The Hickman courier., 1878-06-28
The Increased Suicide Rate.

-lsneo III Ine daily papers Every DAY |
the dispatches chronicle the suicide of /
from three to five persons, whose promi- |
nence or the circumstances of whose |
death make the announcement of general /
interest. During one month of the
present year the weekly average of such
suicides was over twenty, and possibly
the average has been nearly as great for
all the months. The reported cases take |
in all grades of society, and include young
people as well as old; people prosperous
and in good health, as well as people dis
and sick.
A correspondent of the Inter Ocean
expresses his opinion that the increase
in the -uicide rate is owing to the pub
licatiOn Of the particulars Of every case
Of suicide, and the throwing about the
act, in so many instances, the atmos-
phere of martyrdom or heroi=m. Be-
lieving that the publication Of such
cases exercises an unwholesome infu-
ence on persons of morbid imagination,
leading them to adopt, for the sake OF
notoriety, the methods Of the suicide,
this correspondent asks that all suicide
items be omitted, at least from the
weekly edition Of the Inter.Ocean.
s9%rsximates to a theory of sui
cides fnaL has many advocates As 8
wayward and disappointed boy takes
melancholy satisfaction in doing same-
thing that will make him sick, and
picture The remorse and grief of his pk
rents when they see him sick unto death,
50 it is argued that person suffering
from disease or worried by disappoin,-
ment and trouble, turns to d resort that
promises relief from all, and to an act,
while it stops all reproaches, arouses the
sympathy of friends and appeals to the
charity OF enemies.
Has q man been wrOnged, he imsgiues
that sel--des.ruction il some way makes
the fact prominent, and that his seli-im-
notation makes the public the instru-
ment for approaching and Furnishing
those who have wronged him. A man
who thinks he has not been understood
or appreciated il apt To fancy that his
sudden taking OF in a mysterious way
viii open the eyes of the world to tie
talent and ability that was allowed to
perish with him, and, animated by this
thought, he takes his revenge on the
public by an ac. which he hopes viii
tear their hearts with remorse.
The letters lett by many suicides show
that in some such spirit they c9ntem-
plated self-destruction. Others write as
though they were simply tired of life,
and disguised with their own infrmities
/ Others, again, write not at all, but carry
all clew as to motive with them into the
beyond. While the public looks upon
suicide as cowardly, it IS easy for the
I person who has determined on suicide &c
/ convince himself that his act is in some
sense heroic. Certain 1t Is that such
/ thinking Oh suicide ma kss men mad, and
( in seeking causes Tor the increased rate o.
selfdeztruction, we may find the princi
pal one in the fact that with the change
in public opinion toward the suicide ha,
come a disposition 10 dwall more on the
romantic and peculiar features Of suicid,
cases.
In the old time the suicide wss counted
in the list of outcasts. The act itsel
received the severest condemnation o.
the church, and was looked upon with
horror by the people. There was il
public print and common conversation
no disposition TO excuse and DO tendency
to justify the act by an array Of causes
or by enlargiDg upon the troubles anc
trials Of the deceased There was no en-
couragement to dwell on the subject il
secret or public, but popular sentiment
custom and tradition all were so many IN
fuences to direct mems minds away from
the subject. The sentiment in tht
churches, the attitude of the church itself
and the feeling among the people at large
all have changed, there is now more
charity for the act, and more censidera
tion for the person who commits suicide
than formerly, andsthe means of direct
ing public thought to such occurrence
having greatly increased, are used with
out scruple. In this change of public
sentiment we may find one reason fol
the increase in the suicide rate,
Supplementary to this is the fact that
suicides find apologists and defenders il
many brilliant and cratic writers. Al
article is published, written years agC
by John NJ Binckley (who is said Il
have committed suicide a few day
since), which is in effect a strong pie,
for charitable judgment on the suicide
If Mr.. Binckley did commit suicide, h'
applied to the disappointments Of hi
career the reasoning common to diseased
minds, and the article written in forme,
years shows that his mind had beer
dwelling on the subject, and that be haC
taken the first step in that direction 0
danger.
Many seek causes in the numerou
suicides in the hard times and inciden
privations. As a rule, however, tn
trials of people struggling against pOv
erty tend to rouse the very qualities il
human nature that contribute to whole
some and practical thought, even though
it be commonplace and prosy.-I Chicagt
Inter-Ocean.