Marble Hill press. (Marbel [sic] Hill, Mo.) 1881-1923, 1920-02-19

nightmare. Some of rs walk or have walked IN
our sleep most of rs know people who DO And
few ~ u- have lad experiences SO similar To
that ~ james Sapeuza that We shver at the
remembrance Of them.
Those ~ Us who have had such experiences can
readily understand why J : Plumb. mauufac-
turing chemist Of Jersey CRY. was impeIrd 10
writ" the following letter 20 the prosecutor OF
Newark:
Il am Strikinglj reminded ~ painful expe-
ricuce ~ mine many years ago and | relate II
10 you for what II may be worth rs bearing some
what eeFrobafafiveiy upon the Sapienza case
"Eary in my married life was in the habit Of
sleeping with revolver under the mattress at
the head ~ my bed. / KEEP, It there becuuse It
was equally as accessible but much less in danger
Of accidental discharge as when under my pillow
"One night | had n Wild dream OF graphing
with - burglar, and was awakened by my wife's
scream. or by my own action, or both, to find to
my horror. that ! had my wife's head under my
left arm While was digging for my revolver with
my right.
at was all over in minute with no serious
damage being committed hut It was dreadful
thing. as ! had naturally grabbed my wife rough
rs. 1t made me realize that | might have Killed
my beloved wife had secured the weapon before
fully uwRkng, MS would have been quite probable
had Il been little handler under the pillow
bauished TO m even less accessible place"
The literature of dreams IL volumihJuS as IS
10 be expected from mans interest in these mys-
terieS of that mystery call sleep. Science
attempting to classify dreams. has set aside
class which II calls nightmares or incuhuses
To those which 20 beyond the limits of the ordi-
nary nightmare 1t has applied the name som
namhulistic automatism." In this class are in
cuded the nocturnal adventures in which persons
al aI
ing knowledge. Apparently the person is sleep
ing He appears to have entered a state which
IS short of total Oblivion yet beyond The dividing
line of consciousness Evidently to them the
real and the unreal are confused the unreal
is to them as real as real itself. Dream re-
suits in physical action
Certain it is that have little exact knowl-
edge of the essential nature Of consciousness
even in our waking hours. We do know, how
ever. that merely a portion of the mental life 81
represented in clear consciousness, Many con.
pick brain processes are carried on in the pres
ence of consciousness slight to be prac-
ticaily absent, and the organic functions of the
human machine are performed without any
seriousness whatever.
There is theory that dreams are frequently
merely the working out of suppressed desires"
Several Of the criminoogists, somewhat IN cor
roboration of this theory, hold that the commits
sion of crimes during sleep Is entirely possible
under certain conditions They express the be
lief that the power of SUGGESTION is strong that
in some cases of somnannou stic automatism the
sleeper is tho t.'> - sctf "~'>nosis and carries
out the ide. which ~anng moments had
obsessed him.
Says Dir. Smith Ely Jelltfe of New York au-
thor OF n work which devotes considerable space
to disortered dreams: without in any way
Judging the facts in the Sapienza case, 1t must
be admitted that crime like his under such cir
cumstances as alleged by the defendant is entirely
possible"
Assuming that James Sapienza has told the
whole truth, Is the unfortunate man answerabie
to the law for killing his wife2