The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1874-05-07
[From the Cincinnati Gazettel
The Skeletons of Society or Modern vi
ces-Suicide.

ces-Suicide.
While temperance is the great subject
of the day, and intemperance the great
cause of vice and crime 1T is well to look
at some of the special results. One Of
these is suicide, and another the socia
evil; not that intemperance is by any
means the only cause of those vices, but
that it originates and aggravates so much
of them as to become an alarming, in
deed, fearful instigator of them. Let us
take suicide. The following remarkable
statement appears in the Gazette of to
day (22d ApriD:
From the beginning of 1867 to the
present date, l69 residents of Cincinnati
have committed suicide. OF this mum.
Der lO2 were Germans; 81 Americans
Z Irish, and IL belonged to various ma
tionalities, the majority being Bohe-
mians, Danes, and Swiss. AS will at once
be perceived the ratio of selfdestruc-
ton among the Germans was much lar
ger than that of their number to the en-
tire population would demand, were the
incentives to voluntary death equal
among the various nationalities. The
same startling fact has exhibited in the
statistics of suicide in New York City.
There were probably many more, but
the above sufficiently shows the proper
| ton.
In and about 1860 the average annual
suicides of Ohio were S5. The popula-
ton of the State then averaged 1850, 900;
so thpt the average was about l in 25, 600.
In the State of Massachusetts, the num-
Der of suicides was 81, and the proper
ton nearly double that Of Ohio. In
Cincinnati, where the German people,
including children, are not more than
one-third of the whole, the German sui
cides are double in number, or six fold
the proportion. How is this to be ac-
counted for2 In the first place, and as
the foundation of the inquiry, we find
that the suicides in Europe are far great
er proportion than in America. We
might say generally in answer to this,
that in Europe there are far greater
number of those who are in want and
despair But let US look a little closer.
In the last number of Harper there is an
able and most instructive article on the
skeletons of Society" and from that we
take the following paragraph:
"No department of human existence
has been SO thoroughly investigated as
| that of suicide, and we have before us, in
twelve full and minute tables, the exact
result of the study. 1t appears that
| from 1916 to 1865, in ten different ma
tions, 280,000 cases have been critically
Investigated and reported upon. The
result shows constant increase of this
evil in all European countries of from
| between per cent, as in Norway, to 5.3
per cent, as in Saxony, while nowhere
the average increase in the population
amounts to more than "a per cent, as
| Prussia. There is a strange constancy
| in this form of violence in great nations,
as in Prussia and France, where for a
! long term of years the variation varies
| only 3 or per cent. Half culture
| tempts extravaganza. without giving self
| control, and half educated people, es-
pecially such as catch the ambition of
snowy society, such as soldiers and ser
wants, are easily thrown off their balance
and driven to despair. Legoyt estimates
in France for 1865 the number of sui
| cides to every million inhabitants as 80
among the farming class, 128 among me-
chanics, 2lS among liberal professors,
| and 500 among the disreputable classes.
In considering the large proportion from
the liberal professions, we must remem-
Der that this term includes the artist
class as well as the regular professions,
and does not assail the idea that true ed
ucation and judicious thought are good
for body and long life
Here is as dark picture of human
L
persons out of 100000 perish by suicide
| i in. 200, of all. The ratios are:
In Ohio in 250O0 3 0SO
In in 1000
In Germany suicides are almost as
common as in France. When in Cincin-
natl the Germans present six fold the
number of suicides that the Americans
do, it is, nevertheless much less proper
ton than in their own country. Now,
YOU will please remember that it is to
France and Germany that we are pointed
| as examples of that cheerful life which
their habits of wine drinking have pro-
duced Suicides ten fold the proportion
of America The passions and vices
| brought out in fearful force All over
Europe is presented the fearful spectacle
of want and despair Here leading to
suicide and there to the Poor House.
| Let us nov turn moment to the
skeleton of intemperance. Here, again,
we begin with Europe, and state the un-
| doubted fact in the wine and beer coun-
tries of Europe, as exhibited in suicide,
| and murder, and riot. Intemperance is
not merely great, but is increasing. Bran
| dy is there the substitute for our whisr ~
| and it is worse than whisky in its effects.
Among other cursory facts is this, that
|
| to brandy drinking. This is especially
true of the north of Europe-Sweden,
Denmark, Brandenburg, and Pomerania
| But England also is beer drinking
country, and a gin and whisky drinking
| people Now, intemperance is not only
| not restrained or regulated by its careful
| license system, but is growing worse. In
England and Wales the police reports for
from lS57-65 give the annual number
of arrests for disorder and drunkenness,
in an increasing scale, from 1889 to l06,-
| 2l0 or from the proportion 403 to 503 to
| every 100000 inhabitants. The number
of male and female drunkards proper
tionately is 200 to 90, and follows very
closely the proportion of male and te-
male criminals in general, although in
| Liverpool the female drunkards are only
about fifth less than the male
Here is a picture of the greatest COM
| merciaI, and one of the greatest beer
| drinking countries. According to the
rotios of social vices now determined in
civilized nations, the greatest civilization
of the world is rapidly decaying, and its
gaunt skeletons already walk abroad in
open daylight, Undoubtedly there are
other influences operating to renew and
renovate society. There are all the IN
| fuences of progressive and aggressive
Christianity unquestionably extending
| the domain of moral reform; and there
are the influences of widely extending
| freedom, in humanizing and softening all
| political Institutions. We may hope
much, we may hope everything, from
| these, but we cannot shut our eyes to or
forget these gaunt specimens OF want
and despair which are now walking in
l 4 II. =.