The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-06-08
EDUCATION AND SUICIDE.


The statistics OF suicides are very
imperfectly kept in this country. In
only three or four states are the de-
tails of self-destruction recorded with
any degree of accuracy or care. For
this reason it is difficult for students
of abnormal phenomena to reach any
conclusions respecting suicide that are
very valuable. Many of their deduc-
lions are hardly more than guess
work, being reached by intuition rath-
er than by the analysis of authenti-
Gated facts. Nevertheless, from a
TO be obtained, Prof. w. B. Bailey of
Yale University has reached some in
teresting conclusions with respect to
suicide. From the statistics Prof.
Bailey finds that suicide is increasing
in the United States. In some of the
larger cities recently there have been
veritable epidemics of self-destruction.
1t is not possible to tell from the pub
lished names of the victims of their
own murderous mania whether they
are of any particular nationality.
There are those who assert that per-
sons of German birth are more given
to suicide than others, but this can
not be demonstrated by the available
facts in the United States.
Prof Bailey says: THE country
has been exceptionally prosperous, so
that suicidal mania cannot be attrib-
uted to that, except in this way, that
where there is general high education
of the people there is mental worry
and life is faster, the work is harder
for men to get to the top, the nerV-
Gus tension is greater, and that may
intensity the tendency towards sui
eide. The growth of nervous disease
would seem to indicate that Prot.
Bailey finds that where the percent
age of educated persons is highest,
suicides are most frequent. AS the COM
munity becomes more learned, the fear
of death. even by self-inflicted means
becomes less. The minimum or sui
cides per capita occur where educa-
ton is at the lowest ebb. Whether
this is a case of cause and effect.
whether higher and better education
| leads to selt-destruction, is a matter
to be considered by sociologists. fer
capita, the suicides are much more
numerous in New England than IN
the Southern states.
Men are more given to self-destruc-
ton than women, in the proportion oil
about three to one; and more married
men than single men kill themselves.
The dangerous period for men is be-
tween the ages of thirty and forty,
and for women between twenty and
thirty. This seems to show that
woman reaches the unbearable period
of life sooner than a man, though
fewer women than men reach that
period at all. The favorite methods
of putting an end to existance are
shooting for men and poison for worn
en-. Nearly half the number or men
who give themselves the quiteus DO
| it with bullet, though not one wom-
an in ten chooses that method. Pos
slbly it is because poison makes a
''better looking corpse" or it may be
that women generally are afraid Of
| firearms and prefer the slower means
of the deadly draught. Whatever the
age of the woman suicide, poison is
her favorite method. The great cause
of suicide in both sexes is despond-
ency, though business losses and re-
verses figure largely in the suicides
of men. Oddly enough, suicides seem
to have their favorite days of the
week, as we'll as favorite methods.
The leading suicide day is Monday
which heads the list by a considerable
margin. Then follows Sunday. Few
err suicides are committed on Satur-
day than any other day. This may
| be because Saturday is the common
payday and it is the desire of the
respondent ones to get a possible ex-
stra day or two's enjoyment out of
| life before bidding il an eternal fare