Morning journal and courier., 1889-01-16
NEW FACTS ABOUT SUICIDE.
The Results Of . Doctors Study of Why Men and Women Seek Deatb.

The Results Of a Doctors Study of
 Why Men and Women Seek Deatb.
 From the Utica Press.l
 Dr. Pilgrim, of this city, read paper on suicides as follows:
 As the love of life is generally acknowl- edged to be the strongest instinct of the hu- man mind it is but natural that the subject of voluntary death should have at all times attracted great amount of attention from moraiists and investigators of social subjects. Some of the noblest men and women of an- cient times advocated and practised self-de- struetion, and the frequency of the act in our own day demonstrates that the fear of death is by no means general. Professor Mayer, of Paris, in lecture, declared that every one of his hearers had at some time thought favorably of committing the deed. He challenged contradiction, but no one re- sponded. This longing for 'restful death," which comes to nearly all of us sooner or later, can usually be resisted, but often the desire is so great that the will is not strong enough to overcome it, and another name is added to the long list of suicides which sta- tistios show us is increasing with terrible ra- pidity. Statistics were given showing that suicides are on the increase in Austria, Prus- sia and France. Peasants rarely commit su-
 
 lowest number, which is probably due to the influence of the Catholic priesthood.
 A marked increase in suicides is annually taking place in the United States, and there is many reasons for it. Our country is young. Social changes are rapid and the struggle for wealth is severe. We are living in a fast age. The modern youth Consumes in an hour by useless brilliancy the oil of the lamp which should burn throughout the night" and now finds that the intirmities of age have supplanted the vigor of youth; the | business man who to-day is at the very height of prosperity by some rash specula- tion becomes a bankrupt tomorrow; the professional man who is ambitions of dis tinction does not rest when the sun goes down, but prolongs his work far into the quiet hours of the night. In fact almost | every one is madly pursuing either pleasure, wealth or fame, and under such circumstan- ces is it a wonder that often an overpowering sense of ennui and disgust of life occurs, or | that the delicate structure of the brain breaks down, impelling the unfortunate victim to seek rest in the suicides dishonored grave. \ Beside dissipation, reverses of fortune and
 overwork, love, jealousy and remorse play | an important part in the etiology of sslf-de-
 struction. In the majority of cases where bodies are recovered from the Seine they l show the absence of domestic ties, coupled either with misguided love and jealousy or l dissipation and remorse. Indeed, so far as ! men are COucoEu6Q3 we Iuusl COusluoE HAT riage with its accompanying influences of
 home and children, most important prophy
 tactic. In regard to women, however, this
 statement does not hold good, for with them
 suicide is more frequent among the married than the single, the proportion being 10 to 9
 or 9.4. This may be explained to some ex- tent by the mental disturbances produced by pregnancy and childbirth, but the strongest reason undoubtedly is that a girls youthful l dreams of happiness are often shattered by the realities of married life.
 Bertillion publishes these statistics of sui eides among million of inhabitants taken l from all classes Married men with children, 205; married men without children, 470; widowers with children, 526; widowers with
 out children, 1,004; married women with
 children, 45; without children, 15S; widows
 with children, 104; without children, 2S8
 Suicidal tendencies in the insane are quite
 as frequent among women as among men,
 and I am sure that the former frequently
 show the more determination and persistence.
 In the outside world men lead more exciting