New-York tribune., 1878-01-21
INSANITY IND SUICIDE.


Surrogate Daley, of Kings County, has just
made an interesting addition to the list
of legal decisions on the frequent qucs-
tion of debating societies.: Does suicide
prcsnppose insanity The circumstances
calling for the decision were, briefly these :
John Schumacher a jewcler, in Brooklyn, had
been twice married. and was divorced from
each wife. After this experience in matrmony
he dispensed with it. but was living with an
other woman. In May last, she committed sui
eide. The jcwclcr Immediately made Il will III
favor Of his lcgtimatc son, wrote deliberate
letter to him stating the reasons for the act he
(Stcinmacher) was about to commit, and then
shot himself over the body of the woman with
whom he had lived. The letter to the son as
signs as chief reason for suicide that
the writer expected thereby to rejOin the
dead woman in future state of eX-
istcnce. In this calculation, Surrogate
Daley cautiously suggests, Schumacher may
have made Il mistake. But belief to that cf-
feet is no indication Of insanity. The
ccarncss with which the dead jcweler
pointed out this reason for his in
tended act, serves, indeed, to show that he
was IN full possession of his senses. The son
10 whom the property is left had been
with his father continually. and had
worked with him in his business; the
legitimate children. who arc diSinhertcd, had
long been separated from him. Hence the
fathers disposal Of his property was no evil
dcncc of defective reasoning power. The Sur
rogatc decides to admit the will to probate.
There is n general desire on the part OF the
r l.. e N
them declared insane. Surrogate Daley refers
eraciouSly to this anxiety to cover the act with
the mantle of charity. He might have added
that similar desire arises among the friends
of criminals, as to nearly every sort of
crime. OF course, no such sentiment can
be allowed to interfere with justice. Our
courts have decided that mere suicide is
no evidence either way respecting sanity.
If the question of belief as to the disposal of
thc human soul hereafter, and what may hap
non to it, is to be held as evidence
Of unSound reasoning powers, there
must be vast body of lunaiics among the
people who hold opposing views on the subject.
Mr. Becchcr, i'll recent interview, Is
said to have specified five different forms
of belief, each having numerous adherents,
concerning the fate of the wicked There are
thc annhilationists, the rcstorationISts, the
Upjyersalsts, the orthodox who believe that pro-
bation does not cease at DEATH and the orthodox
who believe in The hopeless, eternal suffering of
those who die impcnitrnt. An equal variety
of views might easily be catalogued respecting
the future rewards of the righteous. In
famous will case, defended by tho Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,
il was alleged that the tcstator be-
llcyed in the transmigration of souls through
the lower creatures whom he hoped to benefit
by his bcducst. 1t should need no argument
TO prove that even the most erratic beliefs re-
spccting the future state are no evidence of
insanity in the present.
Decisions such as that of Surrogate Daley
are. however, of Importance from their bear
ing upon the suicdc of persons whose lives
are insured, as well rs in will cases. The
chances of recovering upon policies of life
insurance are thus diminished. The insanity
plca in case of suicide, is no longer so cf
fcctivc AS il used to be in such suits. This
being the case, the companies can well
afford to dispense with the new safe
guard for themselves which many of them
have inscribed in their policies, which frees
them from full obligation ii the person insured
die by his own hand, "sane or insane" There
is no doubt of the night Of tho companies to
makes such provisos. They might also ex-
cept all kinds of accidental death. But
policies with such provisos are worth consid-
erably less than without them. An insane
man is more likely than q sane one to commit
suicide, and this is among the contingencies
for which ful-priced life insurance ought
distinctly to provide. A far more just con-