The Washington herald., 1911-05-21

| SAtISiiIPsSo SoA~AoS 40 AN SAAlIC LA
the District of Columbia" said In
spector Boardnan, last night, when
talking about recent deaths by that
means in this city. Police are pow
erless to arrest any one who tries
to put an end to his life, and hospi-
tai authorities cannot detain one of
this class after recovery. Many
times we have tried to get them to
hold persons of this class so as to
give them time to get such notions
out of their heads, but we are told
that the patients are recovered, and
must leave the hospital as soon as
in a condition to be discharged.
QUESTION AS TO SANITY.
| "Of course, IL there Is any doubt of
their sanity, It is easy to send them to
ST. Elizabeths for examination and OBJ
servation.
| Then, again, IL we were told that John
Jones, around the corner, had gone out to
buy a gun and had declared his intention
| of putting an end tc II all, We could go
and get John Jones, bring him in here,
and try to get him to change his mind
about. suicide. But that's as far as we
can co. said the inspector.
| DR.. W. c. Woodward said there is prac-
tically no restraint upon any one medi-
tating suicide under the laws of the Dis
| trict, and that in the few States in which
| there is a law to punish those who at
| tempt self-destruction. it is hard to get
at the deterrent effect, If any. which such
laws may exert.
Suicide is one of the most involved
and unsatisfactory subjects of study the
department of vital statistics has to offer
to any one," said the doctor. THE
causes of suicidal impulse are SO varied,
so diverse. so deep-seated, and often
times so trivial, that there is offered a
complexity Of conditions that are most
bewildering
whether or not law furnishing those
who try to commit suicide and fail
would have any effect upon the making
of another attempt is something no one
can truthfully and accurately decide.
Nor is 1t possible to tell whether the law
has any appreciable effect in stopping
others from trying II. More has been
written, probably. upon suicide than upon
other vital subjects. and II is no re-
Election upon the ability of the writer's
to say that they have come very far
from reaching conclusion.
More Cases Than known.
Il believe all statistics of suicides all
over the world are understated There
are more cases of suicide than returns
show Among the more important Of
the causes of this is the desire on the
part Of all concerned to avoid n certain
disgrace attaching in the popular mind
against death by self-inflcted means
But as this Is universal in its effect, the
statistics available from all countries ars,
perhaps. equally affected by it,
Frederick L. Hoffman. one OF the lead |
ing vital statisticians of the country,
says the cities Of the country during the
last ten years show a rank Of death by |
suicides as follows:
San Francisco, Oakland, Hoboken, 81. |
Louis. Denver, Newark. Haverhill. Mass.
Milwaukee. Chicago, Cincinnati. and New |
York. In San Francisco the deaths by |
suicide average SIG for every 100000, |
while in New York the average is only |
2o.s.
The fact that New York has a stringent |
law Furnishing those who attempt sui |
eide with fine or heavy Imprisonment, and |
the relatively low place this city holds in |
the rank Of those who die by suicide, has |
been taken as one Of the strongest argu- |
ments in favor of making attempts at
suicide punished by heavy penalty.
Attempts to get some who are high in |
experience and place in Washington to |
express themselves on the best means of |
preventing suicide in a community failed |
most signally. Some who can solve the |
most perplexing and intricate questions Of |
municipal government with one hand tied |
behind them, threw up both hands when |
asked to express an opinion upon the |
probable effect Of this law in the District. |
All said the causes that impel people to |
self-destruction are fundamental ques-
tions Of society, and the attempt to pass
upon 1t means discussing all the problems
Of our social life. And all were willing to
let it go at that. r.
Fifty persons a year Is the average
spread over nine years of the number
Of persons who take their lives in WASH
ington. annually. This gives an average
OF about fifteen out Of every 100000 Of
the population, and in a comparative
table Washington stands low among the
large cities of the United States.
The FavOf1te Months.
May and June are the favorite months
Of the year. the world over. for self
destruction. Two reasons are assigned
for this selection. First, the hot weather
Of those months causes more cases Of
insanity than do any other two months
in the year. and. second, there are many
more deaths by drowning in the months
when tho water Is warm than when Il
Is cold. Scientists admit that II seems
strange thatsone who 10 determined to
take his life should be deferred by q
cold plunge.
Rigid enforcement Of the poisons act
and the restrictions Of the sale Of poi
sons have In the experience Of the drug.
gists Of Washington no preventive effect
upon suicide. Thomas oeram says the
poisons act prevents drug habit and may
prevent murder, but It has no deterrent
effect on suicide. 49,
I'VE can sch cyanide Of potassium to
any one who asks for Il. The purchaser
may tell ~ b wants Il Tor SOLDERING or u