The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1895-09-06
mINs1or On SuIoIpE.

the Past Year, an Epidemic,
New York, Sept. 5.-The second days
session of the Medico-Legal congress be-
gan this morning in the United States
court room in the federal building at
1880 o'clock.
Sociology and Criminology were the
subjects down for discussion on the pro-
gram for the morning session. The pro-
ceedings opened with f1ve-minute ad-
dresses, the Hon. Moritz Ellinger occu-
plying the chair,
DR., Il. d. Crothers read paper on
legal Responsibility and Inebriety,"
He held that inebriety was a disease.
He said that capital punishment infiict-
ed for murder committed by q person in
state of inebriety had not the slightest
deterrent effect on others In a similar
condition,
The most interesting paper of the day
was read by DR.. Forbes Winslow of Lon
don on Suicide Considered as Mental
Epidemic" DR.. Winslow's paper was in
part as follows:
'aThe question of suicide is one which
for some time has occupied public at
tention. During the present year, IN
consequence of the alarming increase
in suicide, have decided to choose the
subject for our consideration, hoping
that perhaps what shall place before
the society may prove Of interest to It's
members and draw their serious atten-
ton to grave question. Our present
century has been full of epidemics OF
one sort or another I will just name,
en- PEASANT, Spiritualism, There are
three kinds of individuals who believe
in this, but not desiring on this occasion
to begin a controversy on the subject, !
win not refer to them.
"IncendiariSm, infanticide, kleptoma-
mia, homicide and suicide have all dur
ing this century been epidemic at one
time or the other, the force of imitation
being so great and acting prejudicially
on weak-minded persons or on those
lpredisposed to mental disorders. In the
| time of the Ptolomies a stole philoso-
pher preached so earnestly and elo-
quently on the contempt of life and the
blessings of death that suicides became
frequent. The ladies of Miletus com.
united suicide in great numbers because
their husbands and brothers were de
| tained at the wars.
Eat Lyons there was an epidemic OF
| drowning among the women. No cause
could be assigned for this, and it was
| ultimately checked by the public orde,
| of the authorities that the bodies of al
who drowned themselves should be pub.
| licly exposed In the market place.
| THE epidemic was stopped at Miletus
| by similar device. An order was made
| that the bodies of those who hanged
| themselves should be dragged through
the town by the same rope with which
they had accomplished their purpose
| At Rouen in 1906, at Stuttgart in ISL
and the Valois in 1873 there are histories
of suicide as powerful epidemic. II
1874 there was an epidemic Of voluntary
mutilations in the French army, mum
bers Of soldiers being self-mutilated
and for no reason. Suicide from poison
has often occurred epidenically.
Suicide has, during various stages
been connected with an epidemic.
would draw the attention of this society
| to the fact of the recent epidemic which
has taken place during the present year
especially during the spring of the year
| the alarming character of which is my
lexcuse for drawing your attention to TIL
question of suicide to-day.
Speaking generally, the reasons fol
| this epidemic appears to me to be al
| follows:
81. The great publicity given by the
press in publishing revolving details o.
crime and trials. thus reacting PERM
ciously In the minds Of weak-mindet
i persons.
f'2. insufficient power of the 1egisla
ture in suppressing such publicity.
] "3. The liability to act epidemically
in the same way, as I have previously
mentioned, in past ages.
ITO the medical philosopher nothing
can be more deeply interesting than t
trace the reciprocity of action existing
between different mental conditions ant
| affections of particular organs. Thu
the passion of fear, when excited, has ;
sensible influence on the action of tn
heart; and when the disease of this or
gan takes place independently of an.
mental agitation, the passion of fear |
powerfully reused Anger affects tn
liver and frequently gives rise to al
attack Of jaundice, and in hepatic an
intestinal disease, how irritable the TEN
per is.
Hope, or the anticipation of pleas
lure, affects the respiration; and hoy
often do we see patients in the las
stage Of pulmonary disease entertain
ing sanguine expectations of recover
to the very last?
GAS the passions exercise so despoti
a. tyranny over the physical economy
1t is natural to expect that the Grim
of suicide should often be traced t
the influence of mental causes. I
many cases it is difficult to discove
whether the brain, the seat of the pas
sioEs, be primarily or secondarily al
fected.
"Often the cause of Irritation is stu
ated at some distance from the cerebra
organ; but when the fountain-head c
the nervous system becomes deranget
| it will react on the bodily function
and produce serious diseases long al
ter the original cause of excitement
removed.
sit is not our intention to attemr
to explain the modus operandi of mer
tai causes in the production of suicide
disposition. That such effects resu
| fro,,o ,I,,511o 49, -, =,