Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1868-10-16
3fiscellany.
statistics of Suicide.

q
gryt, which recently appeared in the Rt
vue Contemporaries; Suicide is on tn
increase, steadily, alarmingly. The rea
number and the real increase, annually
of suicides is probably greater thai
would appear from official records
Many deaths recorded as accidental
should, doubtless, be set to intentiona
account. Parents and friends Willingly
conceal what official recorders find NJ
call to scrutinize too narrowly. From
1927 to 1866 in France, the increase OF
suicide has been by millions of inhabi-
tants, from "a to 134 cases. The whole
number in the first FIVE years from 1927
inclusive, was, annually, 1888; in 1866
it amounted to 5,119. The increase in
the interval is 14S per cent; the increase
of population in the same interval is a
fraction under 20 per cent. The increase
is much more and proportionately much
more with men than with women. The
test applied by countries and by the mil
lion of inhabitants, shows 1913 for Prus-
STA, ITO for France, 50 for England, 43
for Austria, and 80 for the United States.
Doubtless the greater accuracy in re-
spect of the nature of deaths, which is
observed in the mortuary records of
Prussia and France, partly account for
the comparatively small suicidal cipher
set against Austria and the United
States. But an auxiliary explanation
will offer itself presently.
The most suicidal people are the
Danes and those of the North German
States. The test of sex shows, in IA
States of which more or less perfect sta
tistics are at hand, 80 females to 100
males that Of age shows an increase by
years till the age of so or 20, the term
being later with men than with women.
The test by seasons shows for suicides, as
for crimes committed on persons, and for
attacks of insanity, an augmentation in
summer over the winter months. The
means of suicide are, in the order of
their frequency of use: strangulation
and drowning, firearms and cutting or
thrusting instruments, poison. Poison
and drowning are the favorite means
with females. 1t is notable here again.
in respect of seasons, that drowning is
much rarer in winter than in sumner
The avoidance of pain at the first blush
is instructive even with the seeker of
death. Women yield oftenest to moral
influences, love, jealousy, domestic trou-
bles, excited sentiments of any kind;
men to material trials, poverty, business
losses, drunkenness and debauchery.-
Note that these last two causes figure
very slightly as causes of female suicide.
In Denmark one-third of the male, and
but one-nrteentn OF the female suicides
are attributable to drunkenness. Cities
furnish an enormously disproportionate
number of volunteers of death. The
seventh part of all French suicides are
committed in Paris. The proportion Of
Berlin to all Prussia and Copenhagen to
all Denmark is still greater. Fewer
married than single people, but feweg
maids and bachelors than widows and
widowers; fewer agriculturists than me-
chanics and merchants still fewer of
these last than members of the liberal
professions, and yet fewer of these than
of the remaining on-professional popu-
lation (of France especially, where the
military, bureaucracy, domestic and 9TH
er employed more or less senile classes
are enormously greater, notably of the
male sex, than in some other countries
the proportion Of the agricultural to the
non-professional class being, in 100000
individuals, as 8 to So fewer Jews than
Christians; fewer Catholics than Protes-
tants, die by their own hand.
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