davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-12-21
ME simple, homely carol, tell
Ing the old, beautiful story,
will keep Christmas from be-

w.
ing the old, beautiful story
II will keep Christmas from be.
coming entirely commercial.
ICED, In tho opinion Of the National
Bureau for tho Advancement of
Music
"1n tho days Of tho Great Regensr-
ator," says a message from its head
quarters, "it was the carol that
brought faith and love into the
hearts of the people. It was through
the carol that the story Of the Incar-
nation was popularized and Chris
tianity was spread.
Carol now, and you will keep the
sweet story Of Christmas fresh in
your heart, and the true spirit of
the Holy Nativity will be yours"
The National Bureau for the Ad-
vancement Of Music believes in
music. 1t believes in its power and
influence over the human mind.
Hence, it believes in carolry as q
form Of music.
Its belief in carols is so sincere
that it has issued a. booklet urging
Il revival of Christmas Eve caroling
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-12-21

own district, Congressman is re-
ceiving an ever increasing volume
OF mail from all sections Of the
United States, particularly if he is
on an active committee which is con-
sldering some prominent problem.
He also is the recipient of bushels
of pamphlets, papers, magazines,
brochures, books and incidental pub
locations emanating from societies
and other organizations conducting
propaganda. This matter, for the
larger part, goes straight into the
wastebasket without being opened.
The troubles Of strengthening out
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-12-21
One for the Judge

81 would have you know" replied
Landru, "that when I give an order
to my children that order is carried
out" He paused q moment and
went suavely on:
II don't know how you bring up
your children, monsieur lie juge, but
that is how I bring up NINE"
Imagine the glare with which the
Infatuated magistrate received this
lesson from a model father! Later
there came a day when Landru ap-
parently broke down under exami-
nation, when it seemed that peni-
tence might open the lips hitherto
so obstinately sealed. An eager
judge at once addressed him gently.
"Why these tears?" he asked.
ri weep" sobbed the incorrigible
Landru, "because my dear wife
must now know that I have not al
ways been faithful to her"
Paris passed the mot from mouth
to mouth and chuckled delightedly
as it had not chuckled since war
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-12-21

voker Of smiles, as a provider Of
amusement, there is Landru HIM
self, surely one of the most aston
fishing criminals of our time. Under
a daily rain Of questions he has kept
his smiling imperturbability; he has
told nothing. There are moments
when he puts on a sort Of weary air
of recognition that "the law is an
ass" and this, however much it
may infuriate thu magistrate, is
keenly relished by the public. He
has baffied the judge, he has baffled
the police, and throughout has held
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-12-21
Henry Landry, Bluebeard

believed to be discoveries, fed the
flame from day to day. The public
learned Of a Mile. Mercadier, who
arrived at Gambais with three GRIT
fon dogs, and of the finding of the
dead bodies Of the dogs. Landru
explained that he had shot the dogs
because 1t became increasingly diff
cult to feed them, but of Mile. Mer-
cadier nothing Is yet known. Then
it was heard that a sister Of one of
the thirteen victims had been in the
habit Of visiting the menage at
Cambais, and that after her visits
ceased Landru had sometimes called
on her, pretending to be the bearer
Of affectionate messages from his
"wife.p Relatives Of yet another
victim told how they had received a
bouquet Of flowers to which the
woman 8 visiting card was attached.
None Beautiful
Yet Of actual tidings Of any one
Of the thirteen there was none, and
the attitude Of the public gradually
settled to one Of amusement. The
air was full of suggestions as to
what Landru had done with his VIC
Tins. Il was believed at one time
that he had placed them in various
resorts, and this might have ex-
planned their silence. But when the
public remembered that not one of
the missing women was young and
that not one could lay claim to even
the shadow Of physical charm, this
idea was abandoned with a grin.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-12-21

allotments made by soldiers is illus
trated by the experience of Rhode
Island Representative. He started
out primarily to obtain an allotment
from soldier for deserted wife
and a baby. Investigation revealed
the fact that the soldier had made
an allotment to a second wife he
had married bigamously. In the
midst Of the legal tangle involved
assto the respective rights to the al
lotment the soldier died. Both
wives wrote for the insurance. The
Congressman, grievously perplexed,
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-12-21
Tell 1t to Your Congressman Everybody Else Does

words, contains some definite work
to be done. Ns.
Once upon a time--Uncle Joe
Cannon is probably the only House
member now who can recall it
members Of Congress answered their
few letters in their own chirography.
Later clerks wrote letters on type
writer's. But to-day acknowledge
ments Of communications are being
printed and sent out literally by the
thousands. Mimeographed acknowl-
| edgments are available in nearly
every Office.
In addition to the mail from his
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-12-21

himself with such poise, played his
part with such cool mastery and
such humor that sort Of legend Is
growing up about him.
Denies He Is Mad
Back in August, for instance,
there was a question az to his men
tai condition, and much newspaper
discussion followed. What does
this extraordinary man do? He
writes letter to the juge di,,struo-
Hon which sets all the city laughing.
Said he:
II am mad, and you hide the
fact from me. Why do you treat
mo with such lack Of confdence7
Remember that, despite all the
precautions taken, I read the
newspapers. Prisons are no
longer the sealed places they once
were, and / have noticed that the
press has reproduced certificates
from Doctors WALTON and Dubis-
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-12-21

as both women were his constitu-
ents, was informed by the Bureau
Of War Risk Insurance that the in
surance was made out to a third
wife.
Representative King, Of Illinois,
in the heat Of hard political cam
paign, sent out a letter explaining
the various services he could give
anxious relatives of soldiers. With
in eight months he had handled
more than one thousand six hundred
individual soldier cases from his
own district, all having to do with
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-12-21
1t Is Even Charged That Clemen.
ceau Provided the Sensation
to Divert Frances MIND

came. 1t chuckled again on the d.,
when Landru entered the court wit.
a severe cold in the head, as the 70
suit Of which one of his eyes 10.
badly SWOLLEN.
THAT eye is terribly inAameap
an official said to him. you sbopla
Put bandage over it."
Would you have me blind-lis.
Justice?" asked Landru.
A recurring note In the case b..
been his bitter complaint that -.
examining magistrate is acceptin,
the evidence of concierges. Now
concierge is janitor carried to II.
nth power, receptacle and distrbu
tor Of al the vulgar back-stairs yo.
sip Of her quarter, and to saw ~
any tale that it is "une historic do
concierge" is to condemn it. 81
there is sympathy when, as each
new witness appears, Landru grosns
audibly, Another concierge" and
breaks into heated protestaaoo
against the methods Of toe law.
At times, to the delight Of his
hearers, he will assume an air ~
Old World gallantry. Asked whether
one of the women with whom he had
been associated had spoken Of her
intentions, he replied:
even had she spoken Of them
should have nothing to say. am an
honorable man, and this is a CUES
ton of delicacy. 7 never communj-
cate condolences made to memo,
even to concierges."
In the hottest days of last August
his manner was the only cool thing
in the court, and he improved TIE
occasion by permitting himself to
express" his establishment that the
judge should dream Of carrying on
an examination in such terrible heat,
Perhaps he finds amusement-hs
certainly gives tin playing with
the court as a cat with a mouse.
"Once again I must ask you" the
judge remarked one day, whether
Nine. Labardine spoke to you Of her
intentions?"
"She did" Landru admitted, and
paused long enough to allow the
hopes of the court to rise at this
possibility of revelations. Then, with
a shake of the head, he went on:
mo, I'm afraid it's not possible
for me to tell you what her inten-
lions were"
He scored what was perhaps his
greatest triumph on the day that the
judge protested that a certain con-
tract Landru was alleged to have
made with Nine. G. could not pos
sibly exist, because no trace Of it
had been found.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-12-21
BY Wilmott Lewis

fuTlS.
nEACE CONFERENCES come
and go, but Landru, like the
A- brook, goes on forever.
Landru, the Bluebeard Of
our days, the bearded, imperturbable
lover of ladies of an advanced youth,
that unshaved Don Juan, sort of
bourgeois Henry VIII-he is still
with us, submitting willy-nilly
to daily interrogatory from
which the authorities CLEAN nothing,
opposing to all the questions
put to him, to all the wiles
of those who seek to entrap
him into an admission, the same
quickness of riposte, the same skill
in evasion.
Landru, who is accused Of having
made away with thirteen women,
who is believed by many to have
CHARTERED them and burned them in
the stove of his country villa, this
man is still the mystery Of Paris.
There is nothing to-day which makes
it impossible that, many years hence,
an aged Landru may not be battling
a senile and always exasperated
magistrate.
Paris was in the throes Of peace
There is no other word than throes)
asst April when Landru shone out
upon the front pages of the news
papers. There have been critics Of
Premier Clemenceau to say that that
adroit statesman thus deliberately
provided the French people with
subject Of amusement, but that idea
has long since been given up. Yet
the subject Of amusement remains,
and the French language has been
enriched by yet another substantive
denOtinQ contempt.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-12-21

son setting forth that ! am IRE
sponsible. Am I or am l not mad?
Unquestionably, I was tortured by
the persecution I undergo. 1 am
accused Of terrible crimes. They
say have assassinated women
I, whose whole life is a guaranty
Of the worship I have always paid
to woman, that being Of exquisite
constituencies and perfect grace. I
appeal to you, Judge, and l also
claim my right. I want medical
commission to determine as to nv
mental balance. l am not mad. l
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-12-21
4 Proper Family Man

He calls himself an engineer, and
up to tho year 1915 he was living
in the odor Of sanctity with his wife
and four children. In that year, how
ever, he deserted his family and
went to Vernouillet, not far from
Paris, where he took small villa.
He was Joined at the villa by q GER
tain Nine. Cuchet, a plump person
OF forty-tive years, and her fifteen
year-old son, and it is remembered
that the trio frequently made motor
and cycle trips in the neighborhood.
Then the woman and the lad disap-
peared, and the neighbors were in
formed that Nine. Cuchet had
gone to England to represent a Paris
fashion house," while the lad had
enlisted in the British Army.
A few weeks later another woman.
OF about the same age, took the
place of Nine. Cuchet, but in less
than a month chs also had disan-
peared. She was succeeded by a
woman OF thirty, who also passed
into oblivion after q short residence
in the fateful villa.
No trace of any one of these three
women. or of the lad Cuchet has
been found, but it is recalled that dur
ing the term of Landru's residence
at Vernouillet there often issued
from the chimneys Of the house a
peculiarly thick and acrid smoke, the
cause of frequent complaint and
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-12-21
Fair Enough

Landru smiled YEARLY.
"1n view Of the fact, monsieur le
juge," he remarked, that no trace
has been found Of Nine. G. either,
l claim for my part that she also
never existed"
At times he will address the Judge
as from plane of moral superiority
which must be hard indeed TO bear.
Pressed for details of his relations
with a woman for whom he is SUP
posed to have acted as confidential
agent, he rebuked the judge roundlg.
Nothing" he declared. "can ex-
cuse your request that I should v'.>-
late professional secrecy"
Then he will soften, he will allow
tender sympathy for the judge to
move him. When his counsel was
heatedly contending with the court
on some point of procedure, Landru
interrupted him.
'Do not irritate monsieur le juge,"
he said. LET US be conciliatory."
Small wonder that Paris reads Of
him and chuckles. When the Landru
case is settled some Of the gayety Of
the nation will disappear, yet this
day does not seem soon to be coming.
In all that concerns Landru's guilt
or innocence of the murder of thir-
teen women, no more is known to-
day than was known last April, SO
sklllfully has this remarkable man
caught upon his shield all thrusts
that might have pierced through to
the truth, SO vain have been the in
vestigations of the police in the face
OF his refusal to speak.
The air Is as full to-day as ever ii
was Of rumors, but no more than
rumors. The gossip of the con-
cierges, the tattle of the villagers,
the smoke that rose from the houses
at Vernouillet and Gambais, the
abortive dragging Of the marshes,
the discovery of the bodies of ths
griffon dogs, the finding Of small
fragments of charred bone, she utter
absence of any indication as to the
whereabouts Of the thirteen women
these things bring us within reach
of the horrible, yet do not carry Us
out OF the realm of the grotesque.
And over everything is the figure
Of Landru himself, unmoved, I'M
movable, protesting his innocence,
f1outlng the court. 1t will be long
before he passes out of the memory
OF the Parisians. He has been
source of amusement in a time Of
great sadness.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-12-21

ers Of topical songs In the music
haMs-took up the cry, the cartoon
lists sharpened their pencils and their
wits on 1t, and the Gambais villa
became mecca for Sunday trip
pers. 1t Is even said that little boys
were promised by their mothers that,
If they were good, they should have
sight Of Landru's house.
All the Details
Within easy reach of the villa lie
marshes, and no sooner was it known
that these were to be dragged than
refreshment stalls sprang up on
their banks and did thriving bust
ness. 1t was Landru, Landru
everywhere. The newspapers with
out exception-even the staid semi
official "Temps," even the historic
Journal des Debats"-f1ung them
selves on the story, and the litera-
ture Of the subject was soon COM
plete as to Landru's life, his habits,
his taste in books, his clothes, his
domestic life, his religious leanings,
his wife, his family. Interviews
were eagerly sought, and soon we
had the fearful tale Of young
woman who had known Landru, and
who consented to recount her expe-
riences, and even a lifting Of the
domestic veil by his wife, seen by
an enterprising reporter in her lit
tie home at Clichy.
New discoveries, or what we're
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-12-21
Landru, the Suspected Slayer of
Is Trusting Women, Is
Mirth-Provoking Mystery
reason for Landru's unpopularity
among his neighbors.

reason for Landru's unpopularity
among his neighbors.
Our Bluebeard left Vernouillet.
and next emerged at Gambais, also
near to Paris. There he had trans
ported the furniture from the first
residence, and there he also rented a
villa. Woman succeeded woman as
his companion, and once again we
learn that the folk Of the neighbor-
hood had to complain Of thick and
acrid smoke issuing from the Chin
neys and spreading over nearby gar
deas and dwellings,. Landru's I'M
popularity grew to tho point at
which he was denounced to the
authorities, the local belief being
that he was German spy and
that the smoke was caused by the
burning Of important and incrim-
mating papers.
Discovery an accident
Nothing came Of this denuncia-
ton. however, and we have to
imagine our Bluebeard going about
his grisly business unmolested
through 1916, 1917 and 1918, add
Ing to the list Of women deceived
and {perhaps) made away with
until it reached the number Of thir-
teen. Not until April Of 1919 did
arrest come. Landru was then in
Paris, living in the Rue Rochechou-
art. calling himself an engineer, and
it was a trivial charge Of fraud that
brought him into the clutches Of
the authorities. His rooms were
searched in the usual way, and a
number Of papers were seized that
pointed to him as a criminal Of
new and amazing sort.
A notebook was seized, which
seems to show that the man kept
record of the names--in some cases
the nicknames-of his victims, to-
gether with the dates on which
generally by means Of q matri-
monial ADVERTISEMENT he had be-
come engaged" to them. a. number
Of marriage contracts belonging to
the vanished women were also
brought to light among his belong
ings, and when these facts were
made known the press leaped on the
story as a hungry dog darts at
bone.
Gossip, all the tittle-tattle Of
Vernouillet and Gambais, swelled
the tale to unbelievable proportions,
and there was nothing that the
papers and the public were not ready
to believe. The police made minute
Investigations at Vernouillet and at
Gambais, but this was slow business,
and the reporters easily outdistanced
them. There is no law of libel to
restrain the French journalist, and
he let himself go with vengeance
in all that concerned this heaven
sent opportunity for sensational
copy. The chansonniers-the sing
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-12-21

protest against this new machine
ton, and I am determined to
justify myself in the light Of day.
1t would be too easy, after con-
demning mo without proof on the
statements Of concierges and soul
less journalists, to send me to
end my days in madhouse cell.
am determined to have justice"
All Paris read the letter, all Paris
grinned, and all Paris said appre-
ciatively: "Quel typo, heinl-no'a,
mais q,tel type" Which, very free
ly translated, would be: ttHe's a
birdl He's a birdp'
Let it not be thought that this
figure Of Landru, debonair, unde-
feated, inpovide, is an invention
Of the special writer. No special
writer would have set down that
passage in the letter quoted above,
in which this known seducer and de-
ceiver Of simple-minded women,
this man accused of thirteen muir
ders, invokes the worship he has
always paid to woman, that being
Of exquisite sensitiveness and per
feet grace" And this prodigious
impertinence is typical Of him who
day by day outw1ts an exasperated
}ugo d'inst7uction in a converse
tional duel.
There was the occasion, for IN
stance, when the judge severely
criticized the action Of Landru's
son, a soldier Of France, to whom
his father had handed certain of his
victims jewelry for sale to the
troops at tho front. So the Judge
declared roundly that the suspicious
Of the son should certainly have
been aroused.
"Do you mean to say" he asked,
chat your son made no comment
when you told him to sell this Jew
elry?"
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-12-21
20 YOU wish some lawn
seed; Is your soldier sons
allotment paid; would you

H. all0tmenC PAID; would you
get your friends husband
out Of the penitentiary; could your
community use a cannon for deco
rative purposes; are you DESTROYS Of
a good government position, or are
you anxious to have an efficient
accounting system for your bakery?
Just take the matter up by mali
with your Congressman.
Seize your pen.--or typewriter
and give full vent to your feelings
in an expressive letter to your Con-
gresham.
Don't be squeamish; everybody is
doing it.
Never before in tho history Of
Congress has such a variety and
quantity Of mail deluged tho mem
bers Of the House Of Representa-
tives and tho Senate as is now pour
ing into the Capitol daily. The del
uge- started during the war when
the folks back home suddenly awoke
to realization that they had men
at Washington who could do favors
for them. At that time tho mail
dealt mainly with martial matters,
such as safety Of the men in service,
allotments, insurance, discharges
and mail, and phlegmatic, corpulent
Representatives putfed, worked their
secretaries and stenographers over
time and trusted when this war
ends we will get let-up."
But the war has ended and the
let-up has not materialized. Instead
the variety Of subjects touched
upon merely has widened in endless
ripples until virtually every human
Ill, notion or inclination has been
embroiled.
A hundred or more letters in The
first morning mail Is no unusual
sight for the Congressman and, to
use the prevailing phrase, every
one hRs a lick in it," or, in other
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-12-21
A Form OF Epithet

"Un Landru" is any bearded man
Of half a century who may incur the
displeasure OF any young woman on
the street, in The subway, anywhere
you will. 'Espece de Landru" is a
form Of address which will at once
win the laughing suffrages Of the
crowd and reduce the offender to
impotent silence.
So true Is this that back In the
month of May, when the Landru
case wed with the doings Of Presi-
dent Wilson and his associates Of the
Peace Conference for newspaper
honors, hundreds Of men who all
their lives had gone bearded paid a
shamefaced visit to the barber. A
black beard was al invitation to any
crowd to indulge III pleasantries
little to the taste Of the wearer. It's
an i'll wind that blows nobody good,
and Landru has been a benefactor
to the tribe Of BARRIERS, at least.
The month Of April was some days
old when he arose above the horizon.
An astonished and Ito be perfectly
frank) an amused Paris heard that
the police had laid hands on man
who had spirited away thirteen
women. In each case he had prom
ised marriage, in each case no had
possessed himself Of the woman's
furniture, her jewelry, all her pitt
able little belongings, and then-~ah,
then? The women had disappeared,
and a hundred suggestions were
made as to their fate. Any one or all
Of these suggestions may be correct,
but even to-day, many months after
the curtain rose on tho first act Of
the affair, nobody knows.
Stripped Of the embroidery 80
literally applied to the story by the
crime experts Of the daily press, the
history of the twentieth century
Bluebeard seems to be as follows:
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-12-21

nEACE CONFERENCES come
and go, but Landru, like the
h brook, goes on forever.