Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1892-10-21
ARE THEY BETTER oEADf
The Unfortunate Lot of Those Who Find
Life Not Worth Living.

The Unfortunate Lot Of Those Who Find
Life Not Worth Living.
Two distinguished modern English
authors have taken for story theme
the question of suicide. Mr.. Robert
Louis Stevenson told of the drol per-
for1nance of club whose object it
was to look after the extinction of its
members. Mr.. J. NJ Barrie has writ
ten somewhat similar story called
Better Dead" 1t, too, tells about
grewsome society organized for mu-
tual suicide, and of the strange ex-
pei'iences of a young man who fell a
victim to the sociefy's weird charms.
We confess that there is certain
fascination in the title of Mr.. Barrie's
book, no matter how horrible the
story is in itself and in its sugges-
ton. In a Connecticut town there
used to flourish real suicide club,
which was responsible for the extir-
patton of its members. The tele-
graph occasionally chronicled a mys-
terious death of some melancholy
member who, in joining, had testi-
fed to his predecessors in the society
that he considered himself better
dead" He had struggled along un-
til the burdens of life became too
heavy, and finally had put himself
into the hands of an organization
whose business it was to furnish a
quick and peaceful exit.
Better deadw Who are the people
for whom life has no further charm9
Are they those alone whose lives have
fallen in unpleasant places9 Are they
the poor, the oppressed2 Or, on the
other hand, are they of that consid-
cradle number on whom fortune has
smiled too sweetly the blase, the
spoiled darlings1 Or, again, are they
the disappointed, those who have
fought bravely, but in vain1 Then
there is another class-the class who
have aspired, but have never had the
wings for long fight; those who
would at least ''leave their prisons
and depart"
None of these is strictly the class
from which most suicides come. The
largest number shuttle off the coil to
escape punishment by conscience OF
by the operation of mans laws
those who are too cowardly to suffer
in the mind the sings and arrows OF |
their own i'll deeds, but who take a |
leap from the dagger's lethal point
and. so far as mortal knows, end
their troubles. The lover who has
loved deeply once, but loved in
vain, comes next in the statistics.
Now, is there anybody who is
really better deada" OF course
there are people who seem to be
in steadily losing game, and to
whom Sir Toby's cakes and ale no
longer give pleasure. But cannot
these be stirred to some new interest
in life2 Is there not help for those |
who seem most helplessf Would they |
not better give themselves pause be-
fore making their quietus? Around |
the next bend in the highway there
may be rest and peace for them.
The lover who takes the mad leap |
for loves sake is really the least par
of all, if there be any mat
ter of degree in the question. Shake
speares sentiment that love is not |
love that alters when it alteration
finds is beautiful, very, but hardly |
in accord with the observed facts of /
life.
The love that turks In every breast,
So kind thing. So blind u thing.
has great capacity for suffering,
but likewise an immense recupera-
tive power. So we say that of all
the reasons for suicide unrequited
love is the flimsiest.
Yes, and more than that, all bet
ter dead reasons are bad. The man
or woman who is about to step out
into the dark should consider it
again. 1t is a good deal better to
be a living dog than dead lion, and
while you wait, do something, be
somebody. Stop worrying and help
not only yourself, but somebody else.
Indianapolis News.