The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-07-14


"To what cause is the increase in suicides
attributablep was asked. THAT is a puz-
zler, y said the coroner, "as different author
tiles upon the subject do not agree. How
ever, my opinion is that the thing works on
the principle that one man who commits
suicide, no matter in what manner, sets the
example for some othe poor unfortunate
through the very act of his own self de-
struction. That statement might lead
person into the belief that only weak minded
people commit suicide; but such, in fact, is
not the case. A weak minded man is, in
my opinion, almost always a coward, and
the coward who plucked up enough courage
to deprive himself of his own life by his
own hands is yet to be heard of.
Suicides have been rather numerous in
this city of late, and there are a number of
ways in which person might arrive at a
seemingly logical conclusion as to the prob
able cause of them. You see," said the
coroner, as he handed over to a black
bearded foreigner the papers belonging to
the old candy peddler who committed sui
eide few days ago, suicides run in
grooves, as do nearly all other crimes, and
when one person starts the ball a-rolling
others are just as sure to follow as the sun is
to shine. Let me tell you little story in that
connection: About two years ago darby
was arrested in this city, somewhere on
Lombard street, believe, upon charge of
burglary. The man was convicted and sent
to prison. He had wife who was a delicate,
puny woman, and, as a matter of course,
she brooded over his arrest and Incarceration
A few days after his conviction she sent a
little girl to neighboring drug store with
money and instructions to buy 10 cents worth
of camphor and laudanum. The girl obtained
the stuff without question, and upon the
following morning the wife of the impris-
oned negro was found dead in bed.
Now it is a well-known fact that cases
of suicide among negroes are extremely
rare but within two weeks after that one
happened three other colored women did
exactly the same thing, and two of them
died as result, the Others life being saved
by the timely discovery of her rash and al
together unjustifable act. The first colored
woman had cause for taking her own life.
She had been deprived Of her husbands sup
port, was sickly and unable to provide for
herself, and had no one upon whom she could
depend for assistance, but the others had
no apparent reason at all.
sELF-DEsTRUCTIoN WITHOUT REASON.
Then here is another case in point: A
woman living ill West Philadelphia, who was
in poor circumstances, became tired of her
life There was no particular reason for it,
unless it was that her ambitions We're far in
excess of her position and means; but for
world was not paying her the living it owed
her, and that tins life was not worth the
living after ALL One day her husband went
out to work, and when he returned home in
the evening his wife was dead She had
prepared his supper and placed il on the
range, where it was steaming wnen he came
in. She had fastened a clothes-iine to the
door knob on one side of the door leading
into the kitchen, and swung it over the top of
he Than IN 81
moose in the rope, and hanged herself by
kicking the chair from under her after the
moose had been adjusted around her neck
Gas soon as the facts in the case were
made known to the police, the news spread
all over the city. The story Of how the
dutiful wife had prepared her husbands
supper before killing herself got into the
newspapers, and the affair was very widely
discussed. A few days later a woman in
the same block committed suicide in exact
ly the same manner. But the second wo-
man was in atiluent circumstances. There
was no reason why she should have hanged
herself Her home life was pleasant. not in
the least marred by infelicities of any kind,
and her every wish was gratifiel by do
nesticated and indulgent husband.
Now it seems to me that in cases of the
kind that have just cited there must be
some subtle power within woman that, in
spite of herself forces her TO do these silly
things--to emulate an example, however
bad, set by another, and carry it to the ut
most extremes. In nine cases out of ten
persons commit suicide, it would seem, in
voluntarily, and for no other reason than
that they have little else to think about, and
are driven to it by some irresistible and
unaccountable force.
$50 now person can understand that
my idea is reasonably fair and that suicides
do run IN grooves, and that there are moro
suicides than circumstances would seem to
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