New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-06-25
NOT AGREED ON SUICIDE
Academy's Attempt to Suppress
News Absurd, DR.. Flint Says.

AIants+s In this city were divided yester
dav respecting the attitude or the Ahie'i-
can Academy OF Medicine AZ Los Angeies'
I'm assuming suicide to be private aHar'
and requesting the press OF America 10 re-
frain from further publication OF such
facts Dr. Austin Flint said. at MS ONCE
No 1l8 East 10Th street. yesterday; SUI
eide Ia imItative-that is a pretty Wei es-
,ablished fact. Consequently. publication
OF the details OF suicides increases the
rurber Of such cases. But I should vote
against any such resolution as the one
passed by the American Academy OF Meu =
ic,ne in California. simply on the ground
that Il is absurd. II is not practicaDie lot
the American Academy OF Medicine 10 rev
olutionize Journalism. They are printing
s,,icides all over the world, and In the
nature OF the thing are justified.
DIR Allan McI.ane Hamilton took the po-
st-ion that the only trouble with the CaH-
fornia resolution was that II failed 10 20
far enough Putting aside the indlsputaO''
right OF the press to record SUCH occur
rences. they being matters OF puDhc rec
ord as soon as the Coroner was ca"eu III
hamilton said at his office, No. $50 Madison
avenue. -.
81 am in hearty sympathy with the spirit
NJ th. resolution. After a long experience
In STUDYING the question. l have FOUND thdi
.hera are fashions in suicides. They ar"
a,,denic Only a few years ago We had
suicides by carbolic acid TO the NUMBER Oh
three mr. four a day Another time there
uos leaning toward the dramatic suicide
and after some person ended MS He Dy
I-afl UT "A
,be example would be followed by one or
TWO others AS this liz the tendency publ
..,t,on of such things is likely 20 perpetu-
ate IT. ,,.,-
.T think the curse OF modern Journalism
ties in the fact that some or the news
,aners OF the lower grade seem TO deilsH'
,r the publication Of horrors. They give
,heir Sunday editions up TO pathoiogicd'
dsscriptions OF some nauseating, offensive
medical condition. or course. tins ~ oouhu
IN hurt people. more especially the very
oeoDle who read those newspapers De-
cause such persons rarely read anything
a,se II is harmful to young minds par
ticularly.
"v remember a suicide in Connecticut
rhIch was a most ingeniously conducted
ooair A newspaper gave two pages 10
n,ct,,res OF the guilotine and full descrip-
ton OF the horrible apparatus. IL doesn |
,oiiov that because a man commits suicide
so ,,ust be insane There is an idea abroad
that no man can do away with himself
under any other circumstances. the theory
being that his love OF life is naturally too
strong
You might as we'll charge that a man
tha
battlefield unless he is insane. l find a
whole lot OF nervous people who are not
,psane They are suffering from tired
brains or functional nervous trouble. They
would not think OF suicide unless their at
,en,ion was called 20 II by some publics-
ton Of all the depressing details. The
recommendations Of the American Acad-
amy Of Medicine should include request
OF the press not 10 publish the unnecessary
/ details ~ crime. murder or disease.
..rhe first attempt Of millions Of immi-
Grants 10 learn the English Language Is
through reading In these low Erdde news
napers the sickenng accounts Of murders
and suicides No wonder that afterwarf
I ,h.v commit such things themselves |
think a good deal Of the crime I'm this
country Is due 10 the fippant way crime
and such Things are printed Tn some of
o"n r n Ernest Schmid when asked n
in HE opinion q suicide was a private
/ natter or whether II should not he treated
,s kind of murder by the press said
| "'rbat H. a delicate question. In the case
~ most suicides they are suffering from
some trouble With tie head. or course
they ought 10 he keL a much away from
| such things possible. Because they are
! initiative ! cali II comm unicative brain
movement I remember In Paris. when
vas there. soldier hung himself bv A
/ hook IN one Of the barracks - a very
short time -four soldiers followed his ex-
| ample even 10 choosing a similar hook
| on which 10 hang themselves"