The daily critic., 1890-08-19
SUICIDE

bu ltst + Il40y morning tue vice.
president Of The Corn and Flour Ex
change Of Baltimore, the victim OF an
attack of nervous prostrltion, cut his
throat with q razor and died almost
imu cdiatcly aftorwald Ou Saturday
Ornire J. A. JAMESON, % millionaire
banker Of New York, by means Of a
sheet fastened to his bedroom door
siranglCd himself 10 death.
These are two notable instances Of
summer suicides That they will be
followed by Others Is not unlikely, no
one thing IN connection with the ghastly
subject Of self destruction being more
certain than that The warm weather
season iniensides the tendency 10 com.
nit the most melancholy Of an crimes.
tits a singular fact that, while sui
Cde has been from the earliest periods
the refuge Of dissatisfied man from the
i.ls Of liie very few reliable statistics
concerning the matter were collecte
until the beginning Of the present
century Al that time Switzerland 10.
tucurated the idea Of gathering from
ils reputation the facts bearing on the
subject and France and other European
countries began the uniform Feglstra-
tion Of thtm From this date on
soCiolOgists and statisticians have spared
no labor IN the tabulation of facts aud
figures in their various relations 10 sih
eide. Even a cuTs0Ty examination Of
these tables reveals some most startling
and suggestive aspects Of this gloomy
social phenomenon,
Before statistics proved the contrary
Il was believed that England furnished
The largest number Of voluntary deaths.
and MONTEsQUIEU announced his be
lief that this was caused by its cold,
dark, damp climate. II Is now incon-
tesiibly known that The countries where
suicide Is the most frequent, lie in the
t,mperaie laiiudes. 10 Europe, what
may be called the suicide belt, extends
irlm The northeast Of France 70 the
eastern borders Of Germany the latter
country being the centre where the
suicidal tendency reaches its highest
development In America, the region
L 0sI given 10 self-ieslruclion on tue
psTt n irs Inhabitants IS found within
The limits Of the United States. The
very warm countries within the tenn
ptTate zone, Spain, Portugal and Italy,
have developed few suicides. Ireland s
dtaIh rate from suicide IS very lOW,
and this has been laid TO the fact that,
owing 20 the influences Of the Gulf
Stream DE climate IS mild and
Clnatle
Another fact that seems curious AZ
first thought is that Dat countries show
o larger average Of suicides than m0ua-
famous districts. In Italy The plain Of
The 70 furnishes the majority Of the
cases. Iu France, on the plains Of the
Seine and 10 The valleys Of the Loire,
tLe proportion of suicides Is much
greater than 10 Tie billy and uneyea
districts. Scotland and Wales where
mountains predomiuate have only half
as many suicides iu proportion 70 p1pu-
laii0u as are shown In England watch
is aat, and suicide Is az ils maXimuu 10
tbe great German plain extending from
tLe valley af DE El5e 10 that of tie
Oder
OlbgE features which enlist the aiten-
lion Of ne th0ugLfll reader are That
suicides are more frequent 10 Tie cen
tiers Of population IN proportion 10 their
numbers, Lan il tie rural districts
and that mechanics are more giyea 10 it
than agIicultIralisIs that i've mea
commit suicide 10 one woman that the
purely Protestant countries develop the
greatest uumber uf suicides while
Catholic nations show o Couesu0ndinEly
Tow rate 0f voluntary deaths that Welri-
ness 0i Hfe ana The desire for extinction
keep pace win liberalism d religion
ana DE freedom 0f he intellect while
theuuiut0rsd savage never resorts 10
suicide unless goaded b physical SUI
feIiug 81 impeiled d superstition
ILe Irresistible conclusion is thai