Evening star., 1936-11-29
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star
Strange Pleas
in Defense.
Criminal jurisprudence is daily con-
tracing its borders in one quarter and

Cractlne lCS DOfoerS IN one quarter and
enlarging them in an
otlahse 11eas other" says The Star
in Defense, Of November %, 1885.
Some years ago 1t was
customary for the courts to look with
some charity upon offenses committed
under the influence of liquor, but this
cobweb was effectually brushed away by
the Noe murder case where the prin-
ciple was plainly laid down that a man
who. by drinking spirituous liquors. VOL
unfairly induced a condition of mind in
which he had not full control of his
conduct could not be permitted to plead
this condition in extenuation of an Of
fense committed under its influence. The
insanity plea, which had been fairly
successful as long as kept within the
limits of reason. tried human patience
overmuch in the Mcfarland Richard
son case, where the defense projected
the theory that murderer might be
insane for the single instant necessary
to conceive the deadly purpose and dis
charge his weapon. but perfectly sane
before and after that instant; and Judge
Cox of this city dealt a well-merited
rebuke to the insanity theorists gen.
orally in the Guiteau case. which estab-
lished the sensible doctrine that a man
who is sane enough to plan murder
and carry it into execution, in entire
consciousness of the nature Of his act
and Of It's consequences, is sane enough
to hang.
If, as some reports have it, the hero
Of recent escapade in HOUSEKEEPING
and assault in Washington intends to
plead that he was under the influence
Of q mesmerist at the time he committed
his offense the public will be treated
to one of the most interesting criminal
trials Of modern times. 1t will be neces-
sary to do one of two things-either to
show that the judgments of some of the
foremost psychologists and neurologists
are wrong in holding that the subject
of an active mesmeric trance must be
always in the presence of the operator,
or else to prove that the operator did.
in this case, accompany the subject
on his housebreaking expedition. Expert
ments made in good faith have re-
peatedly failed where even a cotton
sheet or a newspaper was hung up be-
tween the operator and his subject so
as to intercept the formers view and
in cases of what Is known as involuntary
meSmerism-a nervous disorder which
compels one person to initiate every
attitude, gesture and word of another
the spell is broken and the patient often
faints when third party interpoSes his
body between the two. 1t will be curious
to note to what lengths the defense
in the present instance will go with its
researches and whether the criminal
lawyers of the country generally will
adopt the plea of hypnotic irresponsi-
bility as a resort from the outworn
theories of intoxication and insanity"
With the site for the new Library Of
Congress Building acquired and in
process of preparation,
materials OF the question of the
the Library. character of the struc.
ture became Of keen
public interest fifty years ago. The Star
Of December 4, 1885, says:
THE question as to what material shall
be used in the construction of the new
library building has never been con-
sidered by the commission, notwith.
standing the published assertion that
the contract for material would probably
be awarded to Gov. Budwell of Maine.
Mr.. Clark, of the commission, said to
Star reporter:
1.-The question as to whether the
building shall be of marble or granite or
brick has never been considered for q
moment Inquiries have been sent to
us on the subject and we have replied
that nothing has yet been determined.
have no doubt that when the COM
mission decides this point they will then.
of course advertise for proposals and
each bidder will be required to send
in samples of his marble, or his granite,
or whatever may be used. Then the
contract will be let upon those bids
and samples. Why, the commission
would never think for q moment Of
awarding the contract to anybody with
out competition. The idea is absurd.
The question as to material will not be
decided before next Spring"