Evening star., 1932-01-05

and similar yarns which have gained
more or less credence from the gullible."
| OF the tale about Marshal Ney, the State
Journal records: This story is to the
effect that the firing squad which exc
cuted Ney did not, in fact, shoot him.
that the burying squad smuggled him
out OF the country; that he came to
America and spent the remainder of
his life teaching school in the Caro-
llnas. The words of a teacher of mathe-
matlcS, recalled after his DEATH furnish
| the basis for this tale One of Mark
Twain'S stories illustrates the American
disposition to swallow pretenSions Of
lmpoStorS who diVeSt themselves with
romance. The Dauphin who imposed
on Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn
was no more ridiculous and impossible
than dozen other reincarnations with
which newspaper writer's are familiar.
There are many who believe that the
bullet meant for Jesse James killed
another man."
Probably it is merely another myth
BUT interesting" suggests the Cleve-
land News, observing that "at least it
IS being subjected to the acid test of
science, which is more than can be
said for the ordinary story of this kind"
The News takes note of the fact that
clted In evidence are anatomical pc
cuIlarltleS, as well as the fact that q
ring such as Booth wore and was sup
posed to have swallowed when pursued
was found in the stomach of the
mummy OF the public attitude toward
SUCH mysteries the News says: Many
nave oeen the infamous characters
ana famous ones, tCo-Whose deaths
have been doubted by the public.
Guiteau, the assassin of Garfield. was
supposed to have been miraculously de-
nVered from the moose that awaited him
IN Washington on June 80, 1882. There
nave oeen legends hardy enough to hint
at similar escape for Czolgosz-an-
other took his place. The Dauphin In
france ned to America. At least one
member OF the Russian royal family
escaped the red executioners and Ia
aIlVe today. SO run the tales"
Few orthodox historians" in tha
Judgment of the Gary Post Tribune,
Will give any credence to this astound-
ing theory; yet such are the quirks of
human nature, the story will probably
llnger, in footnotes and anecdotes, for
century to come. For wears it has
been whispered that the pursuing
caValrymen did not really catch and XIII
the fugitive Booth. The most care
tully gathered evidence of sober his
tory was never enough to silence those
whispers. With this new fuel they
should be good for another century, at
least"
Such stories grow up around popu-
lar or notorious characters who come
to tragic end" advises the Charleston
CW. VaD Daily Mail with the COM
ment: The Identification of the num-
my as the body Of Booth may arouse
some interest simply because there is
injected into the story an element Of
doubt and of mystery. If Booth were
not slain who was? Who was the
yicarious sufferer in place Of the actor?
Booth was well known in Washington
as well as in Baltimore, and identifca-
ton would have been easy. 1t is true
that there were some at the time who
refused to believe that Booth had been
caught and killed. Yet not one of
them could give reason for TIE be-
lief"
OF the medical examination in Chi
cago, the Dayton Daily News remarks.
The X-ray pictures show where a hons
In the left leg was broken: Booth suf-
fered such an injury when he fled from
Ford's Theater. There is the same de-
tormity OF the left thumb. From the
'tomacE. Is taken ring bearing the
eeler p The inference is that Booth,
% avoid identification. swallowed it fol-
owing the crime. The consensus o. 4
lalorlahs leans toward the theory that
ooolll was The man killed In the Bowl
LIs dIeen' Va, barn, but there is a
= ~ eS1 :, 4gal OF dissent from this hypothe-
- 1.sie VIII ne other Investigations of shs
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