Pueblo chieftain., 1921-12-05
KILLERSATLARCE
By Frederic ]. Haskin.

BY Frederic ]. Haskin.
Washington, D. c., Dec. 3.-One
evening about 8 o'clock three women
sat chatting in the parlor of house
in Springfield, Massachusetts, when a
man entered the room by rear win
dow and, without any preliminaries,
demanded money. He wore a slouch
hat. black handkerchief over the
lower part Of his fase and revolver
in a holster at his side,
The terrified women screamed. He
told them TO be quiet or he would kill
them. Ono of them screamed again.
whereupon he shot her thru the heart,
killing her instantly. Then. after some
more rourishes of his weapon, and
without having taken any booty, he
went away.
This astonishing crime led. after a
long search, to the arrest of one Bert
ram G.. Spencer. who confessed not
only to this murder but also to long
series OF mysterious burSlaries which
had terrified Springfield. They were
most peculiar burglaries. They were
committed usually early In the even
inE when detection would seem almost
certain. In some cases nothing was
taken and in most cases only articles
OF little or no value
Spencer was tried, and after fons
wrangle among specialists as to weth-
or he was sane, he was condemned to
death and electrocuted.
One man at least was not satisfied
with this trial. He is l.. Vernon Briggs,
, well known specialist in mental dis
case. He was convinced, by what he
had seen of Spencer and what he had
heard at the trial. that Spencer was a
defective. He further believed that
Spencer had been u defective all OF
his life, that any competent specialist
in mental disease could have dag
y " danger r.
Gus at large. Furthermore, he realized
that this country must contain many
thousands Of men like Spencer who are
defective. who are menace TO other
persons and TO themselves, and yet are
allowed TO run at large In these
opinions he has the support OF many
other psychiatrists.
LIFE STORY OF A KILLER
In order TO prove his case. DIR. Briggs
made an elaborate study OF the life
history, of Spencer. and also of those
of two other convicted murderers-of
CZolgosz. the man who murdered Pres
idont Mckinley, and OF one Richeson.
These three studies he has embodied
In a book entitled The Manner OF Man
That Kills" This book and especial
.ly the part of 1t that deals with
Spencer, is an absolutely convincinE
demonstration OF the doctors theory
that most men who kill are defective
men, that II studied by specialists
when in school. they could nearly al
be recognized as detectives and han.
died in such a way that they would
not be "A menace to society and tc
themselves. and that a large part of
the enormous expense of our courts
police systems, and penal institutions
could thus be saved in addition to tho
great saving In life and property.
DR.. Briggs shows that Spencer was
defective In Intelligence from child
hood. that almost all of hls immediate
relations on both sides showed some
signs OF mental defect. many OF them
having been downright insane. He
further shows that Spencer was Ions
known to many OF his daily associates
as a queer man. and that IL was
well recognized by them that he was
subject to outbursts OF temper al
most without cause in which he could
not control himself. In one OF these
outbursts he almost killed boy with
a hammer.
Yet this man Spencer. who was
recognized by ordinary laymen as q
dangerous man, and could have beer
identified by scientists at any tim,
after his seventh year as potential
murderer, was not only allowed to run
ut large, but to marry and propagate th'
| taint which had come down to him
thru the generations. Had he not beer
convicted of the murder which ended
his careep he would almost certainly
have been set free to murder agair
and to continue propagating his kind
And the United States of America is
| full of men like Spencer.
Having demonstrated what manner
of man IL is who kills. and how easy
| 1t generally is to identify the murder.
er before he murders, Or, Briggs pro-
ceeds to give some information as &c
what our system of leaving detectives
at large costs the taxpayer. He shows
that in Massachusetts, Sl6000,000 or Il
| per cent of the state budget In 1921
was spent for the care of defective
dependent. and delinquent classes"
COURTS FOR MADMEN
In addition to this, It must be re.
member that the criminal courts arc
engaged almost wholly In the business
of trying detectives. putting them IN
jail and turning them loose again. The
trial of Spencer cost the state OF
Massachusetts between $4,000 and
$50. 900, according TO DR.. Briggs.
Remember, too, that our expensive
police forces are engaged chiefly I'm
keeping track of these detectives, cap
turing them only to be released again
lplaying an endless and futile game OF
hide and seek with madmen
This enormous burdan which the