Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-11-08

for his feloquence, his lofty motives and
a certain vein of rapt poetic or proph-
etic fervor Is likely to be mistrusted as
to his capacity for getting down to
| earth and dealing with the AFFAIRS Of
earth.
||ou1slDE polsI Of WE'VE.
$780, .-s-..-s-s-e-s-s-s-s-s e-s-s-s..
Written for the Times Republican.
Recently Prof. Goodwin Smith pub
llished in the New York Herald an arti-
lscle entitled "Theories on Suicides.
Goodwin Smith is a good authority on
fact as well as theory, and 80 when ne
claims that higher civilization ir,-
creases the number of suicides. in fact
| is the great cause, many will accept
such a theory. He also asserts that
marriage Is safeguard against suicide,
which is only another way of saying
| that the present effect of higher civill-,
cation ia the deterrent in preventing
early marriages, therefore more sui
lcides. Municipal statistics of New York,
lefty show but small percentage Of in.
lcrease in the number of suicides. but
the startling fact does stand out that
suicide is increasing in civilized coun-s
tries all out of proportion to the In
crease of the population. The writer
I'has failed to notice any comment on am
other feature of higher civilization,
| that is during this present discussion,
lsbut one that has been commented upon
many times in many learned articles.
and that is the religious phase Of sui
l8cides.
Unquestionably the world has changed
|.its religious belief very much during the
Hast fifty years Dante's Inferno is
dream today. Onceit wassalmost a part
of the Holy Scriptures He'll as; place.
has almost disappeared in the modern
sermon. Eternal torment and torture
| are unworthy subjects for the pulpit to-
day. The doctrine OF love. the final for
| igiveness of all s,iEs. including that of
suicide, issnow openly preached in some
iorthodox churches. In a word the doc
Urine of fear, of terror is being obliter-8
ated from much of the religious teach
ing of higher civilization. To be sure.
the Roman Catholic church still refuses
burial in consscrated ground TO the body
! of the suicide, but the stake is not driN-a
zen thru the suicides body before it iss
buried at the cross roads. Less than a
year ago New York judge from the
public bar openly STATED that under ce.-
tain circumstances the act of suicide Is
lcommendable. Again. We have a grow
ing sentiment, this also a by-product of
higher civilization, that all suicides are
insane at the time of the commisso on of
the act, so thai II is no misstatement
that suicide per-s. is not regarded by
the World today with the abhorrence of
fifty or 100 years ago.
Now ii seems d the writer that here
We have the TWO great causes Of the in
crease in the number of suicides. The
mass of the people do not dread the ills
they know notSof" az did the fathers of
centuries ago. Couple With this the
knowledge in the suicides mind that the
world Will more. pity than condemn his
act. As the sum of human knowledge
increases these lwo conditions increase
Fproportionately. Higher civilization.
brings many additional bodily wants
wants that become necessities after a
certain period Of use II goes without
saying that the Eskimo OF The north
or the Hottentot3 of the south can not be
deprived OF anything save food and.
clothing that makes him deslre the fu-5
6tur unknown Existence. But the Eskimo
after a twenty years life in New York
or the Hottentat after similar period
of existence in London. easily joins the
ranks of the suicide. This, ls Professor
Smiths higher civilization. But the
4 pfofesSanr fails to suggest that tust in a
direct ratio as the savage becomes civ
y ilized 80 does the civiizing act destroy
the superstition of the north and the
south.
And Statistics are lamentabiy free
/ from.figures to prove that the infi.iei or
ATHEIST are greater proportionately in
suicidal members than the religioualy
inclined But 1t can be asserted that
5Isuch thinkers are In legs dread of death
sItrOm natural causes than members of
Church organizations. To carry. out this
Il doctrine of higher civilization the per-
4 scentage OF suicides Of urbelievers must
Il be larger, But neither statistics or COM
i mon observation prove it. To be cure
this argument has weight. The average
sIintldelor atheist certainly uses his men
4 tai qualities more freely (whether right
lily or otherwise doeslnotsconcern us just
ihere) ttanthA average religious believer.
\ While the element of mental fear of the
a future Is eliminated from this class Of
/ unbeievers Il can not be gainsaid that
q such men are more fitted to understand
4 the ethice of all kinds of murder, Bob
Z 1ngersoll had no fear of hell, but Robert
4 Ingersoll bad broader ideas OF living
4 than some of his critics. Tom Paine
Il and Benjamin Franklin neither feared
endless torment in hell nor could conjure
q up burning lake OF birthstone, but cer-
i tainiy had more knowledge of life. Of
duty to self family or country than
some religious zealot OF their day who
sisted II the burning of witches
4 And go while we admit that higher
4 civilization has Increased the number Of
{. suicides In that Ii has done away with
i much Of the superstition tina, caused
great dread of the future, still higher
y fertilization has greater field for work
lin educating the would-be suicides 10 d
realizing sense Of life. Higher civilization
has greatly increased the selfishness OF
the individual 1t has not yet brought
j the individual to realizing sense OF the
value Of the one person to the many
4 The suicide utterly fails to comprehend
that his nannerMof leaving this world
is positive lass TO the mass. His mind