Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-02
SeIf-Destruction Stunned
BY the "Submerged Tenth"
Special Correspondence OF The Star.

the venerable leader of the Salvation
Army. or one of his lieutenants. on the
subject. seemed preposterous. But as has
been the case with many Of the generals
novel schemes the results have confound-
ed the skeDtics- The review Of the frst
years work of this unique life saving in
stitutioh. which has Just been issued.
more than Iastifies its existence.
With it's general methods American
readers are familiar. for since the London
bureau was organized similar institutions
have been opened by the Salvation Army
in New York and Chicago. 1t would be
interesting. however. to compare the sta
1istics of these branches and the deduc-
lions from them with those OF the parent
organizations. I don't know what the
returns for the American cities show,
but an analysts of the report Of the Lon
don anti-suicide bureau yields results
that are surprising and interesting.
First is the fact that no less than 1.125
men did stop on their way to seif-de-
struct'on to take counsel on the subject
before carrying out their gruesome pur-
pose And no less than Is per cent acted
on the advice-'don't" Equally surpris-
ing is the discovery that the large major
ity of those who had resolved to make an
end of themselves belonged not most
people would suppose TO the very poor
and destitute, classes-the Submerged
tenth"-but to the middle class The
dweller in the SUM- the casual la borer
who lives from hand to mouth. the toiler
who in his old age has no other recourse
than the poorhouse. the tramp and the
loafer. are not the people who find life
intolerabe. They have become habituat
cd to their misery. They endure the
worst and cling tenaciously to life. 1t is
those who have known better days-those
who are making their first acquaintance
with dire poverty or disgrace-who find
the struggle too much for them. They
have lost their foothold in that fierce
contest for bread and responsibility and
cannot endure the gutter. Clergymen.
military officers doctors. solicitors. jour
nalists, architects. company promoters.
actors. bank clerks. schoolmasters, etc,
make up the bulk of those who sought the
aid of the anti-Suicide bureau.
Gen. Booths own explanation of the
reasons why the number of the very poor
who contemplate suicide IS so dispropor-
tionately small is worth quoting. 1t is
he shfewdly suggests, because either
their bloodless condition deprives them
of the courage necessary for self-destruc-
ton or that they. have for so long a per-
Tod been near neighbors of misery that
they are willing to continue the acquain-
tance to the end. or. what is more feast
bic, the social agencies provided specially
for these classes meet the requirements
Of ther-t1espairing among them"
Another striking feature of the report
is the evidence Ii affords that women are
far less prone to commit suicide than
men. Among the applicants to the bureau
for advice the men outnumbered the Wom-
en-, over ten to one. General statistics of
do olxx-ay nn
between the sexes in this respect, but
not in such a marked degree. 1t is
probably true. as the general surmises.
that women are better able to bear
up under their sorrows and trials than
men" 1t may be also that many of them
are saved from self-destructton by ply
steal cowardice. For while suicide may
: be denounced as moral -cewardice it re-
quires. no little physical courage to take
ones life, That suggests an interesting
question for discussion. Which contrib
-utes most, TO saving women in trouble
from committing sufcide-their excess of
b, moral courage or the lack of physical
courage?
/, There were only ninety women who
called at the bureau to discuss the .ques-
tion whether they should should not
commit suicide. Most OF them had had
a superior education which untitled
rather than qualified them for such work
as they could find. Two-thirds of them
l were suffering from melancholia and the
drugs.
Jumping men and women together. it
was found that "a per cent had been
brought to the verge of suicide by finan
cial worries or poverty: IL per cent by
drink, drugs or disease; per cent by
melancholia: > per cent by crime. and 81
per cent by general causes, such as acct
dent, sickness and misfortune.
-
hat ha hf1rp hnrp has
been so successful in dssuading many
from self-destruction is largely due to
the personality of its chief. Col. Unger.
He is man who understands human ma
ture and how to adapt himself to Its vari-
Gus temperaments. moods and phases.
He served many years in the British
army and has travelled all over the world.
He possesses q most persuasive Irish
tongue and a wonderful pair of eyes set
under bushy eyebrows. They are big
and brown and capable of all sorts of
expression. AS he talks they illustrate
with dramatic aptness all that he says.
Now they soften with tender feeling now
they flash with Indignation. now they
threaten, now they plead: one minute they
are full of affection. the next sparkling
with fun They are eyes that make you
feel the man is your friend-and friend
worth having--very quickly. indeed.
THE first thing / try to do he said;
SIS to awaken the real man concealed
somewhere behind every one of the poor
despairing creatures who come to us for
aid. That real man Is always there. but
he Is not always easy to get at. And
until l have got at him / cannot hope
for anv success al all
Different cases require different treat
ment. A professional man. who was a
victim of the drink craving called on
Col. Tnger. He had just emerged from
a weeks debauch. Filled with shame and
loathing of himself. convinced that he
could never overcome the demon that
pursued him. he had resolved to end his
life. AS he told his story the colonel
sized him UP and decided what sort of
cacious with him. He had given a good
name and said he was d member of the.
well-known family which bears it.
so then" said Col Unger. his own
eyes flashing with indignation as He looked
Steadily into the boodshot eyes of the
inebriate. this Is how you mean to end
your cowardly Iife!''
The epithet brought the drunkard to his
feet In u moment flushed with anger. He
admitted that he might be all sorts Of
things that were bad. but by heaven.
he was no coward. The real man in him
had been awakened. And 1t was thetreal
man that Col Cnger tackled.
isn't II cowardly to shirk fight when
you are challenged? Isn't it cowardly to
infict pain and shame on an old man?
Isn't il worse than cowardly to bring
fie hittereSt grief woman can knoU IN