Idaho news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1887-1891, 1888-08-25
HISTORY OF SUICIDE.
n Occurs Most I'm summer anu
Among the Cultured

maj the weather influences suicide. We all
know how common II is to feel blue aud low
spirited on dark, muggy days Inc deptos'
sion OF spirits at such times In the case OF an
emotional psrson-and emotional people are
the ones who commit suIelde-may give me
decision and eoueourse to take his own me
OF course the dark magey day alone
not sufficient and does not alone give Ihs
suicidal impulse; Ii merely forms the last
strain on the eAmeps back We must suppose
that the disposition toward suicide from
some Of the great causes Ia present To force.
There have been some very queer notions
held on this point II was an old SANDER
against Englishmen, which Montesquieu
quoted, / think, that Englishmen were more
prone 10 suicide than other people on account
OF the dark, foggy days OF their eonntry's
climate. Il ives plausible statement and
was generally regarded As true unIn an In
dustrIous Ratherer Of statistics proved that ln
Holland, where there Is much more fog and
darkness than Ia England, there Ia much less
suicide. So November on account OF 10
gloomy weather has slways horne bad name
as month OF suicides; but statistics gathered
from all parts OF the world show that there
are more suicides in May than IN November,
aud that, generally, there are more suicides
In summer th an in the winter dayA 1. VAS
proven By data collected tor nine years 10 this
country, from 1917 to 1874. that there were
averaged ST4 suicides 10 May to l3l 10 No.
vembcr. while the greatest number o, suicides
was found 10 the month u June and JalF.
believe that data gathered since then ssil
bears these figures out So, you see that tie
warm Weathe has more 10 DO with Il tbnu
cloudy weather. The November DAYS elOaiY
as they are, are cold and stimulating, aui
the vitality OF ons's system Il not lowered q
great deal Ia them
80 make general statement, Il is upon a
dag when the dark SKI and the high ten.
peFature are joined when tho friends o. the
would be suicide want % look out Tor han.
The warm, humid, cloudy atmos pheFr--gnIz
u what influences suicide in yer, Appfn.
clAbie degree, ftilaueage observed this fact
al Paris, ana be declared that a. long as the
barometer Indicated stormy weather this state
OF things continued. Ia June, lsj5, al
ROuen, France, OVER sixty VOLUNTARY deaths
took place, the air at tho tins bsiRg remark.
ably humid and warm and the days dark; and
n July and August Of The same rear, darlng
the prevalence OF the sams Nuather, there
were more than three hundred suicides IN
Copenhagen, Denmark These facts are we'll
known in medical history. Ia Italy the ef-
feet upon the rate u suicide u sustained
high temperature, accompanied By a molss-
uFr, has long been noticed"
some years ago" continued Dr. uAtnl,
ton, II gave considerable attention 10 the
subject Of suicide here 10 New York, both a.
regsEda the point upon which VIC wpFa talk.
ing and other part culhrA found that the
people who Committed suicide, 80 far "a
nAtlonali'y was Concerned, were mostly
ina ~ Ia kFNF a
the intensely emotional character OF the Ger.
man people. ClEased By occupations clerks
are the most suicidal set OF people, and The
reason for this fact Is not Very far On. eIsnsr.
Inc Dung men are struggling for q AituRtl0a
ana support and they are exposed. as sru
hardly apy other class Of people, 70 the pIg.
TAILS OF the great city Tho temptations Of
vice eome 10 them with great f0rcs, aud
! wAoa lhey have once yielded ami become
sstanKied suicide ID Often The nsxt thing
/ thought Of
I 'Ot modes Of suicide, poisoning /, BIZ far
the favorlte looked up the subject be.
tweeA lscn and 1872, sod found thai u over
ny suicides here 10 these years 2ia were sEl.
eidea by poisoning. Tho preference 10 p.9ls-
ons was for arssnic, and this ID 10 ia engsfp1n.
est form, Paris grcen Women almast alwaTa
poison themselves, uneducatsd worsp ustn,s
Paris green, and educated women chi0rai or
morphine. The frequency with which Paris
green u used Is due simply 10 the saafn1ss
with which II can b. obtained. The laws gpy.
erninz the sale Of the different kinds OF Dol :.
on are not stringent enough
"in London hanging Ia the popular form q,
suicide, though voluntary starvation uSrd fn
De. IN Frsnee people drown themselves ~
die from AufOcAIiOn By lnhaIiug charcoal
fumes. IL Ia a singular TACT that Of the go
pie who shoot themselves AeTenGy.Hvs psF
cent shoot themselves 10 the mouth. Al
least this vas the case at the time | gathered
/ facts about The matter. sulcliIug e. inro,.'
ing from great height ia horrible gav "
khIing ones self, but II Ia often done Ana
atn Inclined 10 think that many cases Of iris
character which are sci down az such arc mi
, ,h suicides, but Instances In which
! me morbid tendency which nearly every onr
/ ieeh when at greEt height 10 throw ous,.
4 seH doFn, has oEeT-powered the will and the
/ bran- ] myself once bad A terrible exrorJ.
ence Of this character when ascending tbr
/ mountain CoreoVado In the harbor OF Rio
JAneiro. IL was with difficulty that over.
! came a fearful restlessnsss and irnnntss -
thrOw myself down iHto the blue sea ,wo
thousand teet below mo A fgtlOw phvstrt.n
once told mo that he had patient vh1 n,,v"y
Jared 10 sleep ON The third aud fourth Hnor al
| hense because Of his fear of yieI1lpe, Ia A.
/ the window. Jus VI
| In th 8 great city the crowdlnv Of ,oor
peopIe INFO tenement houses lowers their Vial
ny and nervous tone, aud makes sulrIds GO
~ happen among them. The labor wara Inc
unsuccessful strikes, tho wnrTtment ana dJ.
asters which trade unions briny--tbo.s ~,
causes of suicide among the poor AZ ,,,t.,,,
Just now, as nny thst know. In az ,,t,,,..
ranks 10 "a the continual specuiativs sSbdr,,
ing. TIE hurry and worry aud strain ~ iryt,,,
70 get rich quickly, that brfnva on snfsiI.
IKE the night ht the close oE eyerv bnst,,,l.
day. The causes which tempt mon nj T,,,
mlb suicide must be- removed Nv Tho So
mehl ana the economist rather tbo, b., NJ
( physcian.n '"aH ~ me
! Another very eminent physIrIap ~ a..
city, who did not want tho rar,nrt,, -, w l
shy, circumstances 70 mention his name. said
, n"s me agreed entirely with Dr. HRmiitou,s
"a e'e su, tnat nor, 'mnggy'' weather was
'hs Weather which sutc de claimed az ia o,,r,
FnhhehVc, from whom we yet n Ia,ss,
snare 81 our Information In This partic,,is, !,
shlh tue ph, slelan, tells ia that durins, ~
scVeh years in which he gathered atatis,5,s n,
france, IN the spring there were on snlciiss I.
70 me summer, 923; In the autumn. Ggy ~
N the WinieT, Bis. VillaneuTe alsn Jcctasai
Ihat 10 LONDON, Hamburg, Copsnhagsn I'M
hOuen the tnaAmum number of aulc,da. a ~
currei 10 july and the minimum nu,rt,a. y" T..
Vctoner and November. ID has been ,,r,,. -
| beneVei that on the Continent IN F' ,,se
suicide dlTnlnlshes with the lattitnda ky XIX,
Dsnes committing suicide the rnoat ana ~
rortnRess tho least. The dIfferenc. hat,, sae
Tue prevalence Of suicide In Denmsps $50
Portugal Ia a. 85 10 /. 'u'nMA a@d
People should always KIN tbem..,...
more N large towns than IN the countrg ~ t.S
/ cause In the former nj an.s ~. 10,