Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1902-05-03
A LEGACY OF THE DARK AGES,
(From the Springfield Republican1

|
stion Of 'sentimentalst" or a "hu-
manitarian milksop.' Psychologists.
changes advance very rapidly at times,
and suddenly you may discover that
vast numbers of people have in n night
relapsed 500 years in their mental or
moral conceptions. Something of the
sort has taken place in this country in
the matter of burning negro, ravishers
at the stake. When the first case took
place, the whole nation was horriHed
When one now occurs ii attracts
little attention. for the public CON
science has been scared concerning
lynchings and burnings.
Now that the fact of the use of the
water torture by the army has been
well established-and the evidence is
accumulating that its use has been
widespread "a strong disposition to
! defend the theory and practice of
torture Is being shown, both by army
officers and "A certain section of the
press. General Grenville NJ. Dodge,
formerly of the army. has already
justied the water cure" and his
letter is being reprinted with appar-
ent approval, in western newspapers
Several of the soldiers who have
testified to having witnessed cases of
torture have said that they indorsed
1t. Lieut.. Charles L.. James of the
Both infantry, who claims TO have seen
the cure" administered TO several
hundred natives, points out with n
convincing air that he never knew of a
victim TO die from the torture. And
such a defense s seriously offered TO
II civilized people. The Washington
Star Is disposed to turn tho question
aside ns a kind Of joke, on the
ground that the cure" appears to be
n rather rough form of college haz-
ing" But none of these apologies
or justifications would convince us
that II general tendency exists to ex-
cusc' so barbarous an expedient of
conquest, We're not the words of Gen
eral John II. Brooke, major general
on the active list of the United States
army, before us. Now for the water
cure said Gen. Brooke in his speech
before the st Georges society in New
York, Wednesday night 1T is called
brutal, Brutality is war, and it is
nothing else. 1t Is necessary to do
things In war that are not necessary
In peace" In other words. Gen.
I'r, oke justifies torture MS n "neces.
sary' device, Notwithstanding the ut
ter condemnation of the atroclous
thing IN the Presidents recent orders
to Gen. Chaffce.
II there be msapprehension any.
where MS to the real character of the
water cure" IL there he any one who
honestly believes It to be a form of
hazing," he can be easilv
set right by. n little study
OF the high place of the cure"
among the. tortures employed in Eu.
rope during The middle ages, to ex.
tract confessions from persons accused
OF crime, or from heretlcs, or from
prisonersof war. For purposes of public
enlightenment, the case of the mar.
rnlsc dc Brinvilllers I'm France. over
two centuries ago, may be related.
That noblewomen poisoned her father.
NJ, dAnbrey, and her brother, In or
der TO inherit their money. She had
been instructed in the use of the
poison by the Seigneur de Sainte
Croix, and when afterward he was
found dead in his laboratory, killed
by poisonous fumes, the recipes for
/ '"' f''0'h Nfi' ulS'oNPTpU. An Hc-
complice named Lachaussee was put
To torture by the authorities, and he
implicated In his confession the Mar
qulse de Brinvlliers. who was imme
dlately arrested for the murder of her
father and brother. Our present in.
terest In that celebrated criminal case
lies entirely In the kind of torture to
which the Marchioness was subjected
IN order to force n confession from her
Her trial began after Lachaussee had
been broken on the wheel
In July, 1879, ut Paris, the NIarchlop.
ess was pnt to tho test II is related
that ns the judges retired "thc terrible
apparatus wasreyeaed. rne woman
surveyed II with the utmost firmness
then perceiylng three buckets of water
she turned to the registrar, not wish.
Ing TO speak TO the executioner ut