The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1916-06-04
In SUICIDE

mental state Of the would.be suicide
that when rescued from the icy water
OF the river. they usually confessed
JOY at being saved. for the reason that
the water was too cold" The re-
volver is also "a summer style" with
suicides. They are usually found In
the parks in summer OF spring. but
seldom In winter.
The use Of poison has always been
prominent method employed by
those who voluntarily destroy their
own lives. says a writer in the Jour
nal OF the American Medical Associa.
ton. According TO the bureau OF the
census. the number Of suicides re-
ported in 1914 was 1888. or I6.G per
hundred thousand population. OF
this number a2SG accomplished self
destruction by the use OF firearms.
5000 by poison 1862 by hanging or
strangulaton. l4l9 by asphyXia. G5S
by the use OF knives or other cutting
or piercing instruments. GIG by
drowning. 225 by jumping from high
places. 50 by crushing and So by
other methods.
Writing generation ago, the
English analyst. \. W Blyth. said:
Thn higher the mental development
OF nation. the more likely are its
homicIdcs to be caused by subtle
poIson-its suicides by the eutha.
nasia Of choral. morphine or hem.
lock In accord with this. among
the substances employed by 1000
male and female suicides by poison
in England during the ten years
lssl-lNN0. the Opiates take first place.
with a total ng 100 victims. Cyanides
following in the second place Phenol
and stryChniue also stand high In tho
list. Arsenic no longer appeared to
be the favored medium OF suicide
that It was in the earlier years. and
nhenol tcarbollc acid was beginning
20 come into vogue.
According to statistics OF tho
cases OF suicide in New York city
by poisoning due to the principal
drugs Tor the past - years. We must
assume either that the expected
higher mental development OF the
inhabitants OF the great metropolis
has not been realized or that there
Is an independent fashion in the
methods OF suicides. The data com.
piled by PrOfs. s. W. Lambert and
II. S. Patterson show that poisoning
by arsenic and paris green. once "a.
vorites in this country and By pheuol.
which was the most prominent sui.
cldal poison in New York during the
decade lS95-l9O5. are on the decrease.
The use OF opium for the same
end has never been really extensive
during this period. and remains sta.
t!onary.
Poisoning. with intent. by nluml.
mating gas is becoming more proml.
nent year by year. and OF late the
use Of mercuric Chord is on the In.
crease. or the l55 cases Of suicide
by mercuric Chord recorded in New
York city in the past % years. n,
or nearly half OF them. have oc.
CURED in the past two years.
The figures for the last I've years
in 4 total Of 2I26 are as follows:
Paris green and arsenic. IS; phcnol,
ISL. opium and morphine. 20: mcr.
curIc Chord. lO4; Illuminating gas.
1854: other poisons. 237.
The recent iucreas" in The use Of
mcrcuric Chord for purposes OF sui.
eide is attributed by Profs. Lambert
and Patterson largely 10 the noto-
rlcty which was given TO a case OF
accidental poisoning occurring a few
years ago. They remind Us that the
public was instructed in all the de-
tails OF the symptoms. and that great
stress was laid. not only on the GER
taiuty OF the fatal outcome. but also
on the painlcssncss and lack Of SUI.
fering which accompanied the week.
long illness OF the victim"