The Hawaiian gazette., 1906-05-01
FOR
: JOHNSON
1.

die: till obeyed, it stops in the present
tense and represents the eternal now'
And so, sir, / feel myself urged to
write. and even at this late hour, may
II be. the words sent forth good frul'
may bear.
The Hawaiian Star of the 25th inst.
commences an editorial, "Johnsons
Sanity Established" in this wise: 1T
is satisfactory to all to have proof that
Murderer johnson was not insane. In
Gods name, Mr.. Editor, to whom can
such feeling be satisfactory? Where
are they to be found? Has the Stars
devil" been playing pranks or has that
other devil, Mephistopheles, been at his
subtle work upon that papers editor!
An innocent child of tender years
cruelty ferociously killed. A man is
found guilty of the awful deed, ana
the Stars writer not only himself mas
satisfaction, but deliberately says 1t is
satisfactory to all, to have proof that
the convicted degenerate was not an In
sane man. Impossible 1T Is, beyond
reasonable doubt. to believe any such
assertion. An assertion which, II true
would place the men of this community
where most certainly they are not and
hence can not be found. 1t is not
true, Mr.. Editor, that 1t can be
source of satisfaction to single living
soul to think any sane human being
could commit so damnable so inhuman.
so utterly revolving a deed as that per-
petrated in the Wharton case. BAD
enough too bad, too cruel, were the
perpetrator insane, but utterly incom-
prehensible, utterly impossible, utterly
beyond all reasonable liberation is the
thought that any could derive satis-
faction in the fact that the cruelest or
cruel deeds was to be set down as
sane mans act and not as the work OF
one of unsound mind. The Star writer
himself in clearer moments of better
thought would thankfully acknowledge
that no men of sound mind are abso-
lutely devilish. The Star writer ap-
parently thinks had the degenerate
johnson been thought insane there
would have been a miscarriage of JUS
tice. but, Mr.. Editor, where a question
of sanity is to be decided on what the
Star calls indefinite lines" may there
be no miscarriage if man is hanged
owing to such indehniteness? In a pa
per read in the section of neurology
forty-ffth annual meeting of the Amer
lean Medical Association, by DR.. L. ID.
Crothers, is the following:
"The delusions of the law insist on
fixing boundaries of responsibility, and
urge medical men to go into this
penumbra region of sanity and insanity
and draw lines between vice and
disease, and indicate where human jus
tice should punish and where excuse.
1t seems to many of the earths most
enlightened a poor use to which to put
murderer, to hang him, even when
no question of sanity crops up; but
when insanity appears possible, nay
probable and the proof is difficult
owing to the natural obscurities at
tending 1t, the possible nor appreciation
of mental failure of an accused may
well attend the giving of evidence OF
even medical men. In another place
have said, Mental conditions where
men constantly use alcohol and some
times to excess, are, we are told or
authority. profoundly involved and the
border line between sanity and Its
antithesis may not only not be strongly
marked, but the reverse" An authority
writing in the Alienist and Neurologis
on "Unrecognized Toxic Insanities'
says, Criminal impulses TO take ad'
vantage of or injure some one, bring
these toxic insanties into prominence
Such insanities are seldom OF
never recognized, except when som'
extraordinary change or conduct at
tracts unusual attention" The stars
indefinite lines" are only too wei
known. DR.. Oscar IT. Woods, medica
superintendent Cork District Asylum
recently said, Il have formed a stront
opinion that there is much unregistered
insanity still in the country and muci
neurotic disease existing to be turned
into active insanity by the slightes
exciting cause"
Dr. c. A. Drew, medical directo
State Asylum for Insane Criminals
Bridgewater, Mass, speaking on tn
correlation of alcoholism, crime and in
sanity, said, ''The man who drinks be
cause his comrades drink is not of ;
kind with him who yields to an i'm
pulse from within which has almost tn
resistless force of an epileptic eXplo
sion. The latter is just as truly tn
victim of a neurosis as the epieptic
The instructive criminal, the habitua
criminal. the occasional criminal, an
the criminal by passion are not of
kind although the lines of demarkatio
can not be sharply drawn. In all thes
cases, however, alcohol plays an i'm
portant causative role, because, a
Victor Horsey of England, Kraeplin q
Germany, Berkeley OF Johns Hopkins
and others have affirmed and demon
strated, the oft repeated presence q
even moderate quantity of alcohol /
the circulation win cause marHe
changes IN the cortical neurons of IN
brain, change In the shape Of IN
neucleus, the disappearance of IA
granular masses and the shrinking
the protoplasm NJ the cell body an
are among the changes discovered b
modern laboratory research
These cells are the material basis {
mans moral sense and conscience, I'll
physical representatives. ~ his aspire
lions his likes, his dlsllkes, his hope
his fears and his viii power
II Is known that drink played pan
in tho tragedy and u has been suH
gested that, enased by nol being sul
piled with u as hp desired, lphnsol