Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1902-05-03
CASE OF BROADHEAD.
ny EDWARD b. CLARK.

stefan and the chief lecturer on mental dis
orders in the Northeast Side Medical school.
Both are natural lovers and enthusiastic
bibliophiies. Their book collecting has the
same trend, ai% there are precious Jew
things about the outdoor world from Arts.
totes Natural History down that
have not place on tue sheives Of their
| libkary.
DR.. Broadhead is in tie vernaeular an
alienist sharp. When tie detention hospi-
tai authorities get tangled up on case the
doctor is sent for, and alter five minutes
interview with the patient he tells the
other doctors whether the man should be
shipped off to Elgin or turned loose On the
community When insanity cases are on
trial before a jury and DR. Broadhead hap
| pens to be called he does the thinking for
both the judge and the men in the box The
public believes that the CLEANS from DR..
BroadAead's sharp eyes are yeritable Roent-
gen rays, and that ne looks through a mans
skull and reads his brain as readily as an
other man would read a book
For 20 years DIR. Broadhead has been
making study of kleptomanis. He is
! known as the kleptomania's friend The
doctor has a t3eors, and nc propounds it
once month regularly to his students in
the Northeast Side Medical school, that
not the slightest blame, TO say nothing oil
criminallty, can attach to the person who
takes when moved by certain impulse.
The doctor has gone to such lengths with
| his theory that he has published two books
on tie matter.
/ James Coke, the doctors friend, as the
attorney to the AntiThief association
comes in contact about once week with
some OF the toughest propositions in the
xx-a4r ~ l,a,,a
honest civilization Coke and the doctor
/ often go botanizing together. Sometimes
| they fish little, but their trips and their
companionshlp are chiefly in the open air.
Coke as lawyer, and especially as the
jewelers. attorney, combated at every OPP
portunity the doctors kleptomaniac the
cries. You see it's this way with you,
DOCTOR" said Coke one day when they We're
afield together. ~ GU are too broadly SYM
/ pathetic. You would prefer to believe
person honest, and so you think he is. It's
i simply a case OF the wish being father to
! the thought"
''Now Coke" said the doctor, you've
I been prosecuting people, thieves and other
wise, for years, and you are hardened. !
tell you that more than half the people who
are arrested as thieves are simply klepto
manics Some OF these unfortunates who
4 take things are not even guilty OF coyet-
i BUSINESS. There is an overwhelmingly ire
+ sistible desire to take, and take it is, and
then men like you howl thief and hound
the poor devils to prison. Read my books
on kleptomania, or if you won't do that,
come over to the Northeast Side school
next Monday and hear me lecture to the
! physicians of the future on the honest thief.
Why, tell you again that some OF the
/ cleanest eonsciences on earth are in the
! breasts-if that's where the conscience is
situated-of some of these State street wom-
en- shoppers that the hoorwalkers are al
i ways looking out for
1t was only three days later that Detective
John Broderick, of the central detail, ar
rested Mary Brown for the larceny OF three
diamond rings from tray on the show
case of Poor 4 Alien The salesman and the
detective both declared it to be cold case
of steal" The justice of the peace held
Mary Brown and the grand jury indicted
her. Subsequently the trial was held before
Judge Chetlain.
Coke was there as the jewelers. repre-
sentative to aid in the prosecution. In fact,
the preparation OF the case, It's presenting
and the appeal TO the jury for conviction
We're mainly his. The defense put in plea
OF kleptomania. Mary Brown was good
looking. The jury was told to look at her.
The jury did. The jury was then told that
Mary Brown when child stole blackberry
jam from the buttery, that in later years
she had taken other things, but in eacl case
had she been impelled not by wlckedness,
but by desire that amounted to dis
ease to possess things not her own
Coke managed to offset by sheer strength
of argument a good deal OF Mary's beauty
and much of the force OF the kleptomanical
argument. The jurymen seemed to have
level heads, and the fact that Mary had Sc
lected the costliest rings in the tray to slip
in her glove gave evidence of pretty fair
amount Of mental responsibility.
Coke was well satisfied-witn the situation
! of affairs, when to his utter amazement the
lawyer for the defense called out DR.. john
! Broadhead."
Dr. Broadhead came busting forward
from seat in tie far rear OF the court
room Attorney Coke sighed when he saw
his friend the alienist. Its all up now
he said to himself.
The eminent physician took the stand.
He declared in voice almost subtly sympa-
thetc that in his opinion Mary Brown was
4 a kleptomanae; that she mad taken things
because of an inclination to take that was so
powerful that neither the human mind aor
the human hand could resist. These peo-
pie need sympathy, not punishment, gentle
men," said the doctor.
There was no use trying to stem the tide
of the effect of the great alienist's testi-
mony. Not all Coke's eloquence ayailed a
jot The jury filed out, turned around and
filed in and acquitted Mary Brown.
That night at dinner James Coke was in
/ deep thought He said so little and looked
SO immersed in his musings that his wife re-
garded him bit curiously. Finally gleam
came into the lawyers eyes. Jane, he
said Or Broadhead and ! have been col
lectors of nature books for years, haven't
we? That's true, you say, and, yes, we both
have very fine collections. My collection,
however, isn't as fine as it used to be, and
| haven't sold any books, either. think
/ III call on the doctor fof an hour or so to-
night"
Two hours later James Coke returned
I Il al araal md h