The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-07-27
NEW YORK TOPICS.
DRIFTS AND UNDERCURRENTs OF
THE METROPOLIS.

THE METROPOLIS.
DIR. Cyrus EdsOn's Method of Identi-
flying Human BIOod-HOw Ex-Big
Chief Devcry Has Abandoned the
Phrase ''Touchin' ON and Apper-
tainin' tO"-MayOr Lows Private
Secretary and the East Side Bride.
| New York Writers Who Are Going
to COIOnize Cape COd-Jai AIai, d
New Game for the Metropolis.
New York, July 26.-Apparently one
of the most puzzling of the many puz-
zling problems which turn up in muir
der trials has been evolved. This
comes through the discovery of
means of differentiating between hui
man and animal blood. The presence
of blood stains on the clothing of the
| accused is a common form of circum-
stantial evidence. More than once such
strains have formed the last necessary
strand in the rope by which men have
| been hanged. Claims on the part of
| the accused that the discriminating
| blood stains had come from the VEINS
or arteries of animals other than hui
man beings have been tossed aside by
| judge and jury. 1t seems strange in
these days of exact scientific analysis
that absolutely no accurate way of
| determining whether a stain was made
by human or by animal blood has hith-
erto existed.
Blood is made of three materials-red
! corpuscles, white corpuscles and wa
ter. In healthy persons the red cor
I puscles predominant. In most I'M
] healthy persons the white corpuscles
| predominant. Thus the blood loses it's
| richness of appearance and looks thin
In all animals (of which man is one)
except the dromedary and his first cou-
sin the camel, the red corpuscles of the
blood are round. Strangely enough the
red corpuscles of these two animals
are oval, like those of birds, reptiles,
amphibia and fishes. The chemical
make up of the floods of various ami
mails always including NAM is so sim
liar that to identify the particular
the veins and arteries of
man by chemical analysis, is impos-
| sible. This difficulty of blood
identification has many times hamp-
cred attempts at melting out exact JUS
tice in murder cases. Blood stains on
the clothing of the accused have I'M
doubtedly been accepted as the marks
OF human blood when in reality they
came from other animals, and per-
haps, vice versa. The only absolutely
definite way of differentiating is by
measuring the corpuscles, and the diff
| nculty of this is plain when it is ex-
| planned that the red corpuscles in a
human beings blood measure only
1-S2O0 of an inch in diameter; of a dog
1-2k Of
| men; OF hog 1880 of an inch; Of a
horse 1-4600 of an inch; of a cow or
an OK l-S2o7 of an inch; of a red suuir-
| rel 1-4O0 or an inch; of mouse 1-3814
OF an men; OF rabbit 1-3607 of an
men, etc. These measurements are so
minute that even with a powerful mi
croscope it is impossible to get results
on which dependence can be placed.
DR.. Cyrus Edison, ex-Comnaissioner Of
Health of New York city. has chane-
ed all this by the simplest possible
means. He makes magic lantern slide
OF the red corpuscles of the blood II,
| question and throws their shadows on
screen. In this way he can magnify
them an indefinite number of times
nVe million times if he wishes to-and
then measurement of the suspected
corpuscies become easy. This extreme
| ~ simple plan is valuable addition
to the methods of medical iurisnru-
| dence.
Since ex-Chief of Police Devery has
become a political leader he has made
an important change in his vocahn-
iary HIS "touchin' on an appertain-
IN to- became so famous as to
potnef the chief exceedingly. Near
~ every newspaper in New York has
made fun of it and sometime ago The
DIG chief decided to "cut it out" Now
aday ne sometimes starts it in an in
slant or forgetfulness but he ALWAYS
calls halt before helfinishes it The
other night one of his henchnen went
10 MN with a bill for some fireworks
which had been set off on Eighth
avenue on what will go down into his
tory OF that part of New York CITY
as the Big Chiefs Night" The big
chief had reason to believe that the
| fireworks had not really cost as much
| as the henchman said they had He
looked at the man with that hypnot-
ic stare which has made so MANY
drunken policemen (without pulls)
tremble; drew himself up to his great
est possible stature; expanded his
chest and started to call the man
down very gruffiy. He folded his ia.
arms across his fat body and started
| grimly:
'Touchin on an"
! Ihe fatal phrase had almost slipped
| out. The Big Chief caught him
SELF, turned red, stammered and
weakened. He began again but his
| dignity was gone
! Touchin, touchin'. touchin' off
fireworks is expensive" he finally
suffered out. "Aain't it?" he added
| with sickly grin.
Then he paid the bill.
The slip had cost him the rake off
that he knew the man had added to
the bill.
] James B. Reynolds. Mayor Lows