Holbrook argus., 1913-01-28
SUICIDAL
 INSANITY

tue Pes cho'oeicdl pIoDlem pIOpounded by one of Pittszurg's notable scientific men in the presence of reporter for the Pittsburg Dispatch. '1 do not re- fer especially to Pittsburg," he con tiuued, for this species of insanity seems to he general in America. and In all other countries. It is 9 gbastly record, this self-destruction by bullet, by deadly drugs, by the knife. the rope, by gas, by drowning, by almost every means conceivable, and some nearly inconceivable.
 Many of the suicides are traceable to causes that are really trivial. but those are mostly confined to women and for the most part, I think the rec ords will show, to young women of the shallower sort who have been disap- pointed in what they imagine love. Sometimes it is domestic difficulty. and l dare say that nine-tenths of the cases of this sort are really due to the impossibility of the family to make the social show they desire. This affects the wife and mother poignantly, probably because of the presence of daughters who wish to dress more showily than the purse of the father will permit. The father also is fond of his children and in at- tempting to give them all that his purse will allow he often gives more. gets deeper and deeper into pecuniary difficulty, and concludes that the easi- est way out is the way that will end all for him, not stopping to consider that the sensible way would be to live well within his means no matter what the demands on his income:
 Nearly always this is the result of wishing to live like other people live whose incomes are larger. It is a wrong, silly view of life, and to some extent it is peculiarly an American view. The show that mere money will give induces a sort of craze to make the same sort of show that somebody else's money gives, and where there Is much more money. I have here a clipping of an interview with Frederic. Harrison of worldwide reputation as a publicist, and it is so much to the point that hope 1t can be reproduced h the Dispatch. The comment of MT. Harrison was called out by the suicide of young stockbroker, MT. Coleman, whose income was about S3,000, but who lived to the limit of about s6,00O. He became involved in debt and paid his debts by putting bullet in his brain. Here is the com ment:
 However terrible the cost, people 1 must be in the swim. Each man to- day in England copies the senseless extravaganza of his richer neighbor They follow like sheep one after the other and no one has the courage of bis convictions.
 "The case of Mir. Coleman is a fin. ger post on the road along which we are travelling today.
 "The taste for luxury has increased beyond all bounds. spreading from the upper classes, who started it, to the middle classes, who were free from it l 20 years ago.
 l People cannot keep quiet now. They cans be alone, they can't read. they cant stay at home Formerly people went to the theater to enjoy the play. Now, the play is not enough. They must have supper at an expen. sive restaurant after the theater.
 And it is not because they really desire these luxuries that they indulge in them. It is something even more poisonous to public life than mere idle extravaganza.
 It is want of mental balance. The middle-class family has lost the power of estimating things on their own mer- it's. They do things now because they fear to be out of it. It is sufficient for man or woman to see their neigh. hors. in enjoyment of some luxury to want 1t themselves. It is a lunacy of imitation.
 Tn Germany people go to the thea. ter simply dressed, because they love the theater And if man goes in the stalls it is because he finds them more comfortable than the pit-not because he is ashamed to be seen in a cheaper part of the house than his neighbors
 But We are losing our sense of pro portion and our equanimity. And when those are gone there will be no delight left in life
 There are many causes I would as sign for this. The young people have too much to say. They have not sui ficient mental balance to be sound influence, though the enthusiasm may he theirs. But enthusiasm must be pruned, or it will run wild.
 "The prudent and steady people have been pushed into the background, and they are beginning to think it must he their proper place. We want them back again in the van
 Then, English society, which 20 years ago was impervious to foreign influences, has let the restless Ameli. can spirit pervade it of late. Money must be spent. And the more you can snend tha nnhler is tha unrl ro11 mill