted by the new Shah more than that former soldier has ever been known- to trust anyone.

Teymourtache guided the Shah through seven difficult years. At the zenith of his career in 1928 he paid a brief visit to England, and was received by the King at Buckingham Palace. Just previously he had taken a leading part in the negotiations which led to the treaty regulating relations between Persia and Britain. He had many friends in Britain. It was on .Christmas Eve last year that Teymourtache was dismissed from the post of Court Minister. _ The dis : missal caused' a great sensation in Persia, where he was regarded as the brain behind the Shah. As the British and Persian Governwere then engaged in the dispute over the Anglo-Persian Oil Company's concession in Persia it was at first thought that the prince had been made the scapegoat for an unpleasant situation from which his country was trying, to extricate herself.

He was placed under arrest, in h* home last January. Within three months Teymourtache was pardtmed by the Shah. J Then the original sensation caused by •his arrest and dismissal from office was eclipsed by the announcement in the middle of March that the prince, after a speedy trial in camera by a special court, had been sentenced to three years' imprisonment and fines totalling nearly £25,000 for alleged swindling, embezzlement, and extortion. The charges applied particularly to his relations with the National Bank of Per. sia. Clients alleged that losses totalling £IOO,OOO were involved. Last June the fallen prince was sentenced to another five years' imprisonment for alleged bribery. He was between 60 and 60 years of agey

What we need most of all now is a depression that is as temporary as a permanent wave. It is said that Camera sleeps in a bed eight feet long.—That reads like ft" lot Of bunk,.