Evening star., 1922-10-30
Special Dispatch to Tho Star.

Special pispatch to Tho Star.
NEW BRUNSWICK. N. J., October
"a silent and plainly apprehensive
CONGREGATION at the church where the
murdered rector and choir singer
,.sed to worship; subdued air OF
drawn curtains and secret watchers
4 the two homes most concerned;
determination on the part OF the
cemetery officials to keep the grave
If Eleanor Mills safe from trophy
hunters and a carnival of vandalism
Il the isolated farm where the crime
,ccurred-this is how New Brunswick
took its tragedy on the sixth Sunoa!
since the crime.
After weeks of excitement the feel
iuss Of the 10000 townspeople Is taut
70 the breaking point with mutual
s,ispicion and morbid ANTICIPATION:
Nor is the strain relieved by the iac'
that thousands of motorists ana pc
destrians came yesterday from places
within a radius of 100 miles and from
aarlv morning until after dark stared
At the Mills and Hall homes, ram
ga cked the Phillips farm once more.
filled De Russy lane with the ciamor
of motor horns and went away at last
with handfuls of popcorn from the
roadside vendors and the satisfaction
derived from a day spent happily In
the midst of horrors.
Tree Almost Carried Away.
Before the day ended the famous
crabapple tree beneath which the
bodies of the rector and his choir
singer were found was nearly all car
r,ed away Some days ago the tree
had been stripped by souvenir hune-
e-s of every twig and branch. Yes
terday the more energetic vandais
brought great pocket knives and even
saws BY nightfall the slender trunk
had been Clipped off and hacked al
most to the ground, which itself was
trampled bare of brush, golden ROD
and even the grass blades.
People brought the children along
The boys Skinned up the trunk. under
the indulgent gaze of their mothers,
and did remarkable execution with
their jack knives until some one came
along with small saw. Around the
boys stood groups of men ana women
gazing at the holes left when chem
ical analysts dug up the blood.
stained earth beneath the heads OF
the victims Around these groups
was a great circle OF parked motor
cars. Others came with footing horns
making their way slowly through 'ne
steady stream of people VINO Came Oh
foot and on bicycles.
House Ransacked.
Hevond what remains of the bushes
in which Mrs. Jane Gibson says
Eleanor Mills hid until the slayers
dragged her out, stands what is left
Of the empty Phillips farmhouse A
wide. spaced gracious old building
with big fireplaces in every room,
the century-old mansion mas psen
pieces of furniture. Bureaus nave
been yanked open and their contents
borne away. Books and magazines
have been stolen. Pictures even nave
been taken from the frames on the
walls and a dressmakers FORM aitiue st4oe
to be packed into car by It's new
And trjumphaut owner. The only
reason that Mrs. Gibsen's farm has
mt heen oyerrun by the curious IS
that state troopers are mere euaro-
Ing 1T. .n. ,,,+ad
are yalua bic. Not ct ali. Their value
Lies in,esneotioyn oa,y W With 'ns q dreadful crime
The Mills plot in the cemetery IN
which is the body yaad OF the sonr mufafoge befors
now If the cemetery officials l, had
not strictly forbidden visitors. The
i,ailopns bought from the roadside
vendors whom the police are tardily
dispensing have not been oought ior
their intrinsic beauty but for their
rnorhtd association with the spot.
Envy Given a. Cause.
This souvenir frenzy which has
hreken cut around the Phillips farm
like a plague is, to. q psychologist,
one Of the most interesting phases
who has made an ex-
pert study Of this crime. and whose
ssincerity is vouched for by the fact
that he declines publicity, even to
the extent of allowing his name
to be Of faz the sssa erase ene
"These people are drawn to the
soena of the murder by a vicarious
enioyment both of the crime and
what led to it." he said. "Uncon-
soiously the. visitor to such place
puts himself or hersel1 e IN 1sn .ne srs pace ce
in the place of both. This Is scien..
tific fact. Horror is the lure. but
the horror is largely made up of
envy. unconscious envy In most cases.
but envy Just the same ehs Ihe ,e+,,n y,sitor or
q ti,e auHN siayers, r. or both Why? Be-
cause the victims or the slayers
dared to do something the visitor
might like to do but dares not. Who
Is the self-appotnted moral censor
OI any IL 9S.AS
scandal and to spread It? The
'rounder himself. or the gossip who
fails Of a place In the 1imelight of
the community's romantic life.
Taking away relies .i;sr of f.ssh MURDER ~ ger
Visitors mind. It is a search for
thrills, but q search definitely inspired
BY morbid envy"
alleral HeSdlums.o
The psychologist pointed to the fire.
auency with which people who have
seen gossiped about are being beaten
sometimes killed-by masked bands,
Amateur gangs Of "moral hoodlums."
Partly as 2 result Of the emotional
sndering is likely to increase. "f1oral
win increase and, with.
horror. It IL interesting to note that,
In spite Of Mrs. Gibson's "eye witness"
story, which places only two avengers
81 the scene Of the murders. the crime |
to psychologists-has all !
the earmarks Of being committed
~ . xreNn q amateur neral heed4