New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-07-03
SUICIDES ON INCREASE
r, /. HOffman'S Statistics Show
| to 5000 Persons in Cities.
NEW Y0RK'S RATE IS LOW
In This City 1879 Persons Out OF
100000 Ended Their Lives
in Last Year.

One out OF every 5000 persons living In
the cities of this country last year com
mitted suicide, or. 10 be exact. 1871 persons
out of every 10000. These figures are based
on statistics from one hundred cities. and
are taken from an article by Frederick L..
Hoffman which will appear in The Spec
tator." In the preceding year the rate was
q out OF every 10000
Although the data show that the per-
centage Of suicides is far greater large
than in small cities. New York Is star
ting exception In New York last year the
rate was only 1873 TO the 10000. whereas
from 1900 TO 1879 San Francisco averaged
50. nearly three times as many. However,
the suicide rates in Hoboken and Newark
have for years been far In excess OF the
average city, and this may in part explain
New York's smaller percentage.
Mr. Hoffman finds that the Western
cities have heavier rates than the Eastern
and awards San Francisco the doubtful
honor Of leading all other cities In the per-
centage of suicides. This is strikingy
brought out in statistics for the last year.
which show that San Francisco had W.
suicides to every 10000 persons. while sac
ramento was second, with $50. Oakland
and Los Angeles were third and fourth re-
spectively. And even San Diego was well
IN the first ten. giving California I'VE cities
out Of that number.
comparison of suicide statistics with
those OF business conditions and business
failures leads 10 the conclusion that the
two are closely related. When financial
conditions are bad suicides are generally
10 he riC of l4lT
and the following year, when the effect OF
the depression was still widespread. the
number Of suicides was exceptionally
large. In 1898 the average was a.S. the
highest attained I'm twenty years, and the
actual number of suicides in the cities upon
which the figures are based was i,5s2
From available statistics in Germany 1t Is
found that the rate there for the year 1919
was 2e3, and il is also shown that the rate
has slowly but surely increased. Partcu-
larry noticeable is the increase OF SUICIDES
among women. the average I'm 1873 beng
l0l 10 the 10000
The German data" says Mr.. Norman,
would seem to warrant the conclusion
that the general suicide rate Of we'll de-
veloped. commercially prosperous country
reaches a maximum point which will rare
~ exceed % to the 10000 Of population
In the area covered in the United States
for the five years ended with 1908. which
includes about 81 per cent Of the total popu-
lation the suicide rate for men was az TO
the 1000 and the rate for women SIS. ana
for both sexes combined 1911 These figures
offer the conclusion that the suicide ten
dency among both men and women in THIS
country is much less than in Germany
Comparisons of figures for the last twenty
years show general increase in the num-
her of suicides The hundred United states
cities from which the averages were Cd
tanned last year had total population Oh
a2l72Gs5 and the actual number OF SUICIDES
was 4S71. With three exceptions his Is
the highest rate since 1901. The lowest rate
recorded. les. was in 1892. Newport and
Gloucester. Mass were the only two out
OF the 100 cities in which there were no
suicides last year.