The Suicide Record

THE SUICIDE RECORD.

Hoboken, N. J., Leads the World In Self Destruction.

The current issue of the Spectator contains n article by Frederick L. Hoffman on the "Suicide Record For 1902." The data presented are based upon statistics from fifty-one cities, having a population of 14,500,000. It is shown that, comparing the ten years from 1892 to 1901 with the year 1902, suicide has increased, the rate per 100,000 population being 16 for the decade and 17 for the year 1902.

New York city, boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx, stand fifth on the list, but show a decrease in 1902, with a rate of 21 per 100,000 for that year and 21.2 for the decade. The cities with higher rates than New York for the longer period are St. Louis, 25.7; Hoboken, 24.6; Chicago, 23.4, and Oakland, Cal., 22.5. All these save St. Louis show an increase for 1902, and Hoboken stands out as the horrible example in the entire list, with a rate of 35.7 for last year. The borough of Brooklyn comes ninth in the general list, with a rate of 16.2 for the ten years and 19.3 for 1902. In the fifty cities included in the general table the totals are 19,700 suicides in the ten years, 1892-1901, and 2,452 in 1902.

Figures by nationalities are also interesting. By these it is shown that in the registration area of the United States the rate among native Americana is 6.8 per 100,000 of population, against 6.1 for those of Irish origin, 19.3 for those of German origin and 22 for those of French origin. A table on the suicide rate of males aged thirty-five and over for New York city indicates an increase from 4.8 per 100,000 of population in 1881 to 6.2 in 1901. This is considered by the author as being of special importance to insurance interests.