Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-01-25

"Hou might say the same thing Of
paintings. The intrinsic yalue repre-
sented III canvas and Gil is little, yet
thousands Of dollars are paid for pic
lures.
THAT. too, is an insanity, one, of
course, which cannot be INDUCED in BY
any save the rich. But it is not the
same as with the old stamp craze. Pic
lures remind us of nature and appeal to
The senses Of all mankind by recalling
iecoliectlons brought into being by the
scene presented. There is therefore a
legitimate use fog paintings, and a rea-
sonab!e price as COMPENSATION for the
work and genius Of the artist is perhaps
permissible. But should a man pay a
fortune Tor single canvas and then
harg 1t in room in his own house
where 1t will he seen by few save him
self. that man I should consider de-
rlentcd. So with JEWELS
"Ah! What Of them:''
Jewels have q market value, and a
place IL The world. But when a man
goes about buying up every magnificent
specimen that can be found, and then
locks his treasures up IN a safe, he is
simply crazy man pure and simple"
What Eas all this to do with the
case in h;nt.:''
Everything. lily friend is crank on
the subject CT jewels. Sensible and en-
tortalnlng Tn any other topic, if you
mention the name Of any kind CT Jewel
10 Is OF III minute, giving Il long his
tory Of this CT that celebrated stone.
His especial craze i'll this connection is
to relate the crimes that have surround
ca every stone Of any great price Ee
has made my blood curdle at his ghast-
ly tales of cruel murder, committed TO
gain possession Of diamonds and rubies. +,
Then your conclusion is that by fill
ing his mind with such thoughts he
may have accustomed himself to the
lGea ct crime i'll connection with Jew
els:'
Exactly. The worst Of it is that We
may become habituated to anything.
For instance, all ordinary men are
abashed IL the presence of the dead. No
matter how strong minded man may
to or how much he may scott at the
Idea OF ghosts and the like, he will pre-
Ter company II he must sit up with
corpse. More than that, the slightest
sound IN the room, as the moving of the
Ice IL the icebox, will cause a SILVER to
pass through him. Yet physicians who
study frequently in the dissectins room
come to have that contempt of dead
body that butcher has for the meat
which he Sells
Your argument is net bad, Mr.. Ran
dolph. 1t is not impossible that YOUR
friend might be generous and gentle
ana yet with Il mania for the possession
OF jewels, and with the knowledge of
all the crimes that have been committed
to gain them, the temptation to kill or
steal would perhaps become overpower-
ing, where his passion sees an opportu-
nityto be satisfied. 1t is an odd world"
DO you think that i'll case of that
kind the man would be eScusable ON
the plea Of mania? Legally, mean?''
We'll, no, do rot! Psychologically,
admit that you may be correct, and
can sympathize with man who became
a criminal in such q way. But legally
he would be culpable. At least think
so. The question to be answered is, Did
your friend steal these jewels? You
slept with him that night. What do you
think?''
Il don't know what to think. He
could not have left the berth without
over me, and, though 1 sleep
soundly, that ought TO have awakened
me. Then besides, if lie did get out and
take the things, where could he have
hidden them, ana how did they get to
New Haven? By the way, I suppose
you have tie description of the man
who left the satchel at the hotel? Does
1t tally with that Of my friend:''
Il cant say. 1t is rather vague. The
clerk says the man was Of medium size,
with red hair and beard, while the nor
ter who saw him also is equally posi- /
tive that lie had black hair and no
beard. The last fits Mr.. Mitchell better
than the first, but it is a description
which would do as well for /, coo men
found i'll walk along Broadway"
Il almost think that after all the
thief is some che else"
Let us hope so, MIR. Randolph. I |
Will say this much, if there is any COM |
fort III it for you. At present there is
not enough evidence against him to war
rant his arrest
The detective said this with a pur- |
pose. By relieving this mans mind he |
hoped to make him more communicative. !
After pause he asked:
lyon have known Mr.. Mitchell for a
humber Of years, believer
No, net more than a year and a
laf. He has not been in New York two I
years.
ooh! see. A Boston MANI"
No, think he came from New Or.
cans
A curious sensation passed over Mr..
oarnes. There is a superstitious belief,
much esteemed BY many, that shud-
Ter or chill of this character means that
ONE ore Is walking over the spot where
ne person affected is to be buried.
therefore gu uncanny thought accom-
'snies 1t. With Mr.. Barnes it is differ
mt He is fires from all such notions,
'et ipsensibly Se is moved when this
ccLrs to him, because it has so often
that at the time he Just hit
l. /