Evening star., 1922-05-27


this note, as well as several standard
specimens which 1 have been able to
obtain from three machines on which
it might have been written.
That leads me to speak of the
quality of the paper in this half-sheet
that was found on Mr.. Maitland.
Sometimes such a half-sheet may be
mated with the other half from which
il was torn as accurately as If the
act We're performed before your eyes.
There was no such good fortune IN
this case, but by measurements made
by the vernier miCrometer caliper l
have found the precise thickness or
several samples of paper as compared
to that of the suicide note. l need
hardly add that in thickness ana
quality, as well as in the tint of the
as the author
No one moved.
And there are other proofs-unes-
capa BILE" Kennedy hurried on. For
instance, L have counted the number
of threads to the inch in the ribbon,
as shown by the letters of this note.
That also corresponds to the mum Der
in one of the three ribbons
Kennedy laid down a glass plate
peculiarly ruled in little squares.
This" he explained, lis an align
ment test plate through which can be
studied accurately the spacing and
alignment of typewriter characters.
There are in this plea type ten to
the inch horizontally and six to the
inch vertically That is usual Per-
haps YOU are not acquainted with
the fact that typewriter characters
are in line both ways, horizontally
and vertically. There are nine possi
BILE positions for each character which
may be assumed with reference to
one of these little standard squares
of the test plate You cannot fail
to appreciate what an immense i'm
possibility there is that one machine
should duplicate the variations out
of the true which the microscope de-
tects for several characters on
another.
Not only that. but the faces of
many letters Inevitably become
broken, worn, battered, as well as out
OF alignment or slightly shifted In
their positions on the type bar. The
type faces are not fiat, but little
concave, to conform to the roller.
There are thousands of possible
divergencies, scars and deformities in
each machine.
Such being the case" he conclud-
ed, "typewriting has an individuality
like that of the Bertillon system.
finger-prints. or the portrait parle."
He paused. then added quickly:
What machine was it in this case?
Ross. from machine used by Mr..
Masterson's secretary, and from a
machine which was accessible to both
Mr.. and Mrs. Maitland"
Kennedy stopped, but he was not
yet prepared to relieve the suspense
of two of those whom his investiga-
tion would absolve.
Just one other point" he resumed.
mercilessly. "a point which a few
years ago would have been inexpli-
cable. if not positively misleading
and productive of actual mistake. L
refer to the dreams of Mrs Maitland"
l had been expecting it, yet the
words startled me. What must they
mtrable control of herself.
Dreams used to be treated very
seriously by the ancients, but until
recently modern scientists, rejecting
secuted dreams. Today. however, we
study them scientifically. for we be-
lieve that whatever is has a reason.
DR.. Ross, | think, is acquainted with
DIR. Sigmund Freud of Nienna?'
DIR. Ross nodded. Il dissent vigor-
ously from some of Freuds conclu-
sions." he hastened.
Let me state them first" resumed
Craig. Dreams, says Freud are very
important. They give us the most re-
liable information concerning the in
dividual But that is only possible
Kennedy emphasized the point-"if
the patient is in entire rapport with
the doctor.
Now. the dream is not an absurd
and senseless tumble, but a perfect
mechanism. and has a definite mean
ing in penetrating the mind 1t is as
though we had two streams of
thought. one of which we allow to
flow freely. the other of which we are
constantly repressing, pushing back
into the subconscious or unconscious.
This matter of the evolution of our
individual mental life is too long a
story to bore you with at such a criti-
cal moment.
But the resstances, the psychic
censors of our ideas are always ac-
tive. except in sleep. Then the re-
pressed material comes to the surface
But the resistances never entirely
lose their power. and the dream
shows the material distorted. Seldom
does one recognize his own repressed
thoughts or unattained wishes The
dream really is the guardian of sleep
to satisfy the activity of the uncon-
scious and repressed mental processes
that would otherwise disturb sleep
by keeping the censor busy In the
case of a nightmare the watchman
or censor is aroused. finds himself
overpowered. SO to speak and calls
on consciousness for help.
There are three kinds of dreams
those which represent an unrepressed
wish as fulfilled, those that repre-
sent the realization of a repressed
wish in an entirely concealed form,
and those that represent the realiza-
tion of a repressed wish in a form
insufficiently or only partially con-
cealed.
Dreams are not Of the future. but
of the past, except they show striv-
ing fo- unfu1fl1ed wishes. Whatever
may be denied in reality We never
theless can realize in another way
in our dreams And probably more
of our daily life. conduct moods, be-
lief than we think could be traced to
preceding Dreams.
DIR. Eoss was listening attentively
as Craig turned TO him. This is per-
haps the part of Freud's theory from
which you dissent most strongly.
Freud says that as soon as you enter
the intimate life Of patient you be-
gin to find sex in some form. In fact,
the best indication of abnormality
would be its absence. Sex is one of
the strongest Of human impulses. yet
the one subjected to the greatest re-
preston. For that reason 1t is the
weakest point In our cultural devel-
opment. In normal life, he says,
there are no neuroses. Let me pro-
ceed now with what the Freudists
call the psychoanalysis, the soul
analysis. of Mrs. Maitland"
1t was startling in the extreme to
consider the possibilities to which