The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1874-06-25
MORBID IMHULSE.
Gone Singular Instances Young Man
who had Mania for Stealing Shoes
Che Boy with the White Eye.

Che Boy with the White Eye.
Dir. William 4. Hammond read an in
teggstiag paper before the members Of the
..ie.lieu-Leeal Association Of New York on
--Ncr5il Impulse, that strange physic force
which nnpaIs men to the commission of
crime when there would appear to be no
possible reason for it.
The lecturer inst'nnced as singular
Of the effect Of the morbid
iapalsa the case recently reported of al
lu4n who while in his garden with his
little daughter fell a sudden and almost
i.'r..sisti.ie impulse to murder her with his
spade The afflicted father wrote to the
doctor giving in detail all his symptoms,
and begging for advice. The reply was
Keep the morbid impulse under the con
troll OF your VIII. ifyou do not, and should
allow It to influence You, you will be guilty
&c MURDER The man was in every way
healthy. and dis singular desire to Kill his
f,vorite child was conquered by the exercise
ot the will Another Of the doctors pa
tents. who was impelled TO injure those
near hiin, confessed, on examination, that
he did so under an irresistible impulse
that he we was only for the time in such
condition mentally that he took pleasure in.
doing harm to others Not long ago a
Young man of good family became the
victim Of singular impulse. lie could
not resist the temptation to attack women'
in the street, throw them down, and take
their shoes from their feet. When he was
arrested aud his franks we're examined they
were found to be full Of shoes Of all sizes
and qualities. When asked what reason
he had for his conduct he could only answer
that be acted under an impulse that he could
not resist. The young man was ofirreproach
able character, and was taken with the in
fttuaeion at a moments notice.
DR. Dixon reports the case Of q gentle
msor's son at school who developed sud
denly an uncomfortable impulse to stea!
sheets aud blankets Except for this
l;a"u.iarty the boy was held in the highest
eetifaation In 1924, well-known citizen
oI French city killed two children iii the
woods in the presence Of ther I mother
When placed iii jail he attempted to kill his
f.!low prisoners and to burn the Jail. After
i carefully conducted trial he was found
guilty Of murder and executed. The plea
oi' insanity had been entered in the defense,
bit it was entirely disregarded. Many
O nar cases were cited from the jurispru--
dsace Of France, showing the force Of habit
IL causing men to repeat certain crimes.
e3.e woman, known as a good, kind-hearted
mother and neighbor, murdered twenty
eight persons by poison before being detect
cj another had killed fifteen. In neither
c.lse was any reason assigned. The muir
d3reis We're actuated by an impulse which
had become part Of their physical being.
One of the most remarkable cases was
that OF Jessie Pomeroy, ''the boy with the
white eve" whose horrible brUtalities per-
rctrated upon little boys in Boston, marked
linn as q perfect fend He was only IA
wears cid when arrested, yet he had manned
:, large number of children. After serving
il the House of Refuge for a year and five
j. y Is he was released, and within few
months afterward began his horrid work
ag.iu. bringing it to close by the murder
Of d iittle fve-year old boy whose body he
had cruelty mangled. When asked why
he had Killed the child he answered that
Il Gid not know. What should be done
with You p was asked. Il ought to be put
where I can't do such things an answer
It would be well for tender-heartded jurors
+ consider.
The Ie tIrer cited great many other
Instances Of the singular influence Of this
iapulse to do wrong He attributed the
strange actions of this class Of people to
various causes. Epidemics of suicide and
murder were perhaps as much produced by
the desire of imitation as by anything else
Oae of his former fellow students recently
committed suicide by seyering the femoral
artery, a method almost unheard of With
in two weeks two other men killed them
s,lves in the same way. One Of these was
Horace " els, the discoverer Of anaesthetics.
In closing, the Doctor laid it down as
essential that certain monomaniacs should
be permanently restrained that those who
at under an uncomfortable impulse for
pleasure should be treated just as sane
criminals are for if we excuse crime on the
score Of morbid impulse we shall soon find
courts unnecessary. The plea of morbid
impulse should be entirely disregarded by
the jury.