Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-07-18
SCIENCE AND ASSASSINATION.

1t is next to impossible, if sovereign, or
President, or an imperial Chancellor, goes
obroad at all, to stop man Like Hodel
or Otero from stationing himself somewhere
en- route, and taking a shot at his adversary
the instant he appears. No watchfulness,
no guardianship, nothing, indeed, but seclu-
sion, will prevent that; but the use of ma
chinery may be prevented. The men who
makes the machines may give warning, and
co may those who see them being used,
yhile their possession may in most cases be
rendered illegal under heavy penalties.
we should certainly make the manufacture
Of "Thomas apparatus crime through
out Europe. In mos. countries, the laying
Of trains such as blew up the Cars train
end the Winter Palace would be noticed and
reported on; while so many must know the
secret that, as happened in both these in
stances, warnings may be forwarded to the
intended victim. Besides, great deal of
brain is required of the assassin, at mo-
ment when his self-command is affected.
He must be of the class which can manage
scientific instrume nts-that is, must more or
less realize what he is doing-yet must adj
just everything, while momentarily risking a
disgraceful death, with the GOODNESS and the
calculating skill of a mathematician. He
has not to fire shot with a pistol, or to
make spring with his knife, but to spend
hours or days or weeks in preparation, to
calculate inches of distance and seconds of
! time and all the while TO organize an es-
cape which, if he uses such means, he is
sure not to forego. He can escape, from
the very method of his crime, and he will
try to do it. A man in the position of
Hodel or Otero gives himself up all through.
He knows perfectly well that within SO
many seconds of his shot being fired he will
| be in the hands of crowd mad for his life
"a frghtful position in itsef-and no more
thinks of escape than a soldier in forlorn
hope Or sailor when the shells come thick.
Either may survive, but lodging will not
help either. The man, on the other hand,
! who explodes a box of dynamite or barrel
of gunpowder through a long train of pow
der or by an electric wire, is necessarily at a
distance, necessarily alone or with COM
rades, and necessarily able to escape, or at
least to make bolt for it. Accordingly,
having the chance, he is careful of the
| chance, and that consideration, together
with the fact that he is shaken, as he must
be shaken, by the approaching death of in
nocent persons-mnocent, that is, even in
his own perverted view-and with the other
fact that his enemy is invisible, all combine
to destroy the GOODNESS necessary to success.
The torpedo explodes at the wrong moment,
and though it produces more effect on Eu.
rope than knife or a bullet would, it has
not produced it on the body of the intended
victim. The misery of the Kings is fright
fully enhanced by the use of scientific APP
pliances, because they render precaution Of
SO little avail, and, as it were, make the dan.
ger perpetually present; but, we suspect
the actual danger is not. The result to the
world may be even worse, because power
exercised under such conditions of fear Oh
rage is sure to be badly exercised; but we
are not discussing that, but the. actual risk
of life in an actuary's sense. We should say
that though it had increased, perhaps dread
fully increased, from the increase in the
number of potential assassins, it had de.
creased from the resort to scientific methods
| of assassination. Neither bomb nor dyna.
mite-box is as certain as the pistol.-Ihs
| Spectator.