The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1907-06-16

A LARGE and growing selioop OF
"a soelologists and pepoleglsts he
- leyc that crime IL disease and
that in the future the surgeons knife,
asylums and medicinal vmedies viii re-
place the gallews, the electric cAair, aud
penltentiaries. However irideseent may
he this dream of time when morality
can be contracted through the adminis'
tra,ion Of subtle pills or methods akin
10 vaccination, yet II IL fact that In
most Of the monstrous crimes that
have recently shocked the country, OK.
perts OF the new school discover evi.
denccs ot brain lesion, or other nervous
and physical conditions that make the
criminal IN irresponsible brute an ava
tistic monster, The mysterious Jack
the Ripper whose crimes shocked Lon
don several years ago, and were follow.
cd by number OF similar atroeious
murders In the United States and
France, IA Of this class and doctors are
now o. the opinion generally, that
Tucker, Durrant and the recent woman
murderers in Chicago were subjects for
the surgeon and physician aud not the
hangman.
The ignorance Of the ordinary jury
and the failure Of the law 10 recognize
the discoveries Of science frequently rc'
suit In turning loose upon society iiends
In human form and sometimes In the
judicial murder OF the irresponsible.
This matter was the recent subject Of
discussion and d meeting Of aistin'
gulshed lawyers and physicians IN New
York, and promises 10 he vital topic
at the annual meeting OF luriats and
medical men during the present year.
While American Investigators have
made valuable contribution TO this in.
FAINT science, the principal work has been
done by German and French alieuista
who have collected thousands Of cases
In the deeelopemcnt OF their theories. In
the highly artificial civilization of Eu.
nrope the theory Of atavistic tendencies
oi revision 10 savage tribes ot the race.
resulting IN monstrous crimes, nnda
a wealth OF material to support II.
The Lust For Blood.
The delight in torture and cruelty,
the lust for the sight ot blood and cries
Of agony, the capture and subsection OF
women by brute force, are primary saw
age traits that persist IN the highest
civilization in atavistic forms In just
the same way that the rudimentary tail
persists in the human skeleton. From
this point Of view, a food Of light i
thrown upon the cause Of assaults Of
negroes upon white women.
The classical example OF a blcod.lust-
ing monster In Marschalls Gillea dc
Raya, who was executed In France In
l440. He confessed to the torture and
mutilation Of 500 children in eight years,
and declared that the sight Of the dow.
ing blood, the cries OF agony Of the IT..
tie victims as he killed them. gave him
"the most lnexpressible pleasure" With
the aid OF servant, almost rs great a
monster as himself, he captured or lnred
little children to his castle, where he
locked them up subjecting them to all
the fiendish tortures that his bloody I'm.
agination could devise. The bodies were
burned and only the heads of few
particularly beautiful children were
kept by him a. souvenirs.
He declared that the crimes were sug.
gestcd to him by reading the descrip.
tions In Suetonious Of the orgies Of the
degenerate Caesars, Nero, Tiberius, and
caracaIla. Those Roman emperors ex.
perienced the most intense delight in
witnessing the slaughter Of youths and
maidens which they would order solely
for the purpose Of satisfying their lust
for the sight OF blood and helples sago.
ny. Alienists now declare that Durrant
the murderer Of several girls In San
Francisco, and Tucker, the Massachu.
setts murderer, recently executed were
likewise victims OF this mad lust for the
for the sight Of blood and helpless ago.
"Jack the Ripper
Feurbach gives the case Of Andreas
Bichel, as typical Of the "Jack the Rip.
per class, which has had representatives
in every civilized country. Bicbel, after
the perpetration Of many atrocious
crimes, was captured and confessed.
Showing his psychological state, he said,
in describing one Of his murders.
u opened her breast and with knife
cut through the heshy part Of the body
Then | arranged the body as a butcher
does beef and hacked it with knife
into pieces to 1T the hole which had
dug for ii in the mountains. ! may say
that while was cutting up the body !
was so greedy and ! trembled, and could
have cut out a piece and eaten H."
"Jack the Ripper operated during
the three years from 1887 to 1880, and
was never captured although he threw
certain districts of Paris into a terror
stricken panic. Ten women were his
victims. In all the cases the throats
Of the women were cut and then the