Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1895-07-03


other. Every being who can act only
under the idea of freedom is IN his
action really free; that is, he is gov
erned by all the laws which freedom
would necessarily bring with it. Con
seriousness of freedom tells us that we
have the power to act without being
consciously impelled by any constrain-
ing force, external or internal; It thus
tells us that we act without cause.
Only a being who knows that he is free
can be constrained. Freedom and
restraint are reciprocal concepts; they
are both necessarily connected with
consciousness.
eff man is not conscious of con-
straint he is not constrained. Each
mans ineligible character, which is
born with him and forms the inmost
kernel of his being. which is the
groundwork on which his empirical or
acquired character is subsequently
built, frequently determines what
power the given motive shall have
over him in any particular case. But
in the state of provoked sleep this SUBJ
ject may receive suggestion, in con-
seqence of which he may, at his awak-
ening, carry out the act suggeted. But
though they will be in some manner
overpowered, it is not abolished. The
knowledge of good and evil persists, and
this subject can always preserve suffi-
cient will power to give check to the
counsel of evil. 1t is only when he
desires that he obeys suggestion
blindly.
"The school of Charcot sneers at the
idea that hypnotic suggestion can be
made use of for criminal purposes; but
the Nancy school point to large num-
Der of experiments which seem to dem
onstrate the truth of their theory. For
example. People have been given
paper daggers and told to stab certain
people who have evil designs ON them,
and they have accomplished these i'm
aginary murders. On the other hand.
these "crimes of the laboratory, as
the Charcot school love to call them,
are committed in very artificial cir
cumstances, and many people have
strong impression. founded partly on
confessions of subjects themselves. that
there is an undercurrent of conscious
ness in the PATIENTS mind that it is all
right: that it is not real and that
nothing will happen to them. In adj
dition to this. there are many examples
in which the patient has demonstrated
a certain amount of free will and has
refused to follow the suggestion,
especially when the act suggested is
quite contrary to the whole current of
their being. Which view of the case
is true, one cannot say, as the matter
may still be regarded as subjudice;
but may state that the Nancy school
assert that crime may be suggested
and the subject forced to carry out the
suggestion.
1.-THE Bompard- Eyraud case pre-
scented much interest at its trial as be-
ing the first case where hypnotism was
alleged as defense to crime. Eyraud
and woman named Gabrielle Bonn
pard had been sought for long time,
having escaped the police. They went
first to the United States, whence the
woman returned alone and gave herself
up to the courts. Eyraud was arrested
later in Havana and brought back to
France. The medico.legal interest in
this case consists in the fact that it is
the first in which it has been attempted
to utilize the plea that one of the Grim
inals committed crime under the in
f1uence of hypnotism, and was, there
fore. irresponsible.
''It is useless to relate here the cir
cumstances of the crime. Suffice it to
say that, according to the evidence, the
criminals acted in concert for the pre-
paration of the deed. They rented
apartments where the woman. Bonn
pard. acted as decoy to an individual
who was assassinated. Eyraud and his
accomplish have each given a different
version of the manner in which the
murder was committed. Which is
correct is unimportant. The essential
fact is their completely. Having COM
mitted their crime they fed together.
and the woman, Bompard. continued
living with Eyraud. Later. however,
they separated, and the woman met
another individual who brought her
back to France and who seemed to
have some influence in deciding her to
give herself up to the police.
"From the moment that the Bompard
woman becomes prisoner our interest
in the case begins. 1t was noted as
remarkable that this woman showed
complete Indifference as to her situa-
ton; that she told in perfectly un-
concerned manner of the details of her
version of the crime. When taken to
the place where the crime had been
committed and where the corpse had
been found, where she had to confront
other witne sses, only one thing seemed
to concern her; that was the impression
she was making. She was evidently
pleased to find herself an object of in.
terest
''1n spite of the gravity of her situa.
ton. she laughed and joked, INDUCED
f,,o atx,a IL