Thus—to limit the discussion to the weather states which are influenced by smoke—school misdemeanors were increased on fair and dry days, on days with high winds (an increase of 200% in Denver), and days with low humidities (increase of 200% in Denver between 10° and 30°; and 33% in New York City between 50° and 55°). Assaults were likewise increased on clear days. The records of suicide and attempted suicide during a period of 5 years in New York City indicated that suicides were 31% more frequent on dry than on wet days; 21% more frequent on clear than cloudy days (another investigation gave an increase of 1700% on clear and dry days, while an article in the Popular Science Monthly states that the excesses were on days of high humidity), and less frequent on rainy days. The traditional view is that most suicides occur on cloudy and not on clear days. Villemair claimed that nine-tenths of all suicides took place on rainy and cloudy days, while Dickens, Lytton and Pope stage their tragic climaxes on cloudy days. Statistical evidence does not support these popular notions.
Likewise clear, and particularly excessively dry days, increased the number of arrests for inebriety, although in the article in the International Journal of Ethics it is said that humidity increases drunkenness.
On the other hand, school misdemeanors were reduced on humid, rainy, snowy and possibly on cloudy days and days with high temperature; while adult assaults, murders and disciplinary cases in penitentiaries and institutions for the insane were also reduced on excessively humid days. On foggy days more bank errors were made in New York City, a finding in harmony with the practice adopted by the Bank of England of requiring clerks to work at less intricate and less important problems on foggy and depressing days.
Waiving certain discrepancies which appear in a comparative examination of Dexter’s various articles it appears that school misdemeanors, assaults, suicides and drunkenness are increased on clear and dry days. The increase in the assaults and drunkenness may be due to the fact that people go out more on clear than on wet days, hence have more opportunities for getting into brawls—though one might argue that on dark, foggy days they would be driven into the saloons, thereby increasing the offenses. On dry days perspiration is increased and therefore there is more demand for liquid refreshment. But, what is more important, there is also very probably some stimulating or irritating quality in clear, dry, sunshiny weather. Dexter assumes this, though he does not ascribe the stimulating quality to the dryness but to the increased electrical potential of dry air. Pupils are stimulated on clear, dry, sunny days, hence they are more active, aggressive and enterprising, but likewise more restless, high strung, emotionally unstable and therefore also more mischievous. A superabundance of energy and not a state of enervation predisposes to childish pranks and nervous explosions. An increase of vitality and nervous tension upsets the unstable equilibrium of the predisposed offender, gives him a false sense of strength, and an exaggerated idea of self-importance (often paranoia-like in its intensity), and hence he becomes more aggressively criminalistic. Moreover, the exhilarating qualities of tonic days give the potential suicide just the courage he needs to take his own life, the courage which he may be unable to muster during states of depleted vitality. Devitalized states of the body breed fear, diffidence and cowardice.
On the other hand, the humid and hot days are devitalizing (because of low electrical potential, according to Dexter) and therefore lead to inaction. Depleted vitality and nervous exhaustion are inhibitory of action, hence during devitalizing weather states misdemeanors decrease in number.
There is no doubt that opposed weather states exercise stimulating and irritating influences, on the one hand, and enervating and inhibitory influences, on the other hand; but it is not clear that this is due to a difference of electrical potential. It remains to be shown that heightened electrical potential acts as a nervous tonic and irritant. The theory assumes that heightened winds and sunshine increase the potential; but meteorologists tell us that the potential is independent of both the direction and the velocity of wind; and that the more intense the sunshine the higher the temperature, and the purer the air, the lower is the potential ([14]). It is apparent that these conclusions go counter to the theory demanded by Dexter’s empirical findings (except in the case of humidity uncomplicated by fogginess), and that a more satisfactory basis of explanation is to be sought in the bio-dynamic properties of the sun’s rays, especially of the blue and ultra-violet rays. These rays dilate the blood vessels, increase the hemoglobin, increase anabolism, transpiration, irritate the skin, stimulate and vitalize nervous, muscular and mental action, and augment the potential reserve, working force and functional efficiency of the individual. If this is true it is clear that bright, sunny states while they increase misdemeanors and crimes in unstable individuals, also—and this is more important—energize the human organism.
On this theory the damp, dark, smoky, foggy days are depleting and depressing just because (at least so far forth) they are lacking in the tonic, health-giving rays of the sun. The investigations cited above indicate that these weather conditions actually are in the main devitalizing, depressing and inhibitive of action, and that they, therefore, decrease breaches against law and order. These conclusions do indeed seem to be justified by the rather incomplete statistics of violence which are available from the various cities of the country. Thus, [Table V], statistics of homicide, show that there is no increase in the frequency of murders in the cities whose atmosphere is supposed to be surcharged with smoke and where, accordingly, depleting weather conditions obtain.
TABLE V.
Homicide Statistics for 31 American Cities.
| 1901-1910. | 1911. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Rate per 100,000 | No. | Rate per 100,000 | |
| Memphis, Tenn. | 556 | 47.1 | 85 | 63.4 |
| Charleston, N. C. | 159 | 27.7 | 25 | 42.3 |
| Savannah, Ga. | 154 | 25.6 | 25 | 37.8 |
| New Orleans, La. | 702 | 22.2 | 83 | 24.1 |
| Atlanta, Ga. | 215 | 17.1 | 48 | 29.8 |
| Louisville, Ky. | 356 | 16.5 | 36 | 15.9 |
| Nashville, Tenn. | 132 | 13.6 | 40 | 35.3 |
| St. Louis, Mo. | 804 | 12.6 | 108 | 15.5 |
| San Francisco, Cal. | 343 | 11.42 | 44 | 10.4 |
| Cincinnati, Ohio | 328 | 9.4 | ||
| Chicago, Ill. | 1659 | 8.4 | 203 | 9.1 |
| Spokane, Wash. | 55 | 8.0 | 3 | 2.7 |
| Seattle, Wash. | 119 | 7.6 | 20 | 7.9 |
| Washington, D. C. | 210 | 6.8 | 31 | 9.2 |
| Manhattan and The Bronx, N. Y. | 1249 | 5.1 | 197 | 6.9 |
| Cleveland, Ohio | 234 | 4.9 | 50 | 8.6 |
| Pittsburgh, Pa. | 243 | 4.9 | 50 | 5.3 |
| Providence, R.I. | 97 | 4.8 | ||
| Boston, Mass. | 283 | 4.6 | 33 | 4.8 |
| Dayton, Ohio | 44 | 4.3 | 8 | 6.7 |
| Brooklyn, N. Y. | 583 | 4.2 | 61 | 3.6 |
| Baltimore, Md. | 215 | 4.0 | 27 | 4.8 |
| Reading, Pa. | 32 | 4.0 | 7 | 7.2 |
| Philadelphia, Pa. | 529 | 3.7 | 66 | 4.2 |
| Memphis, Tenn. | 556 | 47.1 | 85 | 63.4 |
| Hartford, Conn. | 24 | 3.3 | 4 | 4.0 |
| Buffalo, N. Y. | 109 | 2.8 | 25 | 5.8 |
| Minneapolis, Minn. | 71 | 2.7 | 11 | 3.6 |
| Newark, N. J. | 68 | 2.3 | 6 | 1.7 |
| Rochester, N. Y. | 43 | 2.3 | 14 | 6.2 |
| Milwaukee, Wis. | 56 | 1.7 | 11 | 2.8 |