The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-11-27
WOMENPESTER
NE, COMP [A|NS
FRENCH SLAYER


casses of Dogs That He Killed.
FIERY LOVE LETTERS READ
Plays Castor" to Judges al
phonse" In Shadow Of CuiIlo-
> tine-May Go on Stage.
PARIS, Nov. 26.-The Grande
Guignol, with its macabre melee
drama, is insipid to the Partisan
palate, since the trial Of Bluebeard
Henri Landru for multiple murder
in "The Slaughter House" at Gam
bais gave the Gay City taste of
grisly tragedy on a wholesale scale
in real life.
At first shocked. then revolted by
the details of the many crimes charged
to the picturesque prisoner, Paris to-
day is highly amused over the develop
ments Of the trial and highly excited,
too. Paris is laughing. gambling. and
shuddering as the revelations come
through. and today the betting war
even on acquittal.
Truth to tell, Landru, the man Of
many mistresses. is regarded almost
in the nature Of a parsonage to be
proud Of, a genuine artist a man
among men and among women, too. q
philosopher-name of the name Of q
pipe, he will be missed! Pity that SO
consummate a comedian was lost to
the stage!
Jests With Prosecutor.
The tang of the atmosphere with
which Mr.. Upper, the American car
toonist, surrounded his immortal Cas-
ton and Alphonse, ran through the
whole proceeding. The prisoner was
deliberately polite to Judge Gilbert
and the judge returned the courtesy
Mt every opportunity. Every phrase
uttered in court was clogged with end.
less expressions Of affection and en-
dearment, except when Landru and
Prosecutor Godefrey conversed, and
then each summoned the lower ami
mails of creation to describe his feel
ings toward the other and adorned
the expressions with obscene insinua-
lions.
He coined epigrams, tossed Off
aphorisms, and evolved phrases that
will be preserved in the argot Of Paris
for a generation. When shown a pic
ture of one Of the women he was &C
cused Of staying, he exclaimed:
what! Spend a month with that?
appreciation Of feminine beauty. I
may be old and bald. but my passion
for beauty Is still with me!'
When IL was pointed out that his
son had aided him in selling the fur
niture of some Of his victims, Landru
replied:
and master of that family. ssy fam
lily must obey my commands without
question"
He declined emphatically. almost
tearfully, to admit that he loved any
of the missing women, explaining:
81 merely bought their furniture.
A fat bank account Is more to be
desired than the caresses OF a dozen
mistresses."
Commenting on the trouble and ex-
pense the authorities were going to
in his trial. he cried with eyes ele-
waited in horror:
Two years Of free food and lody-
ing for me. Endless effort wasted!
Thousands and thousands Of pages
of typewriting-and yet we are
p1OuSly anu pdlTloplCdhy tOiu thdS
France must economical"
He laughed when a handful Of
bones were found in the stove in
which he was charged with having
burnt the bodies Of his victims. and
said:
"They are not women's bones. you
fools! They are the bones Of dogs"
who burned them and why?"
81 burned them. Of course! They
were annoying and the lady no long
err desired them. How did I kill
them? Just strangled them. Oh,
no, not with my hands; with n cord
And then he proved by experts that
the Bones were those Of dogs, and
he grinned malciously. For a mo-
ment Paris was revolted by this ad-
mission.
Wife Asks Divorce.
Nine. Landru, wife of the alleged
multiple murderer, Is seeking q d.
vorce, but admits frankly that she
still possesses some love for the man.
In the next breath in an interview
she declared she would have been
glad to have killed him had she
guessed his misdeeds. This is her
statement:
'My love even now is not entirely
dead, but cannot use his name any
longer, for people point me out in the
streets and I cannot obtain employ
ment, nor can my daughter II we use
LAndru's name.
"He Is an unfortunate fool. He Is
n mailman. But he is not a criminal
nor a murderer.
When Landru in court heard Of this
statement he replied:
sThere, does not that in itself prove
my innocence? Do you think that any
man with the feeling for my family
that possess, with the friendship and
intimacy and love between my wife
and me--do you think such a man
could make his wife believe him inno-
cent II he were guilty? And did not
even have the chance to plead my In
nocence to her. She knows / am not
guilty"
One Of Landru's most astonishing
suggestions was that some means be
taken to protect him from the atten-