The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1875-09-17

bIN Impeding them to Srit-dpStrnctlOn.
All classes and conditions Of society,
ancient and modern, seem to be atflict-
ed with this distressing mania. The
Romans and Greeks of antiquity were
thus haraSScd. Socrates. the Greek
master of ethics, was emphatic in his
condemnation of it, and Plato, writing
As Il law-givcr, compared Il suicide To
II who deserts his post on the field of
battle. The prevalence at that time of
suicide, or the '.Roman DEATH" rs it
was called, says 4 historian, was oW-
ing to foreign doctrines acting on minds
affected by violent passions, engrosSing
Injuries, and rapid vicissitudrS of for
tunes, which distinguished that era"
With Christianity a reformation was eff
fected in the feelings of mankind on this
subject. and suicides were less frequent,
and finally the doctrine generally pre-
vailed in that remote period Of the
worlds history that suicide was only
juStihable "when committed by virgins
to preserve their chastity. (which would
be a sound doctrine even in this ace of
civilization.
Professor Won Httinger. of Prussia,
has recently published Il work in which
he treatS the subject of suicide with
great ability. His statistics are. how
ever, mainly based on the municipal and
commercial reports of France and Prus-
STA, and VT regret that he should not
have included the statistics of suicide in
America. According 10 the Professor,
the ratio of suicides TO the populationin
Russia is increasing faster than the pop
ulatiOn itself. From 1880 to 1850. the
suicides We're two and onc-half times
greater than tn" increase Of the popula-
ton. And in France during the same
period the increase was more than nine
times that of the population. And We
doubt not hut Americas statistics
on the same subject would pre-
sen Il similar showing, and We
rrmrct We have not the statistics
at hand. Professor Won tEttingcr SAYS
that the proportion of unmarried per-
SOILS who Kill themselves i decidedly
greater than that of the married. The
proportion Of widowed persons is still
greater. But that of the divorced and
separated is the largest, it being five
times As great rs that of the married.
As regards the causes of suicide, he
thinks one-third OF the cases of self
murder are caused by mental disease:
onc-ninth by physical suffering; one
eighth by loss OF property; onr-tcnth
by the fear OF punishment, shame, or a
morbid conscience; onc-tcnth by family
quarrclS; onc-ninth by drunkenness,
gambling, and other vices. The num-
Der cauSedhy grief or disappointed love,
says the Professor, is exceedingly small.
In every country thrcc-fourths Of all the
suicides are of the male sex.
Turning from the learned Professor,
we inquire the causes Of tn" cNtraordi-
nary number of suicides i'll our own
country. The daily press in all parts
of America TEEN with accounts of sui
cideS. The other day Signor Eianni, Il
noble Italian. killed himself at Il clam
bake near New York City, surrounded
by Congressman andother distinguished
persons, and but 4 few DAYS before the
nations heart was thrilled by the tragic
end of Ralston, the brilliant, elegant,
and gorgeous bank president, who fora
o of years had been the grand mo-
gul of the Pacific coast. the rnvipd of Il
continent, with financial, social, and
political power unsurpassed by any OF
his peers. Following close upon these,
Il sad tale ONE from the old BAY State
of the suicide OF two Young, bright, and
handsome misses of high social posi-
ton: and n The same moment, we hear
Of the suicide of Mr.. Long, Iowa's great
cattle king. supposed to he worth a
couple Of hundred thousand dollars. to
say nothing OF the lesser lights whose
demise by their own will is daily re-
corded blythe metropolitan press. From
Il careful inspections of each of the above
cases it appears that they We're I'M
PEELED to seif-deStruction by a strange
and irresponsible spirit. The facts in
each case are As follows:
y party Of distinguished gentlemen
and ladies We're having a picnic and
c~lam-bake on Long Island. Among the
number was Signor Nianni. After the
bake, and the company had enjoyed
themselves, making speeches and sing