ARMY SUICIDES IN 1927.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5374, 14 January 1929, Page 4

ARMY SUICIDES IN 1927.

HIGHEST IN DECADE. RETURNS IN AMERICA. Suicide was the cause of a greater number of deaths in the early in the calendar, year 1927 than balloon or airplane accidents, according to the annual report of Major-General M. W. Ireland, Surgeon-General of the army, which was made public recently. The report also disclosed an increase in the number of casesi Of alcoholism.

General Ireland found the healtth of the army was satisfactory, as evin denced by the number of admissions t o the sick report for. the year. The admission rate per 1000 fnpm all causes was 6'54.64 as compared yrith 687.22 in 1926. The 1927 rate of admissions was slightly greater than in 1925 and 1922, but with these exceptions it was the; smallest ever recorded for the army. Deaths aggregated 531, or a rate of 4 per 1000.

Deaths from suicide in 1927 nuni52, the highest in a decade from this cause and the highest from any single cause during the year. Deaths from balloon and airplane accidents totalled 31. Dro,wning caused 28 deaths. Deaths from suicide in 1926 were; 14. In 1925'. they numbered 42 and in 1924 they totalled 416. Eleven of the suicides in 1927 occurred among officers, 40 among white enlisted men, and> one; among the Porto Ricans.

The death rate from causes other than suicides, however, was highest in the Air Corrs, being more than twice as high as that for any other branch of the service.

There were 1147 sick admissions for the army in 1927 on account of alcoholism. The rate per 1000 was 8.63 as compared with 8.01 in 1926, and 7.98 in ,1925. Seven deaths resulted from alcoholism during the year, all among the white enlisted men.

The rate of admission from diseases was highest for troops serving in the Pihillipine Islands and! the lowest from external cause for those serving in China.