St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-07-31

wrong" observed Coroner Carrick, as he
sat III his office yesterday waiting for the
witnesses lii case where man who had
overloaded his stomach with beer, and ow-
ing to Over-SqueamishnesS went out amt
unIoaded his stomach over the low iron
railing, lost his balance and stove in his
skull, instead of using the foor; 'sTve found
that when people get ready to commit sui
eide they don't wait either for the sunshine
or clouds, but go ahead and do it. There
is
HEAP OF NONSENSE
that has both been written and spoken
ABOUT suicides. For instance, there are a
great many eases reported temporary insan-
lty. Most of them go at their work delber-
ately, plan it for weeks and months. and
then when the favorable moment arrives off
they go. Why, have a case in mind now
OF lady; she had been in her day great
belle; had received many offers of marriage:
Ilved In brOwn-StOne front and was graded
III lap of luxury and with the silver
spoon of affiuence. Well. she let her op-
portunitles pass. and by and by felt old age
crawling over her. Most pitiably she said:
why, where are all my friends. No CHE
comes to see ME now? No one takes me
out to the opera. There is no use in me
living Then her eye-Sight began Id fail
her' and she became more gloomy and de-
spOndent as the loneliness of maidenhood
pressed upon her. One day she retired to
her Olue-bordered bOudOir. laid herself out,
and quietly went to sleep to wake 10 more.
Now, what could do in such a case? TIE
feelings of the family must be considered.
Ot course. the verdict was temporary in
sanity-mental alteration. Yet I am lust
as much satisfied in my own mind that that
young lady deliberately planned and carried
out her suicide as L am that you are sitting
here.
FUTURE STATE.
Belief in future state has much to do
with the prevalence of suicides. l think it
was Madam De Stael who said: Il wish l
was an intidel or Catholic, because in the
hrSt Instance L would not care what became
OF me, and in the next would purchase
The fear of being doomed, no doubt,
deters many 4 one from taking his own life.
L ann not prepared to say that there are not
moments i'll all persons lives when trouble
so overpowers them that they seriously con-
template death. l should say that So per
cent. do not believe in future state at all.
lhey work themselves up to the belief OF
Hamlet This is more so with men than
women suicides. Love and blighted affec-
ton are frequently the cause with women.
They feel that everything they hold dear is
lost, and the world has no more pleasure
for them.
CAUSES OF SUICIDE.
1.-The main causes that impel people to
commit suicide can be classified under three
heads. The most important one is liquor.
PROBABLY not less than One-half of the peo-
pie who commit suicide do so after a de-
bauch- The next motive is the intlction of
an mcurable disease, which produces de-
spondeHcy. The third is lack of employ
ment, no wOlk, financial distress. Very
rev people commit suicide unless impelled
to do so by one of the above causes. The
theory that any religion or any sect is ex-
empt from self-murder is another popular
fallacy. 1t is true that few colored people
commit suicide, only three during Coroner
MuScroftS administration, and the six
months of my own and one of these, In
gals. the condemned murderer. simply
the sheriff and saved the county
expense. There was not more than per
cent. in Philadelphia for eight years; out of
6SS only eight cOlOred people suicided. The
reason Is to be found in the happy frame of
mind they are Away in. They live for to-
w.
have enough to eat and drink. Why. a
nickel will buy a negro a watermelon. and
he IL go to sleep on plank.
SOME FIGURES.
''NOw take the list of suicides. There
are 81 in all. The record of the rest was
destroyed in the courthouse fire. though
this record embraces Coroner Muscroft's
and my own administration. Of the list of
males there were Al, of females Is. Look
at the various modes they took Of making
their exits: 10 shot themselves, II hung
themselves, 10 took poison, II sought the
clSten or river, and three cut their threats.
No, sir, there's another fallacy. Hang
ing where strangulatiOn enSueS | believe
painless death. All that nonsense YOU fel- |
lows put IN about the lOlling tongue and
glaring eyeballs is all nonsense, It's the |
child of you newspaper fiends I must con-
feSs never saw it. The majority of the !
people who hang themselves bring it on
gradually, as where they hang themselves |
to a door-knob, or bed-pOst, where, by a |
motion, they could easily stop the tension
of the rope or cord. It's only the first !
struggle that's any pain about it, even if |
that has. When the blood is stopped in its |
flow from the brain, slight dizziness. then
the victim floats away into dream-lsnd and |
all is over. Why, parties who have hung
themselves look as il death had been peace |
full and quiet.
FERMENTATION.
81 want to say another thing about pre-
mediation. l claim that iIr most cases the |
suicide is premeditated. Take the Piatt
case, for instance. Mai. Piatt even went !
so far as to purchase a British bulldog. |
The price asked was 50, but he wouldn't |
pay it, said he could get just as good pis-
tol for So, and, after going several times to
the gun-shOp, finally got it for 81. Then for
some time before his death he used to love |
to talk with his friends about Il future state. |
asking them if they believed in it. and de- |
lighting TO argue abOus it. Then he was
seen TO take mirror and feel alongside of |
his temple to find the place where tile bone !
is as thin as an egg-shell. All these things |
showed elaboration, and the fact that his |
business was all arranged letters all written |
shows this. Why, on one occasion when |
he was all ready he went out to a saloon |
and got drink To nerve himself, and met !
some friends and forgot all about it.
HOOKS STORY.
''Ever hear Theodore Hooks story. which J
fOrcibly illustrates the personal effect of /
losses in money? It's good one. One day |
while on visit to Lord Hartford, at Lud- |
bourne. he fell into familiar chat with his |