New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-03-12

cal changes such as revolution, war, hnancl p"n,''
OF fever of speculation, is almost certain u 10
followed by a rapid termination OF inc soooS
of evil sown deep in the corrupS ma
nature of man. France during the uis'uioou
wear 1880 was overspread by an epldemio u
incendiarism. Between 1888 and 1635-an era Oh
important political changes-seven foremost puoii1
characters were assassinated. namely, "iniro' VI
Orange Henry Duke of Guise. Henry III anu i'on"S
Nv. of France the Duke of Buckingham ous'''uS
Aao,nbus and Wallenstein In Denmark about the
midde of the last century there was an epidemic Oh
murder the victims being generally children Inc
criminals were actuated only by the insane notion
that nv pubc repentance and conversion on the way
20 the scaffold they could make of heaven, ana
the endemic lasted until for capital punishment was
subsituted n sentence of branding on the forehead
imprisoment for life, and an annual pnDhc whipping.
A man named WIKI in London, shot his master WIN
a pistol he had purchased from pawnbroker' ohe
Graham soon afterward went to the same shop anu
bought pistol with which he shot stranger haiheu
Blewitt The pawnbroker testified on tho trlal'
that Immediately after each assassination he
had received a great many applications for pistols,
but had resolved never to sell another lnianticlde
has strong tendency to become epidemic in one
of the departments of France about the close OF inc
last century, girl killed her lllegltimate chlid
there had been crime of the same nature IN that To-
cality for very many years but within the next tWeo
months there eleven other cases very similar IN
details. Suicide is still more frequently initiated.
At one time-for no imaginable cause-there was an
endemic of drowning among the women of Lyons.
1t was checked at last by order that the bodies OF
all who thus destroyed themselves should be publicly
exposed in the market-place. DR.. Forbes Winsow
mentions in his Anatomy of Suicide" that at Mans
field. in a particular year, in the month Of June,
suicide prevailed to an alarming degree, from a
cause wholly undiscoyerable. The same thing nap
pened at Rouen in 1906, at Stuttgardt In 1911,
and in the Valois in 1873 At Versailles III the
single year 1893 fewer than 300 persons destroyed
themselves. In February, 1874, $50 men OF the
Foreion Legion were encamped in the province OF
Oron. when one of the soldiers muiated himself by
blow upon his wrist with the lock OF his gum III
the course of twenty days thirteen others
followed his example. No plausible mouNe
could be discovered in single instance
The commander in alarm moved MS camp
a few leagues TO a place occupied by battalion OF
Chasseurs of Vncennes, and was astounded 10 learn
that eight of the Chasseurs had mntilated them
selves in the same way nearly at the same time
The officers were confident that no communication
had taken place between the two camps.
The most remarkable instances of epidemic crime
occur however in connection with poisoning. In
the 18th century a society OF young wives was dls-
covered in Rome whose object was to poison their
husbands They met nightly at the house OF an Old
woman called La Spara to arrange the details OF
their crimes La Spara and four Others were hanged;
thirty were whipped through the streets, and great
number were banished. Shortly atterward nine
Others were hanged and many more, including
young and beautiful girls, were scourged through
the Roman streets. The notorious Tophana, who
Gov thap itV
afterward she was so ready to help wife
mt her husband ont of the way that she
even gave her "dqua toGdRa" freely to
any one who could not pay for it. France had her
BrinvillieTs about the same time under the influence
of whose example poisoning became frightfnl ma
ma About a hundred persons were executed for
this crime i'm the space of two or three years In
Great Britain, since the deep interest created III
poisoning by the case of Tawcll the Quaker, in 49,
this species of crime is said to be steadily Increasing
in freouencv Our readers probably have not fOr sot
ten the excitement reused few years ago by tho
discovery that parents had been III the habit OF DO
stroyiDg their children for the sake OF the money
promised by burial clubs, and that in seasons OF ag-
cultural distress mothers had frequently sent their
infants to better world one poor woman avowing
,bot clio had disposod of oisbt children In success
sion bv putting arsenic on her breasts. The ccle-
brated case of Palmer the Rugeley posoner was soon
followed by the similar case OF Dove, VINO kilieu
his wife with strychnne, not because he had
any particular desire to get rid Of her. but becauseas
he stated his attention had been directed to strych-
MIA by reading the trial of Palmer, and the conflict
ing scientific evidence adduced Oh that occasion had
convinced him of the difficulty of detection.
The homicidal epidemic in our own day and conn
try--if it be true that epidemic of murder Is now
Unfortunately takes different and more open
t1..tl. in
search of its origin than to the lax administration of
law which permits crimes of violence TO 90 unpun-
ished. and the current belief among the dangerous
classes that hanging for murder is played out
Still, the considerations whichDr Elan adduces rs
the moral Of his essay worth our attention. II
cannot always prevent criminal epidemics, we can
do great deal to check them. First of ALL there is
the great agency of education not of the intellect
only, but Of the moral nature. Then the press, the
pulpit the bar the legislature, and science must all
cooperate toward the same end. The press must
cease TO spread the horrible minute details of crime
before sensatiOn-loying public, and to gloat over
murder as choice subject of which flash writers can
hardly make too much. The pulpit must become
more practical in its teachings and cease to be mawk-
ishly sentimental criminals in the style of the
minister who preached about an atrocious murderer
" this poor, erriDg, get suffering fclow-creaturc'
The bar must curb its eloquence over PRISONERS and
assassins. The Legislature must render punishment
not only sufficient but certain. Science finally, must
solve certain important problems in toxicoogy, and
define clearly the relations of insanity and crime.
These are the remedies in which DR.. Elan
puts his trust. Evidently their application mnst be
attended with grave difficulties. The sensational
press for instance, is undoubtedly q promoter of
crime but 1t is not easy to define the boundary line
between proper report of facts which the public
and nf