Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-08-05
| PROSECUTION HUR[S
SHAT IS Of R|D|CULE
At LOEB'S AL|EN|ST
Grove Hints at Influence of
$250-a-Day Fee on
Whites Testimony

AuSoly UullC up ny ttlS uOiSii0V
through examination of its first
slienist, DIR. William a. White,
day ridiculed the childish fantasy
Washington, D. c., as the explana-
ton of the kidnapping and Staying
sRobert Franks by Nathan Leo
oid, Jr., and Richard Loeb. The
State limited that the youthful in
tellectual giants had hoodwinked the
distinguished psychiatrist, and final
Iy it attacked the credibility of the
eminent specialist.
The defense stubborn1y resisted
the effort by Robert E. Grove. states
attorney, to have produced the
original report made 10 the defense
by DR.. White. The superintendent
of the Federal Hospital for the In
sane sat on the witness stand flush
ed and apparently angered at Mr..
Groves remarks to Judge Caverly
that he wished to show that the
witness first had concluded that the
boys were insane and then for a
fee of $3.50 a day. had sworn that
they were only mentally sick" At
the end of the short session the rec
ord showed Mr. Grove as satisfied
to let the refusal of the report speak
for itself
Mr.. Grove, in attacking the Child
1sh fantasy" theory brought from
DR.. White an Il don't know" when
he was asked if the admittedly high
lntellectS of the youthful defendants
at any time could have stopped the
planning of the crime, which the
allenist had testified, originated in
their emotions
Believed Leopold, Not Loeb
limiting at the possibility that
Babe" and "Dickie" had fooled the
doctors, Mr.. Grove asked if he had
belleved all that the bows he told
him despite their known propensity
Tor falsehoods. The witness re-
pied that he had not believed all of
Loeb's "foolishness,' but he thought
that Leopold had been frank"
The youths, intellectually knew
that murder was prescribed by the
law the doctor testified, but hal
no moral attitude to give them the
feeling that they were doing wrong"
Mr. Grove, however, forced the ad-
mission that in trying to protect the
names of girl friends and in Loeb's
trying to keep secret for the protec-
ton OF his father an admission that
''S e'iN IICOpOll IdQ Dld11Gu TO XIII
the grandson of his fathers business
associate, julius Rosenwald, the
youths had been actuated by q con
germ rot possible in a child of i've"
Again Mr.. Grove asked:
You have called Loeb a child of
five emotionally. How do you ac.
count for the fact that for a part of
this time he could lay aside this
characteristics, pursue his university
studies and appear So normal to
Everybody that even his immediate
Family was startled when this crimo
was fastened upon him? Will y,u
explain how such an emotional in
fantile character could be so normal
in all his human contacts?"
Nature Attracted Love
Unfortunately that is common
Experience with people of this type"
replied Dr. White. These undeVe-
Eoped emotional youngsters enjoyed
the affections of teachers and par
ents because of their child-like char
acteristics, which attracted love. The
very nickname 'Dickie' would ind-
cate the attitude which his parents
had for him, that he was a lovable
youngster.
That is the very characteristic
that blinds people to things that are
going on beneath the surface and
are not visible to the unframed eve.
We are dealing with that kind of
situation all the time, and are try
ing to show people how to look for
Hanger signals underneath, rather
han be misled by what appears to
be smooth and untroubled SUI
sEs 5s wntto was . .,.oo ), =, ooh who
appeared normal to his university
teachers and fellow students through
Mout the months in which he and Leo
pold had planned their joint crime.
had the power to choose whether to
carry out that plan. Mr. Grove
wanted a ives" or mo answer to
this, but failed to get 1t, the witness
replying:
well he did not avoid doing it,
and whether he could have avoided
the homicide is largely a metaphysi-
cal question. The powers that were
at work within him impaired vejy
materially his capacity to choose
Doctor Hard to Corner
WAS he. any different in this re-
spect from any other criminal?"
asked Mr. Grove.
THAT is another of your vague
terms retorted Dr. White. 81 can't
talk about any other or every other
criminal. | don't know them all and
criminal is not an entity to be
clearly defined"
DR.. White reiterated that whether
Loeb could have avoided the crime
was "an unanswerable type of ques-
ton" that Diclie knew intellectually
what was against the law, but had
no adequate feeling toward its moral
error.
But he did have sufficient capac.
lily to refrain from killing?" persist
ed Mr. Grove.
Il don't know" said the expert.
Mr. Grove asked about Loeb's
"spit personality" and tried to get
the doctor to say whether he is af-
flicted with dementia prasecoX. OBJ
/ jectionS switched the questionins
away from the subject and through
out the QuizZing Judge Caverly up
held the defense in barring any men.
! ton of "frsanity" as applied TO the
defendants"
Boys Won't Take Stand
Much so same line of questioning
! Cievelop-t similar ideas as to Lee
! pold'S disregard for the legal and
moral wrongs involved in the homi
! eide Toward the end of the eNami-
4 nation Mr.. Grove asked the doctor
i If he had ever read Tom Sawyer"
or "HutiIeberry Finn" DR.. White
! smiled reminiscentIy as he answered.
oh, many. many years ago
We'll. do YOU think the childish
fantasies of Tom Sawyer and 'Huck
and their cruel treatment of poor
old Jim indicated criminalistic ten
dencies?" asked MIR. Grove
The doctor was amused by the
question, finally saying that his rec
objection of Tom and "Huck" was
very vague and that anyway they
were literary fictionS" who, perhaps.