Daily Yellowstone journal., 1890-03-22
MILITARY SUICIDES.
Statistics Regarding h Suicidal Mania In
Different Armies.

One OF the most unique OF h many
branches Of the government service is
the compilation Of mortality statistics
for the war department. Human life,
which the poets are wont 10 character
lie as a brief span of woe" or u
''dream of disappointment" or by
some other term which gives it char
acter of intangible sadness, is taken rs
a cold fact; Il basis of mathematical
calculation. People are born and die ac-
cording Ia fixed numerical laws which
can be determined by calculation. II
isn't a particularly agreeable thought,
but II is true. nevertheless, that when
statistlcians have perfected their calcu-
lations in this hne, and there is reason
TO expect that they will be perfected,
a mar will be obliged TO die by rule.
Even if he commits suicide, his de-
mise is tabula,ed among other eases
which show under what circumstances
self destruction is most likely to occur,
and what conditions are most condu-
Give TO the suicidal epidemic that SO
frequently sweeps the country,
During the fiscal year which ended
in June, lSSs, there were nineteen
suicides in the army, twelve in the in.
fantry service. six in the cavalry and
one in the artillery. This gives a ra-
ito of only 12-l00ths in 1000. Only
one case was that of an oiicer-a lieu
tenant of the infantry.
The suicide ratio for various armies
whose reports were accessible was as
follows: Austria, LAG; Prussia and
Wurtemberg, ~; Great Britain, As;
Italy. i2, France, 81; Belgium, .3S.
This illustrates the fact often com
mented ON, that the phlegmatic Ger
man. with his ponderous philosophic
intellect, is remarkably prone to end
his own existence. ON the other hand
the mercurial Frenchman bears up un-
der the ills we have aud presents next
10 the best record IN the lot.
OF the cases referred tom the United
States army, one mar selected drown
ing as his mode al exit, two preferred
poison, one cut h throat, n severed
the radial arter IS, and fourteen shot
themselves. Morbid dependency was
the caux IN two cases, suicidal mania
in one. jealous, in two, losses by gam
bling in two, excessive drinking in
ten. and no cause could be assigned in
two.
The statistician does not stop here.
He goes Oh ~ show that the ages were
Is years in one case, "a in two, 20 in
one, 80 in one, 81 IN three, IS in two,
IS in two, 40 in two, Al in one, A in
one, and in three cases the ages were
not stated.
The month showing the greatest
number Of suicides tsix) was Novem-
Der. Three occurred in February, two
each in January, March, April, Au-
gust and September, and zone in the
remaining months Of the year.
In addition 20 the foregoing there
were two attempted suicides without
fatal results.
From these facts the suicidal ten
dency is strongest during the winter.
On the other hand bomicides are most
frequent during war; weather, the
cases being far more numerous during
summer than ~ any other time of the
year.
The record referred to above is but
for n year, Of course, selected at ran
dom, but the variation from year TO
year is moi especially marked. 1t has
been a pet idea Of American lovers Of
statistical research 70 tabulate the facts
relating to mortality for the whole
United States, hat the scheme presents
many obstacles owing to the difficulty
in getting accurate information. II has
been demonstrated that the highest
death rate is 'or children under 10
years of age. The causes of death vary
from year 10 yehr.
The great difficulty in making cor
rect calculations Of this kind arises
from the inactucacy, unavoidable to a
great extent, il taking the census. In.
stead of there icing natural sequence
of conditions from year 10 year, there
are enormous lamps in figures. The
census, for instance, will show thai
there are 1000 people alive at 10 year.
o fage. 1900 at - and then drops to
5000 al q, when in the natural course
of things there should be a gradual in
crease. This, it is said, results from
the carelessness of people in giving
their ages.
The tendency in this country is to
count the age by decades only. Peo-
pie often ignorant Of their exact age
will. when asked how old they are,
reply indiiierently in round numbers.
II a man has passed 80 years he will
give his age at 80 without troubling
himself To remember the odd years.
Forty-tivc years will be the next stop
ping place. OF course these facts hold
good mainly among people of limited
education, but there are enough OF
these to very seriously disturb the cal
culations Of mortality experts.
a life table is a berculanean mathe.
NAUTICAL effort, and its practical value
after it has been prepared is limited,
except with insurance companies.
Statisticians are DESTROYS Of preparing
q table of this kind for the city Of
Washington. 1t would be an inter-
esting study, but probably of little
practical use, except To show just
when children are most likely to die,
and therefore require the greatest care.
Sufficient data could be obtained from
the health Office for a complete work
of this kind.-Washington Post.
A Famous Collection.