The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-24
He IS JACK THE RIPPER,
The Author of the WhitechapeI
Murders a London
Physician.
CONFINED IN A MADHoUsE.
The story Told by an Englishman
to William Greer Har-
riSOn.

| DR.. Howard, London physician OF con-
siderable prominence, was the guest OF
William Greer Harrison at the bohemian
Club recently. He is one VINO mas also
made reputation in literature Inc Eng
lishman told singular story to ms most
and vouched for its correctness IN every
particular 1t related to the mystery OF
"Jack the Ripper" which the physician
declared was no longer a mystery among
the scientific men of London, or the de-
tectives at Scotland Yard. He said that
this atrocious ASA ssin was medical man
of high standing and extensive practice.
He was married to beautiful and amlaole
wife, and had a family. Shortly before the
beginning of the Whitechapel murders ne
developed a peculiar and, to his wl1e' an
inexplicable mania-an unnatural pleasure
in causing pain.
This malady at last attained such grown
that his wife became afraid of him, ana
used to lock herself and the children up
when she observed those paroxysms COM
ing on. Yet when the fits were over ana
she spoke to him about them, he professed
perfect ignorance of their occurrence, ana
actually laughed at her, and accused her
of being the victim of some strange hal
Inclination. Yet he acknowledged that he
had encountered in his practice cases SINH
lar to those she attributed to him, and de-
fined them as most dangerous form OF IL
sanity.
Then the Whitechapel murders filled
London with horror, and the physician, IN
discussing them, freely expressed his opin-
ion that they were the work of maniac.
The suspicious of the wife were aroused,
and as one assassination succeeded the
other she noted with heartbreaking dread
that at the periods when these murders
were supposed to have been committed
her husband was invariably absent from
home. There was blood on his clothes,
which seemed to puzzle him, and he &C
counted to her for its presence by stating
that he must have got it while assisting at
some operation, but was annoyed that he
could not fix the time or place.
At last the suspense and fear of the
wretched wife became unbearable. and she
went to a few of her husbands medical
friends, stated the case, and asked their
advice and assistance. They were as
founded at her suspicious, but she cited so
many peculiar circumstances that they re-
solved to make quiet investigation into
brother physician. They called the Scot
land 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 became complete.
The sequel is the strangest part of DR..
Towards story, and conflicts with the
established ideas of English methods. The
physicians visited the murderer, and told
L: A. II - J., t.<@,,
remarkable case. Then they stated his own
in detail, and asked him what should be
done under the circumstances. He replied
promptly that, while the unmistakable in
sanity of the person who could commit
these crimes would save him from the
halter, he should certainly be confined to a
lunatic asylum. Then they told him that
he himself was the maniac who had done
these fearful acts. He declared the impos-
sibility of the accusation, but confessed
that of late years he feared he had been
yielding to unusual promptings and that
there were gaps in the TWEEN ty-four hours
of which he positively had no recollection.
He said that he had awakened in his own
rooms as if from stupor and found mud
upon his boots, indicating that he had
been in the streets, and stains of blood
upon his hands. This had distressed him
very much, and he had communicated
these incidents to his wife, in whom he
had the utmost confidence, but she
could not account for them. He had also
scratches upon his face, and his ampu-
tating knives had shown signs of use,
though he could not recall having assisted
at any operation. He begged them in all
sincerity to unravel this mystery for him.
Kindly and sympathetically the doctors
assured him that most deplorablv there
could be no doubt of his identity with the
Whitechapel assassin. They made an ex-
haustive search of the house, led by
the accused, who assisted them in every
way with a calm stolidity, as if he were
helping to pile up the evidence against
some other individual. They found ample
proofs of murder, and so numerous and
unmistakable were the results of their in
vestigation that the unhappy man, whose
mind at that moment was in it's normally
clear condition, pronounced his own sem
tence, and begged to be removed from the
world as guilty and dangerous monster.
He reproached himself with not having
communicated his suspicious of the extent
of this mania before to his medical asso-
| CldG6S, Dub lie was restrained DY DrlQe and
his dread of being removed from practice.
| The necessary papers were made out and
! the irresponsible murderer was committed
to an insane asylum. In month or SO he
lost all semblance of sanity and is now
the most intractable and dangerous mad
man confined in that institution. His
mania has got to that extent that, incapa-
BILE of INJECTING torture on others, he would
tear his own flesh but for the bonds that
! confine him.
When asked why this discovery was not
made generally public, DR.. Howard said
that it would have a panicky effect, and
that if it became generally known that
physician in good standing could be the
victim of mania so murderous in its char
acter the entire profession would suffer-
Again, the result in the law courts would
lead to the only punishment possible I'M
der such conditions, namely the lifelong
confinement of the lunatic. This was not
done on the responsibility of the doctors
| W