davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1909-07-04
MEMORY A TRICKY FACULTY.

In the examination OF q witness memory plays q
large part IN the trial. yet according to the per
sonaI experience of DR.. Munsterberg nothing is
more tricky than mans memory OF his Own
memory he has no cause TO complain, he says,
within the last eighteen years he has delivered
three thousand university lectures without having
to refer printed lines notes of any sort yet in
single case in court he unintentionally perjured
himself several times. In the case which he cites
his city house was 'Fburglarized." Before jury
he was called on to give account Of his findings
against the culprit, whom they had caught with a
part Of the booty Under oath he reported that the
burglars had entered through cellar window
that they had been there at night, as he had found
drops Of candle wax on the second floor. To show
that they intended to return he reported that they
had left large mantel clocl. packed in wrapping
paper on the dining room table Finally, to the
amount OF clothes which they had taken, he
serted that they did not get than specified
list which he had given the police.
Only few days later he found that every one of
the statements was wrong. The burglars had not
entered through the window. but had broken the
lock of the cellar door: the clock was not packed
by them in wrapping paper, but in tabIecloth.
the candle droppngs not On the second floor,
but In the attic: the list OF lost garments was In.
creased by seven more pieces. and while the story
under oath spoke always Of two burglars there
was proof that there was more than one. on
investigating how these mistakes had crept into
his testimony, Professor Mdnsterberg found that
his examination OF the house had been by no means
so careful as he aad thought. He had rushed in
from the seashore as ne was informed bv
the police. fearing that the valuable contents of
the house had been destroyed or plunderec When
lie saw that under the influence OF the contents OF
his wine cellar which they entered the burglars
had treated him mildly. his survey had been but
superficial and owing TO this. IN spite of good in
tentions. excellent memory and calm mood whols
series OF confusions OF illusions. of wrong concu-
Sons and OF yielding TO suggestions mingled
New-York tribune., 1909-07-04

a panic After the panic had been alayed the
collision bulkheads became endangered. Gradually
the ship leaked and more. and when sne
reached St. Johns she had sunk almost to the
waters edge and could NOT have kept afloat more
than few hours longer, When the work OF re-
pairing her began two hundred tons OF lee we're
taken from her forepeak. where IT had been driven
by the force Of the collision.
Not all ocean liners fortunate IN the re-
suits of their encounters with ice was the Arl-
zona. The mere recital OF the names OF big steam
ers that have gone to bottom from contact with
in tie last sixty years would I'LL columns There
IS reason 10 believe that the mysterious disappear
ance or scores of ships, with all hands aboard
lIpon which no light has ever been or over will be
thrown. is due TO collision with ice Among these
latter NAV he enumerated the White star liner Ma
ronic in the winter of 1925. the State liner Georgia
in 1897: the Allan liner Huronan, in 1892, the Lake
liner I,oerne In 1893. the Field liners Nutfed and
TreshfeId in 1871: the Atlas liner Athos IN l%''.
and the sydney liner Stikkestsd. the last winter
to name only few out Of scores
The dangers and discomforts which fan 70 the
lot of those aboard ocean liners which collide with
berEs. and which lose few or many of their per
eonnel in these encounters. are thrilling the
extreme In 1851 the Canadian. of the Allan ser
vice struck berg in the Belle Isle Strait and went
to the bottom almost once. carrying dfteen peT-
sons with while the remainder Of the crew and
passengers were adrift for several days In open
beats before they made land. on May -. ls13, the
steamer Dovsrian was lost of Cape Race by strtk-
ing d berg at night and Of thirty persons aboard
twenty three perlshed On Nav p 1s7s the steamer
Caledonia was lost off Labrador, having struck
berg and fognde-ed soon after. She had eighty
two persons aboard only eleven Of whom escaped.
These clambered to the berg and were there
three days and nights. living a seal which they
had killed, until 4 passing fisher boat rescued
New-York tribune., 1909-07-04

them. In June. 1875. the Dominion liner Vieksourg
collided with foe of Cape Race, and forty-seven
persons went down with her On March Is. 1857.
the steamer Susan struck berg off Cape Race and
five we're drowned.
Ten years later occurred one of the most appal-
ling tragedies of modern iceberg disasters In April
of that year the French fishing vessel Valiant
bound from Brittany to ST Pierre. Miquelon' win
seventy-four persons aboard, crashed into berg
off Cape Race and sank within ten minutes. Or
her people sixty-two went down with her. The
other twelve escaped In two boats and were adrft
for week being without food and but poorly ciad'
some perished the others kept themselves alive
by eating the dead bodies Eventually the survivors
became reduced TO four. and these when picked
MP had their hands and feet so badly frostbitten
that their extremities had to be amputated.
4 similar experience befell survivors of the
French travler Kleber in the spring OF 1850. The
vessel had hfty-seven persons aboard. Of whom
ouIv nine survived tho foundering Of the ship
-Four u these. having died. served as food for the
I've who remained A rescuing ship on her "aN
from st Johns TO the Ouero Bank. came upon the
hs splezs casfavaEs perishing from exposure and
thirst
New-York tribune., 1909-07-04
THE CASE OF CHUNG SIN.

In the of Chung Sin il is interesting here to
note that he has told little in his relation that
not known conjectured before. From this the
natural deduction IS that, without intending do
so. his ouestoners framed for him the answers
and he seeing that the only recourse for him was
10 reply as the questions demanded, did so and
later denied much that he had said when ques-
toned by others Apropos Of such condition
this Professor Alnsterberg's book goes on to sa!
The untrue confessions from hope fear
through promises and treats. from cunning calcu-
lations and passive yielding thus shade off into
others which are given with real conviction under
the pressure OF emotional excitement under the
spell Of overpowering influences. Even the mere
fatigue often brought the Salem witches the loos
ening of the mental f1rnness and the intrusion of
the suggestion of guilt In tedious examinations
the accused were urged to confess through many
hours till. wearIed out by being forced to stand
so long by want of sleep. they gave assent to
the accusation OF having signed the devils book
In his argument for psychology IN the courtroom
which forms the undercurrent OF thought throughout
his book Professor Munsterberg cites the case OF
young man who hanged in Chicago FOR a muir
der which he acknowledged and later denied The
particularly interested the psychologist
The murder occurred few wears ago, the victim
being a. young married woman. Her bod2 was
found by the unfortunate defendant lying face
downward straw pile in bernyard. The
barn was about half block distant from his home
He had to go there to attend to mis- fathers horse.
When he observed the body he at reported the
matter 10 his father at the house and the father
Informed the police. The officers who inspected the
premises found the woman's hat at her feet but
could discover no evidence Of q scuffe having taken
plscs. Purse shopping bag aud muff sons.
New-York tribune., 1909-07-04

able them TO resist the tremendous ice pressure TO
which they are often subjected. Within t-e past
three seasons no fewer than ten Of these SHIPS
have been sent to the bottom BY nishaps amid the
foes. while all the remaining ships have been uors
or less seriously damaged. The seals which thsSs
vessels hunt have their habitat the ice does
and can be procured only there Consequently the
ships have 10 face all the dangers OF guest in
the very heart the ice pack. and the adventures
rnisfortunes and escapes OF the feet are oftsn
marvellous
In 1872 the Huntsman. with crew of sevenry-tTo
men. was crushed IN the .ce on Labrador Only
seventeen men survived and Of these only three
escaped uninjured All the others had legs. arms.
OF ribs broken. and with broken collar
bone was thirty-six hours exposed TO wind. wave
and weather on rock OF the coast before hs
could De rescued. In 1874 the steamer Tis-ess.
which rescued the PoIaris survivors. was crushed
in the foe in such a fashion that her boiler bu-sr
and killed twenty-one OF her In 1852 the BOW
Of the steamer Aurora was crushed. and the falling
tinbers killed seventeen and wounded twenty-nin4
Of the two hundred men she had on board. ne
vessels bow was so badly damaged that she had
to steam three hundred and seventy miles stern
first TIL she made the land. she assUrsdly would
have foundersd had she attempted 70 make
the voyage by Stesming bow In ISIS tbs
steamer Greenland was overwhelmed by the ice N
a furious blizzard. and OF her Isl men a
met death and s. more or less serious
" frostbitten- In 1906 the steamer Leopard was
driver by the ice pack against q cliff and sn1ashea
into spIinters. and only by the narrowest margin
and the most heroic exsrtion did those on eoara
escape death.
New-York tribune., 1909-07-04
ATTACK UPON SWEATING. 4"

oniy too frequently the application Of the third
sesree eefeats rather than furthers, the ends Of
s,,stiee q fact repeatedly proven in ''On the Wit
ness Stan5- Doubleday. Page q Co. publshers),
,s,e rsseat book by Professor Hugo MGnsterberg.
In his book Dr.. Eiansterberg. who IS pro-
1>ssor OF psychology at Harvard. particularly
dsalcres this particular form Of sweating
szrisorle4 grJ In fits place he recommends the
r7fider and. according 10 his contention, the
more ea.cacious, use OF psychology in the court
room. TIE writer sdnntc that the physician. the
aeteciive the handwriting and thumb impression
sspertE have their proper place in the courtroom,
ard vet he says mo tbs witness stand IS
TO-DAY examined 20 ascertain in what direction his
lneuaory IL probably trustworthy and reliable. He
ynar be asked what he has seen what he has
heard what he has spoken. how ne has acted, and
ret .=ea & most superficial test might show that
she mechanism OF his memory would be excellent
for o.ze OF these four groups OF questions and ut
te-y useless tor the Others, however solemnly.h he
insight keep his oath.
The courts" DR.. MansterbeTg continues, will
have 20 learn. sooner LATER that the individual
differences Of be tested to-day by the
methods of experimental psychelogy far beyond
s-y1htng whscb common and social expert
enos suggest Moreover. the increasing progress OF
experimental psychology makes IL an absurd In
congrnity that the state should devote its fullest
energy she clearing up OF ali the physical hep
pestnss. SIt should never ask she psychological
szEert % dsisrnEe Tia value Ct thss factor which
New-York tribune., 1909-07-04
THE POLICE THIRD DEGREE OF DUBIOUS VALUE

with what he had TO report under oath. and.
says the psychologist. my only consolation is the
fact that in a thousand courts st thousand
places all over the world witnesses every day
affirm by oath in exactly the same way worse
mixtures o. truth and untruth. combinations of
memory and of Illusion. of knowledge and Of sug-
Eestion Of experience and wrong conclusions. Yet
the confidence in the reliability Of memory is so
general that the suspicion OF Illusions evil
IDENTIFY plays small role in the mind Of the jury
men, and even the cross-examning lawyer IS
mostly dominated by the idea that false state
nnent is the product OF intentional falsehood All
this is popular illusion against which modern
psychology must seriously protest. and justice
would less often miscarry if all who to weigh
evidence were more conscious OF the treachery of
human memory"
Under the chapter on untrue confessions the
writer cites number OF cases where Confessions
have been made by men in order 20 them
selves when the evidence against them would other
wise certainly have convicted them.
Suppose" says he, that persons suspected
wrongly OF crime may. in the face of unfortu-
nate combination OF damaging evidence. prefer
make false confession IN the hope OF recon-
rnendatioa 70 nnercy. Ever lawyer knows the ia
nous Boom case in Vermont where the brothers
confessed having killed their brother-i-laV and
described the deed in full detail and how they de-
stroyed the body, while long afterward the muir
dered' returned alive to the village. The evil
dence against the suspected appeared SO overheln-
ing that they only hope save their
lives-by tuning the verdict. through their untrue
confession, from murder TO manslaughter. In this
group might count a few of the historic
confessions in the Salem witchcraft tragedy. The
nearest relatives urged the unfortunate accused
women to such confessions, seeing other way Of
escape for them. and the reports agree that the
accused persons. when they made up their minds TO
confess fabricated their stories with much ingenu
fly and tact. making them tally with the
nents Of the accusers adding points items that
gave an air Of truthfulness.T
New-York tribune., 1909-07-04
Professor Hugo Munsterbere
Cites Fnsta noes to SHOW
It's Many Faults.

rs-so-7s .uest,on the truth of the adage that
honest confession Is GOOD for the SOUL while
through personal experience many can vouch for
sts .z-lrz Int whether CT not forced statements,
.'szested rsqueezed" OF scared out Of g nervous,
-ssrtel CT tlrid prisoner may be counted as trust
WORTHY confession IS 2 Tnooted query. MADE TO
5rder"- confession seems 2 better htting term
Tl1en ons considers the thirry-hour lncClslIion
rf Ch,lnz S.n the alleged acconlplice Of Will
sern Leon who Is charged With The murder OF Else
s-ise1. his Bible teacher. ~ ths hands OF the New
YORK rcloe he is nov surprised a. the resultant
s,a1eidosoopic series OF confessions which have
issued from the lps Of the imprisoned Chinarnan
In the Floxery Kingdom tavorire method OF
ez1orzsng a confession from prisoner IS 20 keep
him from sleeping In turn the jailers follow him
about the cell. keepiag him moving. plying MIN
with questions. pricking him with pins when MS
eve,sds drcor. Until a. last exhausted by many
1,o,,-z Of such torture. the prisoner either falls
serseless to the csfl floor or else gives whatever
REPLIES the questions of his torturers seem TO re-
stlireo- necessarily true replies. but replies cal-
Grated . release him from the torture 70 which
Re is Subjected
vl,ile tfls s. 2 ctr1lized land and dsclairns the
.se cf professional fcrtures. the methods pursued
a the casa # Chung Sin seem comparable IN many
--sz-s 20 the raetrods followed by his own fellow
cortry--,en True the actual instruments OF tort
-e se eliminated IN his case, but. after ALL there
IS net 50 great difference between q body prickeo
-sftsi Pms 70 keep prisoner awake and rnino
-icIsed With sharp questions 20 prevent It's owner
from sleeping Until the information sought has
eeen divglEea or until questions framed by the
rolice have been FILED in by the replies for which
4fls ousstlcas made preparation And such is the
method Of the famous-bs11er futsmous-so-caIed
third degree A prisoner. nervous and tired and
eager 20 escape the repeated questions OF policeman
ud detective after hours Of Interrogation. realizing
that the only zay OF relief. though & be but tenn
,,orsr IS 70 cay the thing which these men desire
often ea-s the thing. regardless Of its untruth. and
this not infrequenuy leads to conviction where,
sr fsct the self-ccnv1cted Is innocent
New-York tribune., 1909-07-04
THE MELVILLE BAY HORROR.

To like circumstance. the destruction Of the
ship by mass ot ice IS due the most terrible oc-
curreuce i'm modern Arctic annals In 1sSl the
Grsef~ expedition. sent into the Arctic regions by
the United states government established itself az
Lady Franklin Bsv for 4 three wears sojourn'
Two Years later the Newfoundland sealer Proteus
was sent north with stores and supplies, 70 be left
a. cape Ssbin~ the head Of Melville Bay. for the
use Of the explorers when they retreated 20 that
sp7t The ship. however. was pushed into the Ice
in that hsy h order OF the inexperienced Amert-
can of1cer in charge ard she vas crushed SO that
shs sank within an hour not article on board
New-York tribune., 1909-07-04

Around her neck was hard drawn copper Wye.
the ends being twisted together
The young locked as y he rad nor slept
during the night and the officers suspected him
The testimony shows that the young man was
everywhere regarded as a thoughtful obliging fel-
low of exceptionally good disposition. but cften OK
hlbiting marked stupidity He never sought. the
company Of women. AL of his friends thought
him decidedly trusting and creduous and absent
minded. He alternsted between gay and nlorose
moods. His most pronounced defect seemed hts
lack Of Initiative HIS regular work vas with his
"a her a. the trade Of carpenter. When ne came
the police station ne was told at once that he
the guilty but he denied everything
The police began TO press him and 20 suggest to
him more and more impressively his guilt Sud
denly he began TO confess. and he quite will
ing TO repeat his confession again and again.
Every time It became richer IN detail At about
$50 I took her in the alley. l wrestIed with her
and lost my She wanted 70 run and 40
on and so on. on this basis The man was con
demned To death.
New-York tribune., 1909-07-04

becomes most Inhuential-the mind Of the witness
This statement IS followed by description OF a
number Of tests made TO ascertain how much the
eve Of the average witness observes and how
greatly the testimony cf different individuals differs
when these are put under pressure, and the theory
adduced IS summed up in the rule, There's noth-
ing uncertain certainty.
In 2 classroom where there were q hundred
trained students in psychology DR.. Munsterberg
displayed cardboard with twenty spots on 81
brief glimpse was allowed the students, and the
number Of spots was gauged by them at being from
ten TO seventy This test was TO find out how the
average eye guesses at numbers. In test re-
ferring to the perception Of time the professor
asked the students 10 give the number Of seconds
which passed between two loud clicks. The answer
came from half second to sixty seconds. AS
matter OF fact the time was just ten seconds To
ascertain how rapidity IS estimated. large clock
with 4 whits dial which one black pointer
moved was placed on the platform In seconds
time the tip OF the dial covered space OF about
one fingers length. The Instructor asked the STU
dents 70 describe By comparisons the speed at
which that arrow moved along. The list began
with a snail walking slowly. accommodation
train. electric car, and on, to an express train
and the fastest automobile speed. In asking the
class TO compare the apparent size Of the full moon
to that Of come object held in the hand at arms
length, the answers went from pea to q carriage
wheel. and what VIII prove surprising to the
erage reader is the fact that the man who men
toned the pea was correct.
These simple tests go to show what discrep
ancies may creep into the testimony Of reliable
people under OATH each believing himself correct
And yet It is on such testimony this that law
yers and Judges and 1uries have to rely well
on that kind OF testimony squeezed" out by the
third degree procedure
New-York tribune., 1909-07-04
THEORY OF DIR. MUNsTERBERG


SO the matter stood writes Professor Munster
berg. when my opinion asked regarding The
case. I could not help becoming convinced that al
OF the external signs spoke against the interprets
ticn Of the jury. The young mans alibi proof
brought forward by his friends seemed to me con
vincing. Everything seemed point 70 the fact
that the woman murdered by unknown
person at another place. and that her body was
dragged during the night by tho copper wire coied
around her neck from ano,ner street 70 the barn
yard The so-caIled confessions themselves
seemed absurd and contradictory and exactly Ike
the Involuntary elaboration OF a suggestion put
into the mans mind. His whole life history and
the expression Of his face in fullest accord
ance with the suspicion that his mind IN
state of dissertation when he began his confessions
II seemed to me typical case of that large bor-
derland region In which neurotic mind develops
an illusory memory to its doings in the
past. After most careful scrutiny far the
written and printed material allowed. I wrote in
reply to query from friend in Chicago that the
confessions must be untrue and that the con
demned had really nothing TO do with the
crime. I summed it UP an interesting case of
dissertation and auto-suggesttOn, needing careful
treatment to build up the dissociated mind again
and thus awake in the clear memory OF his
real experiences
Yet felt that there something uncanntly
obscure in the 1 unable understand
how the sudden change from denial to confession
had been brought about. To be sure there were
the sharp inqusitory questions of the police ON
GERS and vet from rather extended experience
could not imagine that without sudden external
shock some overwhelming fascination such
disintegration could set il. only a short time be
fore a lady had to me who showed quite sim
liar blanks of memory for several days. filing the
gaps with imaginative ideas Hypnotizaton proved
that she had been in nervous and overfatigued
state when her physician bent her the
sharp sunlight reflected from his glasses struck
her eyes. At that moment she felt it like shock.
his eyeglasses seemed to become large and
canny, and from that moment on her consciousness
was split and her remaining haf-personality de-
veloped pseudo-memory of its own. 1 knew OF
other of the same kind. ana I felt that If
there had been anything OF such optical captiva-
tion Of attention like the reflex OF the eyeglasses
In the Chicago case. everything would have been
completely clear TO me Without such fascinat-
ing stimulus could account sufficiently for the
suddenness Of the change in the defendants per
sonality.
II felt certain that If l had chance to hypno-
tiEe the condemned man l should have found
that some unexpected stimulus must have come IN.
must have snapped off the normal connections. A
few days later, however nature furnished the
planation for which 1 had been looking The
fortunate youth ewoke suddenly from the awful
The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-10-11

When Jesus came he swept all the sys-
TEN, with it's symbolism and signifi-
canoe, into himself, and became the one
high priest, the one abiding mediator
between God and man.
Since the perfect sacrifice was Offered
in Gods expression of himself, a sacr1-
fieing priesthood was swept away The
AarOnic order died out for all Chris
tians when the Christ finished his work
Jesus substituted a new priesthood. Ii
any have authority to speak for him IL
is Peter. What said he? In his letter
to the dispersion he addressed the scat
tered followers of Christ as a holy. royal
priesthood. And that is the only
Christian priesthood-the priesthood Of
the common Christian life, in which
every man is priest and every woman
priestess who has received the life di-
vine and is called to the service of wit
ness and sacrifice.
There are no Emergencies in the
kingdom of God. The way to God is as
untrammeled as the laTk's flight from
the dewy nest to the unmeasured blue
of heaven. This priesthood has it's au-
thority in the impaired life of Christ,
its sanction in this, that it follows his
example. 1t is an order abiding, for it
is the warp and wool of that which
may not pass away-the kingdom of his
planting.
And the essence of this common
Christian priesthood is in its practical
expression, this; That life shall be for
God in it's every manifestation toward
every human creature, and it's need
what God was in his expression through
Christ, and yearns to be in his express
sion through us"