New-York tribune., 1920-05-16


over, Watson-Huirt had a good
many irons in the fire at the same
time, so to speak, and derived consid-
cradle if rather precarious fun from
going around to restaurants and
theaters with one or other of his
wives when half dozen of the rest
might have butted into them at any
moment Landru, so it is alleged,
acted strictly on the principle zone
at time" and never murdered his
fiancee within less than twenty-four
hours from the death of her prede
ceSsor.
Business Methods
But striking similarity exists in
the highly commercialized methods
and efficiency devices employed by
the two men.
Up to 1916 Henri Landru lived
the quiet and respectable life of a
French lower middle class bourgeois
householder. Engineer by trade, he
kept his wife and children in reason
able comfort. In that year, however,
some mysterious change came over
him, and he entered the variegated
career Of Don Juan combined with
wholesale murder. He advertised
in the papers that he desired to
meet lonely middle-aged widows with
a little competency, with the object
Of matrimony. Then he rented a
secluded villa in one of the remote
suburbs of Paris and induced one
victim after the other to move out
there with him, taking along all her
effects. Then, so the French police
charge, ne killed each woman and
disposed of the body in manner
that to date remains unexplained,
though the hypothesis exists that
the thick and acrid smoke periodi-
cally emitted by the stacks of his
house, and which originally had di-
rected the neighbors' suspicion 70
the happenings behind the closed
shutters, had something to do with
Landru's particular short cut to
divorce proceedings. Landru, who
previously had taken possession of
the victims money and jewelry, now
calmly proceeded to sell her furni-
ture; then went home to his wife and
children to spend a brief vacation
on the earnings, and then started
out on the next operation.
Just ''Living Wage"
There was nothing of the "grand
style" about Landru. According to
the Paris correspondent of ''The
Manchester Guardian" he was con-
tent if he could make decent liv-
ing; he seems "to have had the mind
of small tradesman. Possibly he
regarded this evil way of life much
as an ordinary man who was called
on so many times a year to make an
excessively dangerous and unpleas-
ant airplane flight might do. :.
Systematic murder with Landru is
no longer a black art, but a dingy
business.
"The Landru method" the CORE
spondent continues, "is economy it.
self. He took return ticket for
himself, single one for the woman.
Coal was scarce; his victims had to
bring sack with them. Later he
went to their rooms and collected
their furniture. He could not get
good enough prices for it from
the dealers, so he contemplated
small store where he could sell 'di-
rect to the consumer His books are
we'll kept, with only the amount of
secret code that a man in a hurry
would use in his affairs--contrac-
tions and signs for whether the SUBJ
ject was interesting, possible, and so
forth, the dates Of their first meet
ing, few facts about them that
struck him as important.
Ellis personality deserves a pass
ing word. A grave, bearded man.
with sharp eyes, easy manners, he
seems to have had genius for sem
timent. All his escaped subjects
agree on that-his caressing man.
hers, his sincere, courteous talk. his
love of flowers and music. A figure
to inspire sympathy in woman who
has not had fair share of romance
herself, this rather awkward, rather
pathetic, middle-aged man."
Watson Kept Card Index
Landru kept ledger and made
entries Of his victims and the pro-
ceeds Of his various "jobs"; Wat
son. HYYirf tho ro1{Po.~,~ DJ..ly