The Ordway new era., 1911-08-04
By WILLIAM 8. COUCH.
10 suicide a private, personal AFFAIR."

is suicide a private, personal affair."
The American Academy OF Medi-
cine says 1t is In an Official report Of
a committee unanimously adopted In
a recent San Francisco convention OF
the country's best-known physicians
and surgeons.
Suicide Is private and personal
affair."" the report reads. There is
no more Justification for the publica-
ton OF suicide accounts than for pub
fishing other private matters. II,
however. the members Of the press
are still skeptical Of the fact that
they are now accessories to the
crime. we suggest that they assist
in the study OF the conditions that
promote 1t. The committee emphat-
ically requests the American press to
refrain from further publication Of
suicide reports. because:
"D The rapid Increase in the sui
eide death rate in the United States
is due to the suggestion innoculatcd
by newspaper stories OF other sui
cides. (2) Your committee finds
alienists practically unanimous in the
opinion that suggestive published de-
tails Of suicides are powerful factor
In the causation OF suicides among
susceptible men. (3) Newspapers re-
ply that 1t Is their province to pub
lish the news. Attempts to prevent
such publications are invasions of the
liberty of the press. They say the
people demand the news and 1t must
be given them. 4 Attempts at re-
form legislation are practically use.
less. unless preceded by popular edu-
cation. t5) We must appeal. then.
to the doubtful conscience of Ameri-
can newspapers. II they have one. in
the present decadent condition of the
press of the United States"
Il am frank to say" said Judge
Warren w. Foster. New York's bench
expert criminologist, that there
would be no profit to any man taking
sides In any controversy between
medical and newspaper men. His
would be the fate of grain crushed be-
tween two millstones.
Out OF my study of crime I have
concluded that the press would better
help social reform by playing up dis
coveries of new means to it than by
emphasizing crime itself. Still. have
no press experience on which to base
advice rs to how newspapers should
be rum"
Ask for Suppression Of News.
THE law makes attempted suicide
felony. and an accessory to suicide a
felon. too. A maximum sentence OF
two years and a maximum fine of
$1,000 are the same in both cases.
Several prisoners have been Jailed,
you will find from the records, for en-.
couraging other persons, particularly
their wives, to kill themselves. To
get burial permit in a death case a
physician is. of course. required by
law to report on the cause Of death.
which includes suicide. After their
charges, it is worth notice that those
medical men add a frank appeal to
the newspapers for help to suppress
suicides"
In the homicide bureau of District
Attorney Charles S. Whitman's office
1t was said: Suicide cases are not so
important a problem In this office as
you might think. We get a few sui
eide reports each year. but the num-
bers are insignificant and almost un-
noticed by us as compared to more i'm
portant crimes. A discussion Of wheth.
er suicides are suggested by newspa-
per reports Of other cases would re.
quire careful study of our books and
the newspaper reports for many years.
We are frank to say that we couldn't
help your controversy on either side
II we dug through our books. Severe
and successful prosecutions Of at.
tempted suicides. or their accessories.
when played up in the press, have
usually reduced suicide reports. A poll
of our staff would probably show that
most Of us believe prosecutions to