The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-11-24
GREAT INCREASE
IN suicide CASES
Big Cities Are Trying to Re-
duce the Mortality Rate
PEOPLE SENT TO FARMS
Railroad and Commercial Bodies of
Cities Are Working Together to
Give Means of Support to
the Needy.

Chicago, November 2S.--(special.)-An
increase of suicide in the United States,
principally in the big cities. has added
impetus to a movement to transplant eff
ficient members of the unemployed army
in the cities to farms in western Canada
and to supply them with the money they
need to reach the self-sustaining point.
According to the record recently reported
by an insurance actuary the ratio of sui
cides throughout the country Increased
1873 per cent in 1907, the ratio rising from
2o.7 in 1904. the previous high mark, to
21.S per cent to every 100000 of popula-
ton. But the ratio in cities of over $780,
900 inhabitants was 22,7 suicides to every
100000 population as compared with 1871
to every 100000 in the rural districts and
smaller cities The ratio in New York
was 1871 as against o in Chicago, figures
which are partially explained by the fig
ures given in the Metropolitan Magazine,
which asserted that no less than billion
dollars is now expended in charities which
do not lessen, but rather increase the
conditions of poverty. A systematic pro-
cess of transplanting the better class of
unemployed, recently proposed by Emer-
son Hough in his book 1.-The Sowing"
bids fair to become fact. Tracts of land
on The Grand Trunk Pacific and Canadian
Northern are under consideration, but it
has been thought the land would be
easier to secure than the large sums of
money which will be needed for the work
on scale of any magnitude. The sue
cessful experiment of loaning money al
current rates to men who are competent
to create farms but who haven't a dol
lar to live on or with which to buy horses,
plow or lumber, has put the Hough pro-
posal into category of intelligent aid
instead of futile giving. it being expected
that every loan will be paid as soon as
the recipient of it has been able to get
crop or two from his land and a home
established. Frederick A. Delano presi-
dent of the Wabash railroad, declared in
an address to the national farm land
congress: Everyone appreciates that the
tendency toward Capitalization in our
cities of late years has been very marked.
We must not underestimate the impor-
lance OF working for decentralization
The railroads are trying to help this
movement.
To appraise in dollars the value to
the nation of the lives tragically lost
the Cherry mine disaster the aver
age life value of $1,000 adopted in the
report of the national conservation
commission brings the total up to near
ly $1.25o,000, the actual cost to the
mine owners for those lives at $4,000
| each being likely to exceed $1,000 600.
under Illinois laws. The conspicuously
| bad record of the United States as
compared with other counties in the
number of lives sacrificed in coal mines,
| 3.49 to every 1000 miners employed, as
! against 1.2S in Great Britain, and 2.06 in
/ Prussia, is made even worse by the
! disaster, and the annual waste" econ
| omically stated. by preventable deaf. s
of a billion dollars year is increased
| by tremendous figure. This leaves the
widows, orphans and other dependents
out of the reckoning altogether though
| the effect is felt in the increase OF
money annually expended for charity
| by more fortunate citizens. Against
| acts of providence" man may put up
| but few defenses, but such horrors as
| those of the Iroquois theatre fire in
| Chicago, and the Slocum excursion boat
| fire in New York are terrible argu-
ments for an increased national interest
IN conserving human life as well ~
| the forests, the water supply and the
| coal fields The conservation commits
sion pointed out that prevention of dis
| ease increases the strength of a ma
| ton. Protection against mining and
| railroad disasters, forest fires floods
and pollution of streams would do much
to lessen the annual unnecessary ma
tional loss of capitalized net earnings
| which is rated as $1,000, 00G, 900 to say
! nothing at all of the annual minimum
| expense among workingmen's families
alone. In Europe the average lengCn
| of life has doubled in three and one
half centuries, the greatest increase be-
| ing accredited to Germany together
| with the honors for medical and sani-
tary development. Rated by years the
| increase in the length of life per in
dividual has become q years per cen
fury.
The fact that Uncle Sans SEX, 900, 00t
Thanksgiving dinner will cost some 81 500,
900 more than usual because of high prices
! prevailing for turkeys and other fowls
| and other meats is quite acceptable, thank
YOU in Packingtown. Down at the
| stock yards some of the smiling manag-
| ers regard the cause assigned by proc
| lamation for the celebration as almost
| personal whatever the view of the
| householders throughout the land when
they pay the bills. The big packers, il
should be said. have a very good grip
nowadays upon the poultry business OF
| the country and shortages of supply
just prior to Thanksgiving and Christ
mas have developed with due regular
ity, with the result that turkeys, ducks
and chickens advance. Beef pork and
mutton also are marked up this year
Chicago's milion-dollar dinner does moi
go for viands alone, and the advance In
champagne, owing to the new tariff
schedule, is one of the items on the list
! of beverages which have stipulated
cider, sweet and hard of our forefath-
ers Bear meat Is especially plentiful
this year, but game birds, judging BY
prices, will be scarce. Prairie chick
ems jumped to s28 and $50 dozen while
mallard ducks advanced to $3.50 and $
a dozen; cartridges to SIS and $50 ant
quail at $3.50 and IS a Dozen all de-
scriptions being held at prices such al
have not been recorded at Thanksgiv
ing time in many years. Sucking pigs
such as were sold last year at 81 ane
s1.50. will cost s225 and s275. Roas