Morning journal and courier., 1889-01-16

lives and are subject to greater mental strain than women, and it is therefore natural that they should more frequently resort to sui- eide. Another probable reason for the com parative infrequency of suicide among wo- men is that they are better supplied with religious fervor and possess larger share of hope.
 The months in which the lowest suicides occur are October and November, while the greatest number occur in April, May and June. July and September also have good ly share, the latter possessing peculiar fas- cination for women. The progressive in- crease and decrease in the number of sui- cides coincides with the lengtheaing and the shortening of the days. and not only the seasons of the year. but the days of the month and of the week, and even the hours of the day, exert an influence. The greatest number of suicides among men occurred dur ing the first ten days of the month, and from Monday to Thursday of the week. The majority of workingmen receive their wages either on the first day of the month or the last of the week, and pay day is often followed by dissipation, debauchery and re- morse. The more rugged natures of men impel them to seek coarser means of self struction, such as the revolver, the razor and the rope-the latter being most fre- quently used by them in whom the vigor of manhood is lest Women seldom resort to measures which they think will disfgure oNSA poisoning, asphyoxin and drowning Epi- demics of suicide frequently occur, and he who introduces any unusual methods is sure of having numerous followers. What might be almost called an epidemic prevailed in the New York State Lunatic Asylum in July, 1850. There were twenty eight per- sons in the institution bent on destroying themselves. Of forty-four patients admit ted in that month nineteen were suicides. In the same time there were fourteen dis
 tinet attempts at suicide by eight persons.
 These epidemics are, to great extent, the result of the principle of imitation, and 1t may be said that suicide is almost as much the subject of fashion as is dress or house. hold decoration, and that each particular method reigns for time and then gives way to some newer means. Many cases are recorded of children committing suicide without apparent cause, having heard of a case in which their interest was aroused. A person bent on suicide will sometimes await favorable opportunity for months, or overcome apparently insurmountable diff faculties by the exercise of ingenuity which, if it were devoted to the accomplishment of a better object, would be worthy of com- mendation.
 The question, Is suicide an evidence of in sanity? is one which has given rise to much discussion In olden times it seems always to have been considered q crime, and very severe laws were enacted against it. The ! penal code in tbis State makes it a felony to attempt to commit suicide In England it was formerly attended by some of the conse- quences of felony, hence the term "fslo de so." Blandfred, Griesinger, Bueknill, Tuke, Gray and nearly all modern authorities think ! that suicide is often committed by people in whom no disease of the brain exists. In ! deed Dr. Gray went much further, and in | one of his lectures said: s'Suicide, though 1 always an unnatural act, is in the large pros I portion, if not in the majority ot cases, conn., | mitted by persons who are entirely sane." 1 Whether it is or is not the act of insanity l can only be determined by a careful inquiry, as there are many cases to support the other l side of the argument, and each one must be I a law unto itself. In order to be insane enough to commit suicide does not imply 1 that man must be raving lunatlo. In 1 many instances the attempt at suicide is the l first prominent symptom of insanity, and frequently the intensity of the suicidal ten-
 dency subsidies with the progress of the dis ! ease. All who know anything about the in-
 sane will admit that 1unatics very frequen tly possess extraordinary cunning in concealing
 their lunacy, and that the malady, in many
 cases, is successfully hidden from friends l and acquaintances until some remarkable de-
 parture from th5 ordinary ways of life brings it to light. On the other hand there are un- doubtedly many cases of suicide in which the l hypothesis of insanity is untenable. Many
 cases were cited among them those in the
 Bible and those of the ancient stoics.
 Is suicide ever justifable! is another moot
 ed question, and many writers have answered it in the affirmative. The tendency has sl- 1 ways been to palliate the act, and the yer
 dict ''suicide while laboring under temporary
 alteration of mind" has become stereotyped.
 It is kept alive by desire to speak kindly of
 the dead. It should only be rendered where
 the actions of the deceased have been such
 as to point very strongly to insanity, or l yUba he shows lAaiOnS q a
 When one becomes a "deserter from the
 army of humanity" and resorts to suicide as
 a means of escape from the trials of life, the
 act is merely a confession of weakness; and
 while it may awaken feelings of compassion,
 it certainly calls for palliation.