The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-11-10

mate and weather have absolutely no
effect on mental conditions, but he con-
| cedes very little to them. The weather
which he considers the most potent of
| the lot would not account for the
observed discrepancies between the
middle Of the continent and the coasts,
for both sections are affected by prac-
tiCally the same conditions If clim-
ate had anything to do with it, the
! enervating heat of semi-tropical re-
gions should make a worse showing
for the Gulf States than is reported
from the North, Probably little harm
is thus done. but it is more than
cOunterbalanced by other causes in the
regions where insanity is most abund-
ant. The Washington expert is con-
WINGED that the various elements in
a mans physical environment operate
only indirectly and secondarily. Their
influence is not primarily mental.
on taking up another set of condi-
lions DR.. White finds a much closer
parallel. In the lower races of man
kind, as with the animals, the struggle
for life is mainly physical In civil
lied lands and in the more civilized
portions of such lands, the struggle is
mental. This will naturally be the
fiercest where the greatest number of
people are found in a given area. In
other words. density of population is
an important factor.
Several illustrations of the theory
might be cited. One of them is fur
nished by the concentration of people
in cities. Thus, in what is called the
North Atlantic division OF states, the
eleventh census showed that 51.5S per
cent of the population was collected
in punches of 5000 or more, and only
1903 in the South Atlantic. In the
South Central division the proportion
was 1915, while in the Western division
it was 2999. Again, in 1890, the num-
Der of cities having a population of
50,0 900 or more was fifty-eight, and ex-
actly half of them were in the North
Atlantic division. There, then, is the
greatest concentra ton, and hence still
further by the fact that the proper
ton of cases of insanity to the total
population is greater in cities than
elsewhere. Taking the country right
through in 1890, there were 10 cases to
every 100000 persons, but for cities
alone the average was 2427.
incidentally, mention is made of a
point which would naturally occur to
| most sociologists, though A. o. Wright
seems to have been the first to direct
| attention to it. The proportion of in
sane, even in a single state, is often
| found to be greater in the older coun-
| ties than in those newly settled. Mi
grafton affects statistics in two ways.
| The first occupants of a region are al
ways vigorous and enterprising, and in
valids are apt to be few and scarce for
several years. On the other hand, the
weak, delicate and sluggish stay be-
hind. This rule holds good not only
for tuberculosis and rheumatism, but
also for insanity. Still, there is a nota-
BILE exception, which DIR. White points
out.
The states in which mineral wealth
abounds present different social condi-
tions from those in which agriculture is
| the universal pursuit, and which have
been settled an equally short time In
temperance and other forms of vice
| quickly develop in mining localities, and
! the newer the country the less the
moral restraint which is felt. In this
way the physical constitution is un-
| dermined and mental unsoundness
| promoted. Here is the reason for the
| startling proportion of insanity to pop
| ulation on the Pacific coast. Corrobor-
| ative testimony is furnished by an
| other unique fact. In Montana, Idaho,
| Colorado, Arizona and Nevada, as well
| as in the states to the westward utah
apparently excepted, a greater number
| of male inha bitants are insane than
female. whereas in the rest of the coun-
| try the reverse is the rule.
Interesting side lights are thrown up
| on the question by two sets of
facts. Ir his study of suicide in Eu-
| rope, MOrSslll round the largest per-
| centages where the Teutonic element
| predomnated. In France the rate was
| found to be greater in the north than
in the south. When Italy is considered
however, a puzzling situation is pre-
scented. A different ethnic type pre-
| walls there. 1t thus becomes evident
! that suicides are associated with high
culture and creative genius, rather than
race stock; and culture is the product
| of density of population, and the ex-
ercise of the brain rather than the
| physical powers. For a time the ne
| groes of the United States showed a
lower percentage OF insanity than the
| whites, and even yet this is true in some
parts of the South. While their pur-
suits We're agricultural and their bust
ness rivalries insignificant, they had
| little trouble. When they came North
and entered into competition with the
| whites, the mental stress was increas-
| ed. The lesson is emphasized by a