Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1889-06-20
WEST RANDOLPH, VT. JUNE, 20, 1889.
HASTY INFERENcES.

man, had committed suicide by leaping
from the fourth story window of an as
ylum in Philadelphia where he was un-
dergoing treatment. The report first
appeared in the dailies, then it passed
into the weeklies, and in all the various
repetitions Of it, il is assumed in va
riety of phrases that he took his own
life. Some of the papers have taken
this event as a text for brief discourse
uponthe tendencies of modern life. The
age is called a railroad age, and some
thing of the hustle and excitement of a
railroad is impaired to everything. La
bor-saying machines do not save labor
they increase the amount of labor
performed. There is kind Of rustic
about life that exhausts the nervous
force of great numbers of men and wo-
men and brings on varying degrees Of
insanity. We are taught this by gem
eral observation. The sermons are
correct. They fall into line with what
we are taught in other ways. But the
fact is, we do not believe that the text
fits the sermon. There are certain
things about the death of DR.. Gage
that puts the theory Of suicide in doubt.
In former years we had some slight ac-
quaintance with DIR. Gage, and have
known something of his life in later
years. He was not physically strong.
His mind was intensely active. He was
clear and sharp thinker and was apt
in mental effort to 60 beyond his phys
ical strength. In consequence of this
he has suffered interruptions in his lit
erary and ministerial work. la fact,
he has been more or less of an invalid.
But we have never known that he ex-
hibited signs of insanity. He was not
in an insane asylum, but in an asylum
where specially was made of straight
ening the feet of children, but where
nervous disorders were also treated
1t was a place of his own choosing. No
thought of suicide occurred to his at
tendants and he was not watched with
any fear of such an event. He was
seen to fall from the window of his
room, was picked up from the sidewalk
unconscious and died in about two
hours. Those who knew him best do
not believe he took his own life. He
was subject to dizziness when he would
hurriedly seek the open air. He was
seen by his nurse shortly before he fell
from the window and was in cheerful
mood. 1t is thought he was attacked
by dizziness, FASTENED to the window
for relief and losing his balance fell out.
This is plausible explanation. 1t is
one of those events that cannot be fully
explained. The point we wish to make
is, that it is altogether too hasty an in
ference. Somebody supposed that the
circumstances warranted the belief in a
suicide, they knew that such report
would be more sensational tha1 COM
mon-place narrative of accidental death,
and regardless of the truth or the feel
ings of friends hasty supposition goes
flying through the land as a clearly es-
tablished fact. This case is only one
Of multitude where just such infer
ences are drawn. During the last week
or two the country was stirred by the
reports of the Conemaugh Disaster
Agents of the associated press have been
busy sending out dispatches, and their
zeal and energy has been everywhere
manifest. But these dispatches taken
all together are confused jumble of
facts and guesses. The statements of
one day are contradicted the next. The
figures are cut down as the situation is
better understood. Everything was
made as large as possible at first to
satisfy greed for the marvellous and
make papers sell. OF conrse the disas-
ter is bad enough but not as bad as
at first made to appear. There have
been numerous reports about the dam.
From these a candid reader can reach |
no other conclusion than that very ht-
lie is known about it. One day We are
told that it was made ike a railroad
filing and could hardly be expected to