New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-02-14


!" NE verb. But Manhattan Island
and much OF the rest OF the
world-has outgrown it. There
are too many devious ways to-day OF renoV-
ing the troublesome brother, and too many
folds 10 our social fabric behind which to hide
the homicide 1t may easily masquerade as
suicide. or as accidental or natural death. 30
that only too frequently it takes man OF I'M
usual insight and scientific knowledge to ferret
out the crime much higher order O. oe'ec-
tive really than he who chases the criminal.
Here's a case in point, now become part OF
New York's criminal annals:
In 1905 girl was shot by her lover, one
Thomas c. Smith The bullet entered over
the left hip and lodged near the spine, where
il was located through an X-ray examination
i. Roosevelt Hospital. The doctors decideo
to let it remain there, since 1t seemed TO be
doing no harm, and in short time the wouno
healed But the patient developed all the
symptoms Of pneumonia in her right lung,
and she was continued at the hospital until 1t
became necessary to clean out one OF the
wards at which time she was transferred to
Bellevue with a number of other patients. Not
vue apparently cured.
In the mean time the police had searched
in vain for the lover, who, however, on the
release Of the girl, promptly married her
This. OF course, changed her name. She be-
came i'll again and called in private doctor,
who found that one of her lungs showed signs
of cavity; she was splitting blood. Finally
she died, and he wrote out death certificate
giving tuberculosis of the lungs the cause
OF death.
But just at this time the detectives sue
ceeded in finding the man who had shot his
sweetheart, in time TO stop the funeral of the
victim, who had since become his wife. Her
body was taken to the Morgue, where DR..
Schultze, the Coroner's physician, performed
an autopsy He found that the bullet had gone
so close 10 the descending colon that it had
confused its posterior wall. A fecal abscess
had developed, and in its growth had reached
the left common lilac vein-the large vein COM
inc I'D from the left leg. The blood in this vein
had clotted, and where il joined the right com.
mon lilac vein TO form the large body vein,
known as the inferior Yena cava, piece OF
the clot had been washed of, had travelled up
and had plugged a branch OF the pulmonary
artery of the right lung. The whole section
Of the lung TO which that artery belonged be-
came solid, inducing symptoms OF pneumonia.
Later this same section OF the lung broke
down. became gangrenous, developed the cav
;tv and resulted in death-a death directly
traceable 70 the wound inflicted some time be-
fore.
DIR. Schultze made his report to the Cor
oners' Office in as simple language as he could
employ. but he was told frankly it was unin-
telligible, that il was almost beyond belief that
woman who had since had pneumonia and
then consumption could have died from bull
let which had lodged near the base of her
spine. Nevertheless, the lover was convicted
and sentenced TO ten years imprisonment, a
term which he is now serving.
ONE LIFE TAKEN EVERY SECOND
DAY IN THE GREATER CITY.
The number of known murders in New
York City rises and falls with the different
years. but the average amounts roughly to one
Every other day. Roughly again, convictions
ire obtained in from one-quarter to one-third
If these cases. This seems an appallingiy
mall proportion Of justice to crime, but con-
idering the heterogeneous nature Of the city's
population, its teeming foreign sections and
abel of tongues, and the amazing sentimen-
atty Of American juries, II is not altogether
iscreditable TO those agencies OF justice
,hich begin operation once it is known that
ou,icide has been done A really startling
omparison would be one between the num-
er of convictions aki the total number of