The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-07-12
Seven Thousand.

Something like ,UUU OF Gne 'V,ooo,
600 inhabitants of the United States
took their own lives during the pas
year. The vital statisticians OF a
cities report an aggregate Of 1881 o1
these. The rest were denizens Of the
rural districts. There were reported
also 164 attempted suicides, Of which
1O3 were men and 81 women.
A study Of the causes leading tc
the desire to be out Of the world and
the methods adopted in self-execution
is interesting. Data on these points
is not compiled by the statisticians'
but an examination Of 808 cases of
suicide reported in single New York
daily newspaper during the year will
throw some light on the subject.
OF these 8O8 suicides 621 were males
and 1872 females-77 and 80 per cent,
respectively. It may be said in pass
ing that this is about the proportion
as between the sexes in suicide in this
country.
The law makes it a misdemeanor
punishable by years imprisonment
to attempt self-murder in the State Of
New York, but so far as can be learned
from figures this law has operated
neither to the lessening of attempts
at suicide nor to the increase in the
percentage Of successful attempts.
Unrequited love, popularly supposed
to be the chief among the motives for
suicide. claims only forty victims in a
list of 800 suicides in which the
motive is given, while i'll health
caused n poor devils to take their
own lives-the largest number assigned
to any one cause.
Domestic afliction made life worth
less to "a and business troubles to 46,
while So self-destroyers were driven to
despair and death because they were
unable to find work by which they
could earn living.
Thirty-one persons who had commit
ted crime killed themselves afterward,
but the statistics do not make it clear
whether remorseful consciences or fear
of punishment made them do it.
Fifty-nine other reasons we're given
in as many cases. To spite his wife
one man set fire to corn crib in which
he had taken refuge and was burned
up. A woman inhaled gas because
her husband objected to her riding q
bicycle unattended after dark. 4
man hanged himself to the bed-post
because his wife wouldn't read the
Bible to him, and woman who didn t
like the new hencoop cremated herself
in it.
OF the methods resorted to in the
SOS cases Of self-murder reported, 25O
men shot themselves, while III took
poison, 70 died by hanging, 80 by
Illuminating gas, 30 drowned them
selves, 80 cut their throats and II
leaped from high places to be smashed
by the fall.
Only II females used powder and
bullets in killing themselves, 6.4 per
cent, that is to say, 103, took poison
9 hanged themselves, % inhaled gas,
II threw themselves into the water, 5
died from self-inficted cuts and stabs
and 10 took the death leap.
OF 81 suicides by cuts and stabs, 32
cut their throats, 16 Of them using
razors. Five women drew razors
across their threats. Only one in
twelve Of the men turned on the gas,
while one in eight of the women sought
death in this way.
OF IA males who took poison, 81
drank carbolic acid, or G3.2 per cent.
But this horrible, burning stuff vas
even more popular with the female
suicides, Is of them, or 1873 per cent
taking carbolic to end their earthly
troubles. Paris green. laudanum,
arsenic, antimony, strychnine and
morphine all had their victims, while
two prisoncrs-a man and woman
who could not get either of the poison
Gus drugs, had to exercise their genius
iu taking their own lives.
The woman soaked matches in water
| and drank the water thus poiso ed,
while the man caught number of big
black spiders and ate then.-Nc,0
York World.