New-York tribune., 1890-07-14
THE DANGER OF HYPNOTTSN.
INVOLUNTARY CRIMES COMMITTED UNDER
ITS INFLUENCE.
From Thc SaturdaY Reyiew.

From The Saturday Review.
The present outbreak Of hypnotism. or mes
| mersm-for they are Idcutlcal-has begun to en-
! gage the attention OF the authorities on the Con-
liucnt The practice Of tins art has been recently
! forbidden in the French army and navy and j.,
shortly 10 hc restricted in Belgium to members OF
the medical protcssOu-at least far as the Young
agd Tnc insane ale couccrncd This is moi thc tir,1
time that such a step has become necessary. Early
! in the century mcSncriSn, which had lauSui>hCd
during the tToublOuS times Of tine Napoconc wars.
sprang up again with tremendous energy upon
! Tie conclusion Of peace, and speedily OVCrTan
! Enropc This was particularly the ease IN Ger
many. where thc Berlin Academy OF Science offered
"a prllc for the hest essay on the SUBJECT; and IN
INl : il was found necessary TO make the practice
il'ccal except in the hands OF qualified physclanS.
! So too IN Denmark. about the same time. and
| in Russia in ls:j The reasons for this were. no
doubt the same rs those which induced Ire uni
/ vcrSity authorities of oxford and Cambridge. some
fifteen years ago t. forbid tie scanccS of certain
wcll-kEown pr fcSSlOnal mC5mcrlst in those towns.
The UNDERGRADUATES used 10 flock 10 these per
fomanccs, and malN of them suffered seriously
| i'm health from The nervous arrangement consc-
uucnt upon repeated APPROPRIATION. II l., in
deed denied by 10 one except Professor licrnhClm
and the other hYppotIIcrs AT Nancy that the
LIoccsS may he attended Ny some danger t. health.
"Lhypnotisation est uu a-cnt pcrturbatcur nm
haut dcerc du system" ncr{cnN@ Is the autho2ri-
| tative statement OF VI Paul Hchcr IN the " Dc-
| tionnairc Encycloprd.quc dcS Sciences McdlcacN
| II often develops or a@gr.\atcs attacks Of acute
! lystcria. and cases have occurred i'm which, after
!
| am has been lost for some tme, or the perception
of colprS impaired. through tie induction 90 visual
halluciuaious But d. Is NOT only this aspect ol
| the matter Whicu las c'l-l-cd attention abroad.
| The remarkable studies i'm s"muambullsM and ~
the unlimited power pl suggestion which have 'rcn
| carried out at Nancy open up another and % more
/ serious set of questions touciIu- the relations
/ between hypuoti>m and crime. These Questions
/ may be considered under three beads:
/. The observed phenomena Of somnambullsm
/ which is q hypnotic condition show that SOM NJ
| ltf ~ Is Dll
! nit unlawful acts OF which they have no
| knowledge and recollection when awake; In sucI
! eases. although really irresponsible and lrnor2nt
/ Of what they have done, they may hc held guiNN
and punished accordingly. \ case i illustrating TINS
| point is the An8irc l. l.. .Lolr-et-I her, lNN1.
! scryant-crl was accused of having robbed her
mistress and was sent 10 prison. II turned out
! that she had been accustomed 10 hc LNPuoiHcd
| bv doctor. he recognized her in prison, ana was
allowed 10 hypnotic her again as AN experiment
! In The hypnotic state she at once r'eolcc''d n'N-
lu moved tie missing thlu-S III order - put Them
/ i'm safer place. She described the place !" lhc
| iu1rr who found them in the spot precisely ac-
/ cordinr 10 lcr description. and She WAS ImWcdi-
/ atclV released. The fact was tnat She h1i nccoAc
! souuamhui>tic throl rh hclnc hYpnoilIri, h'i
moved the things iu fhIs state. toraciinE, "N Is
| usual what size had dorc ON waking, h IL iclArnl-
! ucrirG a-ain i'm the hypnotic state ~ IS easy
80 see how mls"arrla!'S "i l"sl'r may "''.l .'
c.,2> of this nature. Not only WaN ne llr'HPoiN-
bic l,-uuotic We condemned for a rcal or supposed
crime bat suspicion may fall upon wholly 'i'-
uoccu: persons. Several instances have occurred
| IL tie French law courts
leI crime, may Jc committed on persons ia "a
condition of hypnotiSm. II Viii De- cH"b-h 10
mention the following ocllil cases Ai+It 4''N -,
1,.4:-i-.yy wa, q dentist Who h%ru"'I/cd one oil
Ui, tlt,oltS. "a yOuur woman, ana uill[r' i"' op
nlrtuuItv TO commit au assault Size kNc" io'r
Ing of what had happened, b.l wien '"'. '"i''
lucur., became apparent Ire confessed iI' ci4..r.
l!c WAS prosecuted by the young N"'"'H 'i" H'5
mother made 90 tulI confession iu open rV F', .H'
was sentenced to ten NcaI, penal e"r'l' .c I'''
if she i2d rot become ''',t.'', ....,.i ,'i'
I
and # Lc Lad no, c'nl'>-t' '1.''
rc,cr have hccn proved A'ait '>''lI"H' i''' -
Josephine Ilu-hc~, a respectable \"iA- woman
Twin. with her father, MAS ". PHoJ/c" - .H'.
In n yaeaboud mcsm,rl/cr 10 whom -'I gave
/ shelter lie compelled her 10 c'Fc hrI Ao.H''
fnIlo,,' him. and live with him, though hc vas ~
f'tiv ord rnnuIsiyc creature. Size WAS rescued
IN ,bn f.cis iulIv established, and C.scl'A D.
fenced TO twelve years hard labor. III '""I' ''
m,u.lrrcd Vas 6cm- compelled to submit 10 hm
hv am Irresistible power hlt"PIH ''l''''
| Or. F,daIo, Scotch surgeon lh IN'! "
.vucri ucsmcriIrr .uc c-''n. shed Nit'I I'll" ''.-
crI.5ert ip l-I5 a hospital lj H0'-i.It. lr which
! I. performed several huudIcd operations under
! hypnotic .u.csihc>ia, A'l I''spA L." >,'p'.'
| native barber of HiinapiI.- boy under l-p-
motto influence. Ills .u>pr.onN were H'"N" .'
| tbn bo,', ;,turafaurc llc tried experiments,
| which were repeated ln court ana loNhl "r 'p.''
! make natives follow Lm luVoiHtrlIN. i"'
man was CON !cnuuei 20 uIuc .cnrs Abor lu r r'.-t
! the sentence WAS confirmed 'N On" supreme
| C"urt huf ,yerfi.IIy y..lt:rd bv tie Gotcru-
4
journal ol I-.0. u $50 cases re p1rj"rlI rt i.-
tcrcstu-. as children arr extremely s'h>i'I.' 4"
! hypnotsrn " Nancy tlcIc los not bon ID ,'n1."
! failure with children under fourteen years ol H-'
l3 Hypuo,izcd person, n.lr bc made, ny mean,
! Of suggestion. the un'Ousc0u, ana IrfoluultIt
| AGENTS Of crime. WIN regard 10 ti.' POM,
which is the most interesting Of aIl, 4 is on.f
Teh' 10 say that the brilliant ana srlrll' hf hpIt
Of Paris phIS!rlN, WHO ~" "ls' nt pro Ism dO hol
! greatly believe in the dau- -cr. IAr' mful uh
! that hypuotism j. morbid condition 'Ari 40
/ l.t. b, p o. .II L
frs'atous small number of people; and iu"N
dcuy tie all-lmportouI pd.t aa'rlcd ny the H'Ac\
doctors - the power Of suggestion. III ''IN 'H't
labor under the dlNldNrUt1-c Oi having 10 mann
taIu - NEGATIVE position. which H"' easily hc
oycrtuIoWE by a mosr c>trndcd experience. "ud
are pTob1blN-Wc may S1E uudpu'lru.F-" ROM.
! The susceptibility 10 suggestion may mot hr rp
universal as d. Is thought 10 bee 10 Nancy b3l
It's danger, when il doe, exist, can HH:I-N hr c>-
acgcratcd. is Professor Ecauuis s.rs II Is Of
no use to try and minimize ,he a"tht Of th..
fact and il is far better - Icco.uI/" t "s D.
really is, that is 10 say, The ab~plul" power IN Ger
tain cases Of the hypuotIIcr over his subject
The history of mcsmcTI,m is fall Of instances "I
persons ln the higher mcsmrIc, hIph"'', OF som
nambuil~tic stotc-tAc word docs not *-ihIt
performing acts in Obedience to The
Will Of another with complete abolition
Of consciousness Of voltlou, ana Of subsequent
recollection. There is nothing new IN tins. US
early as l1~i De Pulsc.ur. Ncsmcrs pupil. pointed
out the danger Of the magnetic condition. g., il
was then called. benz turned to criminal purppo' IS
i'm uusci upuIous hands and Tcstc, Niilnl ahoIt
1910. declared that SUBJECT "hclon9s body and
soul 10 the maenctzcr if hc is base and daei'fdlf
enough h. usc Tie power The Nancy doctors
have discovered nothing lew; bot 1h"E have &C.
yclopcd the phenomena with greater iulncss and
cNactucSS than their predecessors, ana have Irit
tie c1Chct of scientific observation 10 t1cis "luch
have been previously received with suspicion or
openly secuted rs ridiculous or impossible. W
Ic-cnis professor Of I1W ~ Nancy, has especially
Investigated tie mcdoo-lceol aspects of the matter
The chief points are thcs': Certain subjects can
bC made 70 do whatever Is suggested 10 them, not
only at the time, hut AZ any fixed Gdtr altcr"ard:
they remember nothing of the suggestion, bul
when the time comes they do The thing, DE
icyng themselves - be- free agents they can hc
made 10 commit unlawful acts against their
own conscience. The truth Of these state
mcnts rests upon numerous experiments aiicsl"d
hy q number OF independent witnesses, whose IN