Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-04-24
TOLD AT FRISCO.
A London Physicinn's Story of the
Whitechapel Crininal.

SAN FRANCISCO, April 24.-Dr. How
ard, London physician Of considerable
prominence, was the guest of William
Greer Harrison at the Bohemian Club re-
Gently. The Englishman told a singular
story to his host, and vouched for its cor
rectness in every particular. 1t related to
the mystery of Jack the Ripper" which
the physician declares was no longer a
mystery among the scientific men of Lon
don, nor the detectives of Scotland Yard.
He said that this assassin was a medical
man of high standing and extensive prac-
tice.
He was married to beautiful and ami
able wife, and had family. Shortly be-
fore the beginning Of the "Whitechapel
murders" he developed a peculiar, and to his
wife, an inexplicable mania-an unnatural
pleasure in causing pain. She grew so
alarmed that she became afraid Of him
and locked herself and children up when
she saw the mood coming over him. When
he recovered from the paroxysms, and she
spoke to him about 1t; he laughed at her
fears.
London Mortified.
Then the Whitechepel murders filled
London with horror The suspicious of the
wife were aroused, and as one assassina-
ton succeeded another she noted with
heart-breaking dread that at the periods
VIXEN these murders were supposed to have
been committed her husband was invaria-
bly, absent from home.
At last the suspense and fear Of the
wretched wife became unbearable, and she
went to some7 of her husbands medical
friends, stated the case and asked their
advice and assistance. They called the
Scotland Yard force to assist them, and by
adding one fact to another the chain of
evidence pointing to the doctor as the
author of the murders was complete. The
physicians visited the murderer and told
him they wished to consult him about the
remarkable caSe.b. They stated his own
case in detail and asked him what should
be done under the circumstances. He re-
piled that while the unmistakable insanity
of the person who could commit these
crimes would save him from the halter,
he should certainly be confined in lunatic
asylum.
He Was the Maniac.
Then they told him that he himself was
the maniac who had committed these fear
full acts. He declared the impossibility of
the accusation, but confessed that Of late
years there were gaps in the twenty-four
hours of which he positively had no recol-
lection. He said he had awakened in his
room as If from stupor and he found
blood upon his boots and Skins of blood
upon his hands.
He had also scratches upon his face and
his amputating knives had shown signs of
use, tHou6u AS Souiu HoI ieCdll having dS-
sisted at any operation. These doctors
then assured him there could be no doubt
of his identity with the Whitechapel as
sassinations. They made an exhaustive
search of the house, led by the accused,
found ample proofs of the murder and the
unhappy man, whose mind at that moment
was in its nominally clear condition, begged
to be removed from the world as a guilty
and QngerouS monster.
The necessary papers were made and the
irresponsible murderer was committed to
insane asylum. In a month or two he
lost all semblance to sanity and Is now the
most intractable and dangerous man con-
fined in the Institution.