SUICIDE STATISTICS OF THE UNITED STATES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 7080, 26 July 1884, Page 2 (Supplement)

SUICIDE STATISTICS OF THE UNITED STATES.

Thx record of suicides in ISS3, presented b] the Insurance Chronicle (New Yorlc), affordi interesting details of tho 1400 self-murder* u to Age, causa, condition, means, nation ality, occupation, sex, locality, time (day oi night), and the day of the month. Tb< [met that, as compared with similar previoui records, the relations between tho seasoni >f the year and their snicidical statistic: r «int«iii a certain degree of regularity, tppears to demonstrate tho further fact, lotioed by scientists, that violence and irime depend largely on temperature. Jammor seems to be pre-eminently _ th< iaicidal season, and, although the mania o ielf-murder in 1883 showed a decreaie ai sompared with the previous year, th< iommer montha of eaoh ye*r {urnialied th< argest proportionate crop of snicidcs. Ai *> the ages and impelling motives, thi Chronicle gives some interesting lllus nations. For example : The earliest age aj vhich the desire for self-destruction mani estod itself in the past six months was su rears. The oldest person committing self nurder was 91 years of age. Aa usual, th< rreater number ot ages after 20 years wer* it intervals of 6 years. That is to say, th« rreater number, relatively, ocourred at th( [gea of 25, 30, 85, 40, 45, 50, and io on h ihe age of 60. The greatest number occur ng at any specific period of life was 52 ai the age of 50 years. There appears to b< little change in the suicide climacterics, S( to speak. In childhood the suicidal a? generally seems to be impelled by chagrii 3r parental discipline. An illustration oc purred in Utah last December, when a younj Mid sensible lad swallowed poison because in boor before his father had apoken crostlj to and threatened to punish him. Ii ihe next period love troubles ohiefly lead tt lelf-destrsotion; next family troubles and joiineu cares precipitate suicidal rashness ; md later on oauses vary, from dissipation to lisgnst at life, and not infrequently in old ige suicides occur from hallucinations reraiting from second childhood. For example, a well-to-do Kansas farmer hung limself because he had conceived tho whollj mwarrantable idea that he and wife irere coming to want, and would dio in the >oor-hou»e. Tho aggregates as to known iauses or motives of more than 1000 of these Fuicides are as follows Business troubles, 111; chagrin at parental discipline, 13; lestitution, 46; dissipation, 111; family rouble, 170: grief, 30; homesickness, 1 j nsanity, 275; love trouble, 94; pimple on iom, 1; siokoese, 149; to avoid aasassilation, 2; undergoing or threatened with punishment, 40* Some of these impelling no tires were certainly both curious ana ibsurd. We are told that an Indiana young vomaa suicided in May because her sweetleart took another young woman on an exiuraion. A Pennsylvania school-teachei wallowed laudanum on account of an insurable pimple on her nose, which mads her norbidly sensitive. An Ohio politician, a landidate for office, committed suicido betause he suffered defeat. An Indiana canlidate for. mayor took his own life for the reason. A Colorado millionaire, who iquandered his money in riotous living, shot in » fit of desperation. A New STork. German believed himself bewitched, md that all his money troubles were due to pitches, and for this reason he destroyed limself. A Missouri criminal committed micide from regret that while ho had killed feree and """ woman he bad not killed aro more. A Tennessee student died by lis own hand because an examination of tne thoughts of the ancients convinced him that nan'a life was his own property, and no liscredit attached to suicide, and so ou. As ;o the occupation of these suicides, it appears ;hat farmers lead the lis'.., no fewer than 221 tucb iwwg reoordedL Merchaats oome next, w -the number of 87. Of labourers there if ere 62, and of saloon-keepers the number ivas 41. Of some other occupations the -eoord specifies: Physicians, 27 ; politicians, £2; commercial travellers and courtesans, >1 .each; lawyer*, 17 ; engineers, 15; shoeaakera, 14; butchers, servants, and tailors, 11 each; jewellers and miners, 10 esch; ramps, masons, machinists, and journalists, ( each; school-teachers and speculators, 0 lach; barbers, carpenters, gardeners," and irintera, 7 $ach. By an odd ooinaidence, an iqual number of judges, gamblers, cigarnakers, drug clerks, postmasters, and waiters (five eaoh) took their own lives, tad, sad to say, four ministers find place in ;he doleful record. As to sexes, the men ire ahead by a large majority, there being ,083 males and 326 females in the list.