The Washington herald., 1920-07-27
By RAYMOND G. CARROLL.

New York, July 26-"The mur-
ders that are avoided by a hairs
breadth are exceedingly more in
teresting than those that take
place" said the inspector from Scot
land Yard after we had gone over
the Joseph B. Elwell house in West
Seventieth street. The discussion
was around the murder epidemic
now raging, a throw back in civil
life from the great war.
"How's that" he went on. Be
cause OF the master skill displayed
by the principals in jumping the
pitfalls dug for them. They really
make the best plots. Take a most
recent case in London where a GER
tain nobleman presented his head
strong wife with the divorce that
she craved for. The "other woman"
did not know she had been named
until after the decree had been
granted The subtle minded wife
gave her former husband away with
the deliberate purpose OF shortly
reading of his untimely end in the
Daily Mail headlines. She had
hoped to have the support of indi-
rect sympathy for her escape from
such a monster. The man naa the
vision to forecast such a develop
ment and when the second storm
broke he was miles away on a
p. and o. liner bound for India"
Murders "CumuIative."
Spoke up the lieutenant from the
New York detective bureau:
The average man who is killed
by a middle aged woman generally
deserves about one-tenth of the ap-
probrium that is heaped upon him.
Suppose that such a woman shot
and killed ElwelI. AS likely as not
she had had affairs with at least
half a dozen men, say. before she
met the fascinating bridge whist
wizard. Each of these heart wrench
ings had left its proportion of ran
cor in the reservoir of her nature.
Murder intent is usually cumulative
and often builds up from series OF
rebuffs and not necessarily from
the man who is the last man, and
the one who pays for the shortcom-
ings of those preceded him.
Rich Men Blamed.
"Or take the case of a poor man
who kills a wealthy man. The vic
tim could we'll enough be the me-
dunn through which the murderer
automatically expresses revenge for
string of disappointments prob
ably stretching over his entire ca
reer. The crime becomes the sum
arrived at in the adding machine Of
wrongs. Very seldom is a murderer
justified on the bare facts surround
ing the relations between the prin-
cipals. To get at the full explans-
tion of crime one must study the
whole career of the person wno
commits the deed. The real culprits
| pie who escape punishment alto
gether."
Elwell Case Battling.
Go where you will in this big city
and the ruling topic of observation
is one or another of the recent muir
! ders that have been committed. 1t
started with the Elwell case TO
which there have been two inter-
ruptions. The first to break in was
Lieut.. Carl Wanderer, the Chicago
delinquent husband who killed his
16-year-old wife. No sooner had
the Wanderer case been talked over
than the stage of chatter was taken
/ by the murder of Mrs. Arthur E.
De Cordova, wife of the wealthy
New York broker by her chauffeur,
Bernard B. Geissler. But they are
now back again on the Elwell mys-
terry which is in the ffth week or
its non-solution.
Why read a detective story?"
said Inspector Gray of the New
YORK detective Bureau to the police
visitor from London. Buy one of
our newspapers and peruse the
crime column" Inspector Gray has
no new theories to express on the
Eiweu case which leads one to think