The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-07-08
NHk CARTER INSPIRED HER.
Mrs. War, Roberts Rlnehart frank I,
Admits Her Dent.


\ present day American writer Sno
has met with success IN making everyday
characters IN everyday surroundings
go through a series Of extraordinary
occurrences - Mary Roberts Rinshart
who chserfully cunf.'Ssss that she got her
inspiration from Nick Carter at the age
Of
When she was a youngStnr she spent
her summers on a farm, this il her own
explanation: and M the kitchen was an
old wooden settle with n hinged seat
Underneath IA. lad she found one dav
nnety-two copies ~ Nick Garter. includ.
ing Red Hand the AVsnger.- -Old
Seuth.- -Deadwood Dick and The
Boy Scout 81 the SeminolcS They he
longed To the hired man. who was pale
eyed. pale haired and melancholy says
Mrs. Plnehsrt. and who revealed IN crime
on the sly and dreamed Of making rod
skins tr"mble at the mention ~ his name.
Mrs hnehart started writing after she
had family 81 three boys and she says
it's no wonder n sometimes she dips
the zen into the witch hazel instead of the
lnkwell she determined that the be-t
way to write n mystery was To contrast
It with little fun. and So sh. in jscted
comedy into The Circular Staircase
and The Man in Lower Ten Her pur-
p"se in bath hooks was to take away ali
your suspicion Of murder and blood ana
then when you are not expecting Il turn
il on full force. Then she decided that
IL a mystery could ba written with a comic
zen i, would be quite possible to write
a comedy Of mystery when a Man
Marrie~" was the result. the stage version
Of which is "S,ven DAYS
Not long ago her publishers heard from
her that the high gods Of medicine had
probably heen offended hy her poking
fun at the complications ~ "A auarantined
household She wrote that one 81 her
sons was down with the measles and that
IN tn" durance vile she was writing a quar-
Antined tragedy.
Another sort % story that gets it's in
tereSt from dramatized science had To do
with the problems " a prvchoIogicaI
laboratory. One of the magazines,
Ham ptoH's. has met with success in uin-
fishing them, and when one ~ the eciitors
vas asked where he thought the idea
originated he said il came from a tier
man writer. He added that a lot ~ this
sort Of work had b"en done 10y French
men within the last thirty wears or 50
Didn't Munsterberg bring the thought
to this country he was asked
No. most certainly not replied this
editor. walter Dill Scott. professor ~
psychology in Northwestern University
was probably the first man IN this country
10 see the possibilities ~ applying psychol-
ogy to advertising and the business world
in general. II has long h.an a favurite
speculation Of Prof Scott. for instance
that the future factory or thu. large or
ganization ~ the future. would hav. a
room in which psychological Instruments
and devices would ~ used to test ach
applicant for a job and determine within
half an hour just that mans possihili-
ties. the lines in which he would ha most
apt To succ....d and the line. in which he
would certainly fail
This idea was finally used Nv Prof
Nlun-terh"rg in an article called Psv- /.
choiogy in the Market Place IL was I
original. however. with Prof Scott and
u was through a conversation with Prof :
Scott that Edwin Balmsr got ia. idea
Of psychological detective stories
The central character il Luther Tran' 1
and he IN the man who applies all sorts 81
in his work tine eNper'
ment that Mr. halm"r and Prof Scott
made. said the magazine editor related
to the efficacy of the psychological 1ropo-
sitIons on sleeping persons
u ~ well known among psychoIogists'
said the editor that while "a person il
drns ming the five SENSES are abnormallv
acute. Prof Scott and Mr. Balmsr found
that the olfactory nerves Telegraph GER
tam peculiar ne-sage- to the brain.
They also know that pr,ISsic acid has
the odor ~ peach blossoms 4
perhaps the reach stone IL nearer II hut
the blossom has the same general odor II
They let a man go 90 sleep in the lat-ora-
Tory and besida HIM fhsv placed a saucer
'illed with prus-lc acid he continued
Whom he woke up they asked him IL h..
had leen dreaming
Yes. he answered I thought | was
IN peach orchard and all the trees wer.
IN blossom
Every device which Luther Trlnt us--
IN hiS deductions can ~ found IN any .
ordinary. well e1uipp.d eNrarimentaI
psychological hbnratory.- the editor
went on. All the various pul-a testing. q
siRht testing. ear testing machines arr.
Is common and A. much IA everyday
Use as tn" stethusrnI-' ~ the doctors
Office
Cleveland Moneu - credited Nv h,-
publishers, III. Apyh.tOn-. with making
~" first Use Of psychology in a mystery
story when h- had on" 81 has Charact.r-
4 Frenchinau who had committed a ,rime
81 the Charity R.ZaHr IA Paris whla th.
building m Hhlrh q wis held was op fir,'
placed ia a room Whils moving pictures
u ih" -nma i"- were run "a ~ front
n him. d"ytc-' much like a larR.
thermometer Wi~ pu' pn the wall l.-hind
IIm and attIriIsd tu i.i- wrist -o that his
'""ling- could i+ registered Within rh-
lew of ths. slaf... fly.t-