The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1901-04-19
ho writes note to the heartless charm !,
Or and mskos way with himself before.
ho is thoroughly sober.

AZ {WlAtt6 HOko w tuo uonrtleEb Vlhrm !.
or and makes way with himself before
ho is thoroughly sober.
s"Tho women seldom loavo letters,
they usually try in every way to avoid
Identification; but the mon eeem to
take o certain satisfaction in tho dra-
matic end they arc making aud want
all the spectacular features Of course,
there ere many exceptions to all those
goneralitios. I'm, only giving you my
own impressions from study Of the re-
cords.
3"The mothers arc the persons for
whom most Of the letters are left.
There arc letters to husbands, wives,
sweet hearts, but a big majority Of tho
suicides see IN moro worried about tho
effect Of tho thing upon their mothers
than about any thing else. Lottor after
lotter hegs a mother to forgive and not
to gritvo, and good many Of them are
not written 10 tho mothers, but ask
that tho nows bo broken 10 tfem gent
ly. It's natural enough A swe, thoart
or vito or friend is all very wo ], but it's
a follows mother who is going to bo
hardest hit when ho throws up the
gamt; and down at tho bottom of his
hoart tho fellow kaows it. 4
There's one funny thing abeut the
letters. II tho writer mentions God or
the hercafttr at oil ho usually 81 cms to
feel pretty sure that God will forgive
him. There's somo anxiety about what
surviving friends may think of the
move, but fair certainty that God
KIN ows how hard things arc and will un
dere' aud.
Ono class of suicides includes tho
cranks-all sorts and conditions of
oranks There was tho man who
thought he had swallowed dynamite
and would rather kill himself than wait
TO be blown up Thon there was the
man who beloved that he was being
followed and waald b. murdered !.
We've seen q number of such cases
The man who always heard angels urg-
ing him to die and ,mo to heaven was
another; and ono said he had been
hypnotized by some people on the
street, and his life was spoiled. Of
course, those mon are simply insane
I'm sorry for them, but those cases
aren't pitiful like some.
when an old man of 20 commits
suicide beoou;o he can't bear being do
pendent upon his children any longer
it makoa you think. One seldom fluids
an old person taking his own life.
Things must have been protty hard for
that old follow. He looked like good
patient soul, too.
''Thcn I always have felt sorry for
tho mon who made away with them
selves so that their wives and children
could have the insurance money, and
for tho invalids who faced lingering
death and dreaded tho burden and ex.
pense for those they loved.
i've mover had suicide case break
mo up as ono did years ago. A sweet
faced, worn woman had consumption.
Her husband could earn worry little,
and she finally gotso she couldn't work
at all. The children were half starved;
and at last tho mother just put Eer
self out Of the way, not beoause sho
minded suffering, but because that was
| the on ly$ wey&in nwhioh she .cou Id help
! along and make her husband d burdo on
lighter, y 1.s t:g
.'The man who can't get work / nj
sorry for him. OF oourso there are
charities; but some mon arc proud, and
then man can starve to death while
tho whoels arc getting III motion.
There's one man suppose / ought not
to tympathizs with, but I can't help
doing it. He's the fellow who is an
out and out failure and knows it. He
ought to pull himself together and mako
up for lost time. It's contemplate
oowardice for him to confees himself
beaten and chuck the whole responsi-
bility; but when a man reaches /,
say 4O-and, looking back sees failure
and wasted opportunities all along the
line, and realizes he's wre ok, body
and soul, he has pretty bad quarter OF
an hour.
| "A good many suicides cover dis
grace that never comes to the ears Of
the world. We don't have SO many
Wall street suicides as in old days,
though. There seem to be moro ways
of wriggling out of tight financial places
nowadays, or else business mon have
more lu,k.
by tho way, there grim irony in
| one collection that has accumulated in
the coroner's office. You'd be surprised
to 500 the number Of rabbits feet,
amulets, and lucky charms Of one sort
and another that have been takon from
the bodies Of suicides and casualty
cases. There used to be drawer full
Of them, but I don't know what has be-.
como of them. l'e
Grip has added to the number OF
suicides in this country, and extreme
hot weather always swells the list.
Comparatively few persons commit
suicide during the winter. The osses
begin to multiply during April and
May. | suppose the spring stirs peo-
pie up and makes them restless and
unhappy.
Juno is called tho suicide month by
statisticans, but August is usually the
big month here. The heat has worked
on mans norvos by that time, and
whom q soorohing spell comes along
he's half crazy and irresponsible
Suicide COOS in waves. like various
kinds of oriae. Oao man uses Cur
tain method and othor cases Of the
Same kind will follow. Uarbolic acid
has been great thing this last year
It use to bo, always, Paris green OF
rat poison. Illuminating gas suicides
have Increased wonderfully. But, az
tor all, it's tho pistol and the water that
keep the suicide records crowded. -
New York Sun.
q e----- D.