Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-04-05
LEFT-HANDED PEOPLE.
They Are Most Numesous in the crimi-
nal Class.

nal Glass.
Prof. Lombroso in the NORTH American Review.
"As is universally Known, we use the
right hand very much more commonly than
the left, the numer of persons who are
more agile with the left hand being COM
paratively small. They are ordinarily
found among women, children and savages
and they We're more numerous in ages
past than they are now Much has been
written of these persons, but, as no one
has heretofore tried to .determine their fire.
quency by means of statistics. I decided to
undertake that task with the aid of my
friend, Prof. Mario.
Among 1929 operatives and soldiers
round a proportion of per cent in men and
to per cent in women. Among lunatics
the proportions are not much different. On
the other, studying a certain number of
criminals. the quota of left-handedness was
found more than tripled in men ID per cent
and nearly qaintupled in women, % per
cent. Some particular, kinds of Grim nails,
however, as, for example, swindlers, offered
me again much greater proportion, 80
per cent, while murderers and ravishers
give leSs-frOm to 10 per cent. At all
events, this is, a new characteristic, which
connects criminals with savages. and diff
ferentiates them from sane people, as well
as lunatics.
las appetite comes in eating according
10 the proverb), so, once in the midst of
L
! could not, go further in my researches.
Until now, thought, Ieft-handedness only
has been studied Would it not be worth
the trouble to search If there be not, also
what one may call 'left-sdedness' as APP
piled to the senses-that is. If there be not
men who have greater sensibility on the
left than on the right side? With this idea
l instituted a kind of physiological sur
veillance over a number of my friends and
colleagues and over some workngmen.
AS result. l found that left-sidedness
Is in much larger proportion than left
handedness, showing itself in no less than
26 per cent of normal people. The curious
fact appeared also that left-handed people
do not have more Of this sensitive left
sidedness than right-handed people, and
not even<as much, at least in the sense
of touch. as criminals, who average 27 per
cent, although they show a difference In
the intensity of the sense of touch. The
proportion of sensitive left-sided people
among criminals, however, becomes very
much more If one takes into account the
sensibility to pain, which they have more
highly developed In the left side and visual
sharpness, which, according to the calcu-
lations of DR.. Bono, is not only greater in
them than in honest men, but is more ac-
centuated in the left eve than in the right.
In lunatics, as is revealed by the re-
searches of Tonnini and Amadel, the sensi-
tive left-sidedness is almost more the rule
than the exception. rising as high as A
per cent 1t appears then, that left-hand-
ed people are more numerous among crimi
mails, and sensitive left-sided people among
lunat1cs.
Here I will note curious thing. Long
before !, after much technical observations
came to this conclusion. the people in the
provinces Of Emilia, Lombardy and Tus-
cany had already declared the same when
they framed and used the say, He is left
handed to express the idea that a person
is untrustworthy."