Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-07-25

person by seemingly harmless individ-
uals who presented fairly palpable ex-
cuses for personal interviews with him.
Every millionaire recognizes the fact
that the crank, or mattoid. is his great
est menace. Even the well organized
bodyguard. such as is maintained
around John Rockefeller at his country
home. sometimes fails TO detect the
menace Of visitor who at first ap-
pearance seems harmless enough.
The attempt upon the life Of Russell
Sage in his own Office threw Wall
street into a panic of terror for few
days. Since then, the entrance to the
office of great financier has been
closed to many persons who would
have been admitted but for the fear
that an unknown visitor may turn out
crank" of murderous intent.
DR.. Macdonald claims that the first
step toward overcoming this danger is
better understanding of the subject
that is. of the mattoid himself.
The Russian government has already
acted upon a suggestion of DIR. Mac
Don n dis, and
Russia Studies has xpe II d d
r,..l. n nearly a million
AA AASoA' rugles a bu
reau in connection with its large
prisons. in which young men having
had medical. psychological and anthro-
biological training are permitted to
study the inmates. This study includes
the conditions and causes which led to
the commission of an offense. IT is
believed that this study will be espe-
cially helpful in Russia, which has been
the scene of SO many political crimes.
most of which have been due to dis
satisfaction with prevailing conditions.
Tho ffnid mi Mt oil 81
a criminal by any means. He may even
be a genius of certain type. Edgar
Allan Poe and Walt Whitman both eX-
hibited many mattoid tendencies, and
considerable amount of literature
more or less eccentric in character has
been produced by mattoids Of various
types. Philomneste, the Belgian
scientist, claims that all men of real
genius believe themselves invested
with a divine mission.
Ego mania is a mild form of mat
toidism which may at any time develop
into something more pronounced. The
man who believes himself to be greater
than the sphere which, he occupies,
may, by following the wrong course
of reasoning, arrive at the conclusion
that some person or class is respon-
sible for his failure to secure the posi-
ton of honor or distinction to which
he feels himself entitled. His mind
works along that line until the at
he places the responsibility seems to
him the logical course.
The shape of the head, which does not
change much after the age Of eight,
will, in DR..
Shape OF Head NJ D o n AIDS
Reveals Mattoid. opinion. .o,.n. give 10
basis for discovering the tendency to-
ward mattoidism. He regards the
identity of Holt with the missing
Muenter as impossible, because the
photographs of the two men, published
side by side. in his opinion. showed a
distinct difference in skull formation.
The shape of Muenter's skull is of the
class known to scientists as brachy-
cephalic,. while that Of Holt is meso-
cephalic, indicating totally different
tendencies. 1t Is only by expert study
that the recognition of such distinc-
tons is possible. Their importance lies
in the fact that they Indicate the kind
of crime to be expected from each.
Holt was acting under the delusion that
his crime was in the interest of pa
triotism and humanity. His moral sense
and natural affections seemed normal
in other directions.
1t is hard to distinguish between the
mattofd and the genius because every
genius has been pronounced a crank
until the value of his theory or pro-
ton was regarded as a crank when he
launched his steamboat. Cyrus Field
was laughed at as mailman when he
first presented his theory of the At
lantic cable. Inventors are daily pre-
senting things to the patent Office
which apparently are impossible and
useless. and it is difficult for even the
scientist to detect their true value.
The passion for the miraculous be-
longs to one type Of mattoid. He feels
constrained in the world of reality, and
hence plunges into religious mysticism.
spiritualism. magnetism, the occult
sciences and other new cults Such
persons have frequently attracted many
tory, making, saving or destroying ma
tons, and creating new religious sects.
Their own strong belief in their cause
or object is capable of influencing per-
sons of normal mentality to follow
their leadership.
The mattoid. under proper control,
may be of real value to the world. The
well balanced per-
value under son, serene in mind,
PROPER control. with dignity and
decorum. never becoming unduly ex-
cited, is the one upon whose judgment
we can safely rely. He is the back
bone of society But he is not likely
to make any great progress The well
balanced faculties alone produce moth
ing higher than happy mediocrity. 1t
is to the fanatic. the mattoid, the crank,
that the world owes it's progress. it's
new ideas. it's inventions and reforms.
How to utilize the valuable assets of
the crank, while at the same time pro-
tecting him and the general public
from any disastrous result. constitutes
the biggest problem the anthropologists,
alienists and psychologists have now
before them. 1t cannot be solved with
out the active cooperation of nations,
private individuals and scientists.