The evening times., 1902-07-10
4 SUICIDAL HAMA
INDUCED BY HOT WAVE
Five Persons End Their
Lives in Two Weeks,
MANY ATTEMPTS THAT FAIL
and Police Say Increasing
Temperature Is Directly Responsible.
More Than Half Summer Seif-De-
struction Gases Due to Heat Mania.

The police say q suicidal mania has
been induced by the recent hot wave
1T is certainly remarkable" said
certain weIl-known official this morn
ing. IN conversation with a Times re-
porter. "the manner in which the death
roll of q city grows during the sumner
months. and especially the suicide rec
ord More than half OF the persons whose
deaths are officially reported to the po-
ice in the form o; suicides have been
mentally derangcd because Of the in
tense heat. and while in such & condi-
ton end their careers in various man
ners."
The official Epoke the truth SO far as
the police casualty list is concerned, for
when an examination was made OF the
records this morning it was found that
during the past month, and more espe-
ciauy the last couple Of weeks, when
;he temperature Of the weather has in
creased materially, the number Of sui
cides has numbered five persons, four
of whom used carboiic acid to end their
lives. In addition, there have been many
attempts at self-destruction. Those who
make a study Of such matters lay the
cause of. the rash actions Of the unfor-
tunates at the door of Old Sol, claim
ing that death was hastened by the in
creasing OF the temperature
On the other hand during the winter
months suicides are few and far between,
sometimes months eIapsing before a case
of seIf-destruction is reported. When
asked his opinion upon the subject this
morning, Dr. Nevitt. the city Coroner,
vas decidedly Of the opinion that the
number Of self-destructIon cases IL
creased n the heat OF summer.
TIE increasing temperature said
he. Is in my opinion indirectly re-
spcnsible for the large number Of sui
eidts which occur during the summer
n onths. You take for instance man
40 IS worried or in a decidedly melan-
choly mood on a summers day, his own
imaginary troubles are almost invariably
greatly added to by the intense heat
until the unfortunate individual becomes
so crazed that he has decided 10 end
his misery by self-dcstruction-
Washington IS one OF the warmest
cities in the country during the warm
weather season, and consequently our
death rate here considering our popuIa-
tion is considerably larger than that
( Of several other cities, although I have
/ heard physicians in metropolitan cente7s
/ express the belief that warm weather
undoubtedly superinduced self-destTuc-
ton"
/ So far this summer the death rate OF
4 the city. however, by suicide IS not as
( large as that of last summer or even
/ perhaps summer before last when tbs
+ weather was almost unbeaTabIe, this
! beins due undoubtedly TO the unusually
( cool feather which this city has expe-
! rienced during the present year.
/ Perhaps there are few persons better
able TO Judge regarding the increase IN
I suicidal cases IN the summer time thar
I the surgeons at the various hospitals
Immediately after the close Of winter
/ those hospitals which receive emergency
! medical cases Of all descriptions begin
/ to arrange their paTaphernalia for tho
work ahead, more especially the attend
J ing Of suicidal cases. Frequently the
I hospital surgeons are called upon 20 at.
/ tend as many as three or four cases o
attempted self-destructiou a day. case:
{ IN which time IS priceless, especially
IN carbolic acid poisoning.
Only a few years ago It was the reign
/ ing style among the coloTed women whit
infest this city's numerous alleys {,
swallow carDolic acid during the sum
mer and so many cases OF such a char
acter were handled by the Emergcac.
Hospital during that period that the,
( were forced to secure additional assist
/ auce