The Plymouth Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1869-1941, 1870-07-28

PRoFEseoB VAN OETTINGE2, Of Prussia
has recently pu uhi;si4cd a curious work on
Moral Statistics ana Christian manners
IN which be has treated the subject Oi
suicide in an exhaustive style. The
Philadelphia Ledqe, is Of the opinion that
il is TO be reg~cttoi that the same subject
has rot been So fully haudicd as regards
this country, fJT the conditions ofiife here
differ in some very important respects
from those CT life IL Europe, especially
among the lah0t,ng classes. Extreme
wsctchedness, with no hope Of escap
from it, such as may be caily witnessed in
European countries, ard which IS so fruit
fsll Z. cause CT suicide there. ls al01os5 IN
known here, and t&e very few examples
Of it We meet With are those whose C@n
folly and misconduct have brought It upon
themselves. The st@tist;cs OF Professor
Won Octtinger are based rraiulyupcG .hs
tables OF France and Prussia, which are
perhaps, the most accurate of any nations
in Europe, the municipal and communal
sdministra ions there beirg very careful
II making up their reports. The results
which he deduces are remarkable. The
first fact, which is striking, is tIl;;
the ratio Of suicide 10 population
appears TO increase faster than the
population Itself. Thus in Prussia
III 1890, the number Of suicides reported
WAS ,167, and in 1866 it was 3.2fJ, which
was two and g half times greater than tbs
ratio of increase OF he population. IL
France, the numbers during the same
year; were respectively 1.139 ansl 4,700
which is more than nine times the in
crease OK the population. 4 part OF this
apparent increase is doubtless due TO the
mere accurate reports ROW -a-days. In
Norway the ratio Of increase Of suicides
TO population has losg been 3 Per cent,
and il Sax0ny pcs cent. per annam,
while the population has not Increased
faster than l ( per cent. Buckles theory oi
constant averages would seem to be real
izcd IS regards the periodical commission
OF suicide, for Professor Van Oettinger
has found that the frequency OF suicids in
any given year increases aud decreases
with the length OF the days, and that there
is general u1li0rmity as regards the pro
portions OF the different modes OF self
obstruction re5ortcG to; also, that those
selected By the sexes OF different ages are
peculiarly marked. Thus, eyeryW here,
there arc more suicides in June and July,
and fewer in November, December, and
January, than IN any other months. IN
the t0rEer, tie proportion is ii per cent;
and in the latter only 615.
as regard modes OF self destruction, j:
appears that during the last thirty year;
shooting and drowning have rather gone
OH; OF fashion, and gwen place te hang
ing and poisoning, but diowniDg is more
frequently resorted TO by women than by
men, and as for shooting, it is only one
woman in two hundred that employs it
The difference is still more remarkable il
cases Of suicide at an carly age. Oh chil
Gen under II, il is found that out OF on,
hundred suIc' dcs among boys eighty-siA
hang themselves, while out Of one Lul;
dred suicides among girls seycniy-ont
throw themselves into the water. Young
men generally shoot themselves, an,
young women take poison. Males o
mature age often resort to the razGr, aD(
women to the rope. 1t is q curious taCi
that hanging Is more common in ths
country iiian in the town. And when any
great sensation has been created by
particular case Of suicide, there is ire
Qucntly manifested tendency To imitat'
il, but this is also the case with regard L
other crimes.
The. Professor notices TIC influence G
icsEG Nh biic EhbJSSt' A1C APbAiu tiiSA
among the inhabitants Of Sweden, Nor
way and Denmark the yearly number c
suicides is l26 oUt0f every million; amonj
the Germans il is 1i2; Tie French, lo5
! SPAN and Italy, SO; the Slayonians, i
Austria, II. Also that in every countr.
three fourths of all the suicides are Of ;h
male sex, and that with both sexes the dis
position TO commit this crime increase
with advancing years, aud is always great
est in extreme old age. This last conclu
sion seers open To doubt, for the tenacit.
with which old people on the verge OF tn
grave cling to lie is frequently very re
markable. Lastly, he found that The Pre-
portion of unmarried persons who kii
themselves is decidedly greater than tha
of the married; the proportion OF wid
owed persons is greater still; but that q
the divorced and separated is the largest
il being uniformly five times as great a
that of the married. AS regards tn
causes of suicide, the Professor think
that one third Of the eases of self murde
are caused by mental disease, and thi
class includes nearly half of.those commit
ted hy women; one ninth are caused b
physical suffering; onc-eighth by losse
of property (noarly all these are men)
one. tenth by the fear of punishmen
shame, or a morbid conscience about g
many 10y family quarrels; aud one-nint
by drunkenness, gambling and other vice
the number caused by grief or disappoin
cd love is exceedingly small.