The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-09-20
BY The Editor of The Times.

| BY The Editor of The Times.
| Terence MacSwiney, Mayor OF Cork,
| being imprisoned for political Of
Ireland before mankind, wishes to
stimulate patriotism among Irishmen
and so refuses to take food, a process
which may result in his voluntary
| death.
| 1t is possible that MacSwiney is
waging a, contest of endurance with
his jailors. in tho belief that he can
compel them to relent, and release
| him and other political prisoners.
i Such a belief would not be ira
| tIonai. Until this time hunger strik
ers have been released before they
died, mot only the militant women, but
| Irish patriots In such a case the
question of suicide would not be in
have no intention of dying.
But suppose he proposes a fight to
the finish, and suppose he does die?
| He certainly will then have been
! the cause of his own death, and that
would be suicide, in narrow meaning
of the word.
J., Suicide may be merely self destruc-
ton: or it may be self murder.
The real question involved, the
question over which minds differ, els
| MacSwiney committing self murder 2"
To this question an answer will be
| attempted, not by authority, that is
by contrasting opinions of experts,
but by the experimental method, by
consid erinG what men and women or
dinarily think, or have thought, about
analogous matters.
Murder is the Intentional, wilful
and malicious killing of a reasonable
creature by another.
Self-murder is the same offense.
committed bp one against himself,
| All murder is killing, but all kill
ing is not urder.
A man may kill in self defense. He
may kill to defend others against
deadly assault or fe1onious attack he
may kill in defense of his country.
Whether the killing is murder, de-
! Ponds largely upon whether the mo-
| tive is good or evil, in the social
sense. Guilt of murder, does not de-
pend upon the actual staying, but up
on the intent.
If one arranges a weight suspend
ed by a rope, so that the weight in
!; dropping kills another, and he tells
some innocent person to cut the rope,
the one who cuts the rope is guilt
) less, but the one who gave the order
: to cut the rope is murderer.
If one knowing that certain act
| will cause the death of another, will
fully advises him to perform that act
f as by saying to him there is no gas
!. in a certain tank when he knows thai
| it contains a lethal gas, he is guilty
| of murder.
And a. man may be guilty of muir
' der without intending to be, as where
he commits a felony and a murder
$ follows or does something so likely
to result in the death of another, tina
no man of conscience and heart would
t be willing to do it.
Some killing is honorable: Tha
which the soldier does. That which
: the hero does who rescues other:
; from the violence of outlaws or rob
+: bers. Instances of heroic killing are
' familiar to all movie fans.
All suicide is self destruction, bu
all suicide, is not self murder.
Since suicide may be a form O.
murder, it answers generally to thu
rules which govern murder.
A man can commit it by some
e thing he does not do, or by some
a He can commit self murder by in
:, | ducing an innocent person to poisol
> him, or by entering into a chain o
g circumstance which, as a reasonabi
. | person, he knows will result in hi
- death.
II Whether suicide is merely self de
= struction or self murder depends up
y on the motive with which it is com
mitted.
If Socrates took the hemloclz by hi
own hand, refusing to save his lif
by flight, and died. He preferre
: death 10 disobedience to the law
y, Men have considered his cours
y noble.
Is Arnold winkeIried, rushing upo
the Austrian spears. swept a handfu
d of them into his arms. The Swis
went through. He was performin
i'd an action, not demanded of him
l. which he knew must result in hi
t good and men honor his memor,
t, Martyrs who brought themselves
a death by refusing to retract thei
IS opinions. virtually destroyed them
q + sion to die. They set in motion tn
h. chain of circumstance which destroy
"a ed them. The world calls their cor
he and time of it. thousands of the
- - compatriots doubtless deemed eac
at martyr foolish. The Austrian
III thought Winkelried a stupid fellow.
ne Men may commit self destructic
IL just as ordinary killings are commi
tcd, by an act of omission, or by a
in act OF commission. Whether the Sc
st destruction is self murder depend
upon the motive.
by 1t is accounted honorable in IL
of soldier to die for his country; in Il
it: captain to go down with his ship;
to swim; in a woman to STAY herse
W. rather than be violated by savage
b. Instances may be multiplied.
d. 1t would be a principle that II
value of the sacrifice increases wi
in the largeness of the object sougF
That one should die for his cou
lr- try is of more untf1ity than that OF
1e. should die merely for his own no
re individual, or of several individual
Mayor MacSwiney does not desi
,o+ to die. He desires intensely to liI
n,- He is willing to die, because he b
~ 1ieves he is helping his country. !
70 is a patriot. of rare courage.
w. The spirit of a Winkelried, call
- - into being for instant, quick
rs comes and quickly goes. The spi
M M necessary to a martyrdom by sta
OF walton is of another character T
on task is of a more difficult sort, a
On few undertake it.
err The ordinary person told that
5e- must Ch3MCa his habit
all, own life has the greatest diffiou
LED in doing so. Few are those who C
i've avoid the nrecious food avan
avoid the grave.
;, MacSwiney belongs in the ranks
.ir- patriots If he dies he will he e71i
)" | of self murder. His motiyp