Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-06-29

or the bhlrd degree ana began more and
more impressively to suggest to him his
guilt" as Prof. Munsterburg puts 1t. Al
the coroner's inquest a revolver was -four
ished before him with quick motion which
made a fash of steel in the ROOM After
this Ivens began to confess and he repeated
his confession with richer detail, and al.
though his witnesses established a plausible
alibi, he was convicted and executed on the
basis of this confession. He had had nc
bad previous record, had never sought
women's company and was regarded as
stupid, credulous, absent-minded and given
to morose moods.
Six days before his execution he awoke as
If from q spell and denied all memory OF
his previous confessions. He asserted that
his only recollection of the coroner's inquest
was that of seeing a revolver pointed al
him. II saw the fash of steel in front OF
me-" he said. Then two men got before
me. 1 can remember no more than that
about it. From the time / was arrested I
do not believe that l was myself for mo-
ment- Everything about that time was q
blur, blank, to me. l through this
blur the time in the station when the police
would bring me up every little while and
tell me what I had >done. 1 did not do It
and I knew that 1 did not; but 1 do not
know what I said or did. / wondered why
a revolver should be pointed at me-
A Strange Mental Force.
The flash which blazed upon Ivens'
vision when the revolver was dourished
split his consciousness. to speak, and
his remaining half-personality developed
a false memory of its own, according to
Prof. Munsterburg. 1t was a case of "op-
teal captivation of attention" and some
unexpected stimulus snapped off the nor
NAL connections
An emotional shock may thus push
imaginative thoughts into the center and
build around them split-off pieces of a dis
ISOLATED mind 1t may be difficult to dis
criminate between the new personality
thus formed and the real self, according to
the psychologist. even when important
emotions and memories are distorted. He
regards the confession of Ivens as an in
teresting case of 'auto-suggestion."
Are not the cases of Becker and Price in
the same category Are not their confess
sions, also, results Of this auto-suggestion!
According to Prof. Munsterburg this
strange warping Of reason, resulting in the
subjects belief that he has committed
crime of which he is really innocent. may
result from an unexpected stimulus" an
optical captivation of attention, an an
sudden flash Of the pistol did the work
Was not the sudden and unexpected flash
ing upon Becker's vision Of the CHASTITY
face of the murdered girl probably pro-
shock? 1t was not until after this move
by the detectives that he began TO con
fess" And later, in response to the rapid
fire OF suggestions of guilt hurled at him
by Mrs Simonson also-he finally con
fessed" that he was the murderer. Was
Mrs. Simonson's upbraiding the final
wedge which split his consciousness? is
an interesting question which presents it
self. 1t was shortly after the trembling
fit induced by her direct accusation that
the young man made his most incriminat-
ing confession"
In Prices case there Is no evidence
of a sudden emotional shock, and the
theory OF his defenders Is that he got the
suggestion of his own guilt after BROOD
Ing over morbid newspaper accounts OF the
crime while he was IN a state OF nervous
collapse due to drugs. His case seems 10
approach that frequent melancholla de-
scribed by Prof Munsterburg, in which the
innocent sufferer will have the delusion
that he is responsible for the taxing
away of some friend who has died from
natural causes or that he kindled the last
destructive fire read about In the news
papers. .
Danger of serious mental arrangement
to the victims turks in the third degree,
IL Prof Munsterhurg's theory Is well
founded, and he presents some clinical
data which support 1t. He shows. for ex.
ample, how minds have been strangely and
suddenly warped through optical fasclna-
ton" from such stimuli as sunlight reflect
ed from brass lamps in church. or from
the eyeglasses of the family physician. Inc
hypnotist systematically produces this
phenomenon with the glistening BAH on
the end of his wand or with the similar
ball which a band about the subjects
head supports above the eyes. Other para
phernalia Of the skilled hypnologist's
laboratory are devised for the same pur-
prises the ear, the revolving hypnotic