Table of 52,126 French Suicides arranged according to Occupation.
| ── | Male. | Female. | Total. |
|---|---|---|---|
| I.─Of Slight Education: | |||
| Shepherds | 276 | 32 | 308 |
| Woodcutters, charcoal burners | 54 | 6 | 60 |
| Agricultural labourers | 12,179 | 3,681 | 15,860 |
| Beggars and vagabonds | 335 | 115 | 450 |
| Prostitutes | 0 | 53 | 53 |
| Mechanics in Wood | 1,729 | 72 | 1,801 |
| Mechanics in Leather | 377 | 27 | 404 |
| Mechanics in Iron | 1,437 | 64 | 1,501 |
| Mechanics in Cotton, Silk | 1,339 | 463 | 1,802 |
| Mechanics in Stone | 1,079 | 48 | 1,127 |
| Other mechanics | 541 | 91 | 632 |
| Porters, Commissionaires | 368 | 6 | 374 |
| Sailors | 311 | 9 | 320 |
| Drivers of carriages, vans | 468 | 7 | 475 |
| Domestic servants | 1,270 | 1,204 | 2,474 |
| II.─Of Better Education: | |||
| Bakers, confectioners | 373 | 29 | 402 |
| Butchers | 265 | 24 | 289 |
| Furniture dealers | 259 | 28 | 287 |
| Hatters | 102 | 21 | 123 |
| Shoemakers | 639 | 46 | 685 |
| Hairdressers | 164 | 8 | 172 |
| Tailors | 644 | 780 | 1,424 |
| Laundry workers | 73 | 221 | 294 |
| General shopkeepers | 1,233 | 289 | 1,522 |
| General travelling dealers | 314 | 62 | 376 |
| Inn-keepers | 741 | 159 | 900 |
| III.─Of SUPERIOR EDUCATION: | |||
| Wholesale dealers, bankers | 382 | 12 | 394 |
| Merchants’ clerks | 441 | 27 | 468 |
| Artists | 194 | 25 | 219 |
| Clerks and copyists | 276 | 2 | 278 |
| Students | 118 | 2 | 120 |
| Public officials | 1,187 | 23 | 1,210 |
| Professors and teachers | 169 | 32 | 201 |
| Military and Navy men | 2,826 | 4 | 2,830 |
| Lawyers and doctors, &c. | 427 | 16 | 443 |
| Persons owning property | 2,693 | 808 | 3,501 |
| IV.─ | |||
| Without business | 1,106 | 2,012 | 3,118 |
| Unknown employment | 2,741 | 2,447 | 5,188 |
| 39,302 | 12,824 | 52,126 |
Military and Naval Life.
It is an almost universal truth that the suicide rate of any state is smaller than the rate observed in the men composing the Army and Navy of the same country.
This point was first brought prominently into notice about twenty years ago with respect to our English soldiers; Dr. Millar pointed out that in 1862 the rate was 278 per million (estimated at per million), and in 1871 at 400 per million, and at the present time it is about triple the rate for ordinary Englishmen of between 20 and 30 years of age. In the Italian army at the present time the rate is treble that of ordinary Italians between 20 and 30 years of age.
The suicidal tendency of an army is materially increased by foreign service; so that in the English Army, when the number was 339 per million at home, in India the numbers were 468. And it has been found that there is a higher percentage among soldiers of long service; three times the amount is found among soldiers of over 14 years’ service than is found among those of under 3 years’ service.
Dr. Millar also observed that there were twice as many voluntary deaths in the Cavalry as in the Infantry.
In Saxony the soldier’s rate was 640 per million, while the civilian’s rate was 368; in Prussia, 419 to 168; in Sweden, 450 to 101; in Austria, 442 to 144; in Wurtemburg, 320 to 170; in Belgium, 662 to 90; in France, 510 to 216.
In the Austrian, Italian, and French armies the officers have a rate double that of the men; non-commissioned officers have the highest rate.
The high military rate seems to spread, too, among civilians in their neighbourhood; some of the highest civilian rates are found on the Austrian and Prussian military frontiers, where there is constantly a military establishment retained as a guard.