WYATT, J.E. - Putnam

The suicide of JE Wyatt, the farmer living near Portland Mills, brings forcibly to mind the fact that there is a limit beyond which the financial game should not be played. The unfortunate man had contracted for a large number of hogs for July deliver at $9 and with a heavy loss in sight his mind gave way before the strain of worry and anxiety and he followed the line of least resistance out of his trouble.  We are accustomed to think that the financial whirlpool which too often sucks men down to ruin and death, swirls about the large cities and when an accident such as that cited occurs surprise is manifested. But it is true that even in the remote and quiet corners of the country men are playing the game just as hard as in the centers of big population. While the scale can be somewhat smaller, yet they wake and sleep obsessed by the one dominating idea of gain, and the dollar sign is their fetich. They play the game to the limit and when the climax comes they either reap a questionable harvest, go to a suicide’s grave or find themselves broken in health and spirit.  Mr. Wyatt had a fine family, a large farm and, it is understood, a comfortable fortune. But these were not enough. The desire for money was too strong to be denied and he gave first his sanity and then his life to satisfy that desire. Such cases must needs cause one to pause and ponder. Why are riches more to be desired than health, family, love and a clean, useful life in God’s good world? After all, is the game worth the candle?

Source: Greencastle Herald 22 July 1910 p 4

The burial of JE Wyatt who committed suicide at his home near Portland Mills on Wednesday morning was held Thursday morning at Russellville.