Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1882-03-23

OF the Oniteo othtsbs Ii pnabo W
. sociological question rarely publicly
discussed. That the number Of suicides
here in proportion to population is large
ly in excess Of the number in any other
division Of the world is admitted BY per.
sons who have given the subject careful
thought. Lately, hardly . day has passed
that the San Francisco press has not re.
corded one or two cases OF suicide. It
10 said that statistics for 1860 show that
81 per cent. Of all the suicides in the
United States for that year occurred on
the Pacific slope. "From 1862 to 1878
San Francisco supplied 6s7 suicides"
Not even dissoluts Paris. not sven fog
depressed London. not even New York.
. city the. receives daily from the old
world 90 many destitute and wrstchsd
psopls-nsithsr Of these cities have 30
many deaths from suicide yearly In pro-
portion to population q has San Fran
cisco. Whether this fact 10 due to eli.
mate. or to the habits aud occupations OF
the people Of San Francisco Is . question
too broad in scope to Be discussed here.
That the excessive use OF into1icants and
the mental excitement attendant upon
spsculations are p~rsdisposins causes to
suicide 10 generally admitted. but whether
these causes prevail In . greater degree
In San Francisco than In Paris. or In
London. or in New York ID not known
to the, writer.
Religious beliefs are an melting u
to suicide. To many persons Of diseased
minds, who believe in . conscious ex.
istenss after the death Of the body. tho
temptation to escape. by suicide. years
Of hardship. sickness and sorrow here to
rsvel in the joys Of . heaven where elm.
mortal pleasures Danish pain" is greater
than they can we'll resist. It 10 said that
the suicide Of . person who does not be-
lieve In Q future state Of conscious ex-
istsncs is now seldom II ever known.
The practice Of suicide Is doubtless
older than written history. II appears
that in Hindoo philosophy. 1900 years
before Chris, the question was discussed.
and il 10 known that the practice pre-
vailed at an early date in China and ia
pan. a. we'll a. with the ancient Greeks
and Romans. Epictstus said /: "If you
do not like life. leave It," Another
Greek stole said that ''svsry true disci.
pie was expected to embrace death when
no higher duties bound him to lifs." In
fact. the practice Of suicide prevailed to
such an extent In ancient Greece and
Rome that at last. in order to prevent 1t.
laws were passed to degrade the memory
OF the suicide.
A French writer makes the sweeping
assertion thu. every man who has reached
the age Of forty years has at some period
Of his life contemplated suicide.
1t 10 said that the ages between which
suicide is most rssortsd to are from forty
to fifty among men and from forty.fvs
to aity.ave among women, and that with
men the eliminating point as to the
number Of suicides with relation to age
10 about fifty years.
The means taken to commit suicide
differ in different countries. In France
charcoal and drowning are the principal
means employed. In England. hanging.
In the United States, poison and shoot.
ing.
Suicide is frequently denounced as q
cowardly act. But unless II can DO es.
tablishsd that men OF sane minds COM
NIT suicide the act cannot be justly dc.
nouncsd o. cowsrdly. That suicide 10
an evidence Of q diseased mind, or o
mind temporarily thrown from its nor
NAL balance. is very generally held by
those persons who are competent to
Judge in the matter. Financial troubles
and constant worry With regard to the
means to obtain . living ; also physical
diseases tend to threw . healthy mind
Of its balance. That . person with q
perfectly sane mind ever committed sui
eide In very doubtful.