The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, December 8, 1922, Page 6

/ By WILLIAM J. BURN Director, Bureau of Investigation, U. S. Dept. of Justice tubes of typhus germs were being sold at retail to those who desired an effective means of removing an enemy without attracting inconvenient suspicion, adds one more to the long list of murder tools and naturally turns the minds of ‘police officials and criminologists to a recollection of the many and varied weapons used by crooks in their nefarious business. iA i eee recent gruesome discovery by the police of Paris that For, despite the assertion of the American Bar Association that 90 per cent of the homicides in this country are committed with a pis- tol or revolver, other means of dealing death are employed fre- quéftly enough to cause remark and a consideration of possible means of curbing the murder im- pulse. . As a matter of fact, while the revolver is the most convenient weapon to carry and, when hand- led by the expert, is the surest in its results, the average crook would préfer almost any other kind of weapon: The revolver, it must be remembered, is noisy and it is the crook’s»ambition to con- duct whatever business he has in hand, in a manner calculated to! attract as little attention as pos- sible. He always carries a gun and he will use it if he has to, but he just naturally hates to create a disturbance. To that end, he will, whenever possible, use any of the so-called “plunt instruments”, which range ail the way from a blackjack to an ordinary household hammer. Or, if he is engaged in a little job of burglary, a whiff or two of chloroform properly applied, will answer his purpose admirably. It should be understood that the burglar, the bank robber or the stick-up man does not start out with the intention of committing murder, He will kill if~he has to, preferring that to certain arrest, but he avoids it if possible on ac- count of the unpleasant. results that generally follow if he is eventually caught. If, on the other hand, the mat- ter is a personal one, involving those in his own circle of s ciety, whose removal may seem desirable or -xpedient, the crook will use a gun when there is no time to seek other and quieter means. In cas- es where the aggrieved party has opportunity for planning, a brick dropped with a reasonable degree of accuracy from a roof, or a’ heavy bottle, applied with force to the back of the victim's skull, have brought eminently satisfactory re- blackjacks Small and large containing lead . weight in the end, handle flexible. of leather Homemade stiletto, from. file, blade made. of suspicion to be turned on the operator. _ There have bee men have been struck on the head with a folded newspaper and fatal results have followed owing to the fact that a length of lead pipe was concealed in the folds of the paper. Razors have reds of homicides. is commonly associated with the negro, but its use is by no medns confined to that race. ‘There was a time when many of the genus hobo used the razor not only for purpose, but as a theans of offense and defense. Held in the crotch of the hand, between the thumb and index fin- its legitimate n occasions when figured in hund- This weapon to be listed as passion and used with frightful re- sults as any ambulance who has treated victims of chisel- wounds will testify. only a stabbing tool, but, if it is heavy enough, can inflict terrible and fatal head wounds, In the same category of spur-of- the-moment weapons are the but- cher’s cleaver, the carving knife, the household hatchet, axe, saw, chair, stool, milk-bottle and even the kitchen fork, all have been used frequently enough There was even a recent case in Europe where 4 bride hit her new husband on the head with a brass- bound bible and killed him. The hat pin has been employed surgeon This is not | length of rubber buckshot and stopped at the ends, of which | frequently fatal. tiurder tools. the Far East. An carried a weapon, Of ‘course, such thjhgs as the blackjack, thd’ slungsh knuckles are common. and even @ stocking filled with moist sand are used on occasion. These instruments are ordinarily employed to_put the victim “out”, that is to render him unconscious for the time being, but the results of blows with these weapons are Knives, dirks, daggers and stil- ettos are used principally by al iens from Southern one of the Méditerranean coun- tries will come over here. Director Bureau of Investigation U.S. Department of Justice and brass A short hose, filled with | could desire. use it, urope and emigrant from He-has all vure, as it were. probably, _| his crime was discovered few cents, He erinds the point and edges of the. file and thus makes as fine a stiletto as his heart {tis not much al- tered in appearance, but it is a terribly effective weapon and your Southern European knows how to He may weight it with a little melted lead and make a throwing as well as a stabbing weapon ouPof it, Some of these aliens can throw a properly bal- anced stiletto more than 15 feet with marvellous accuracy. _ All of the foregoing, are crude and strictly utilitarian means of dealing death. There are others of a more artistic nat- ““) FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1922 without numbee, these was that of the New York dentist who poisoned his wife's mother and father, one after the other, by administering arsenic in increasing doses in their food, and who, at the funeral of his father- in-law, announced that he feared his wife, who inherited a consid- erable estate through the death of her parents, would “never bear up under’ the shock”, Fortunately, before his wife succumbed to the malady. Powered giass in food has.also been used with fatal results, Elec- tricity has played its part. And gas. There was the case of the denizen of New York’s Chinatown who was found dead in his bed, with a tube leading from the gas jet in the hall to the keyhole of his locked bedroom ‘door. So, in spite of the’Bar Associa- tion’s findings, it is not always firearms that are responsible for homicides‘ and the way to stop murder is not by prohibiting the manufacture and sale of weapons —a thing which cannot possibly be effectively done—but by putting @ strong curb op the murder im- pulse. » It would be perfectly commend- able to pass a law regulating the sale of. pistols and revolvers in such manner that they could be obtained by reputable citisens, but would be difficult for crooks to obtain and personally dangerous for them to carry. The Capper islature, “has caused more: mure ders in New York City’ by reason of the fact that a highwayman or burglar well knows when he goca into a dwelling or a store, or en« gages in a hold-up or astick-up, that his victim is unarmed.” Much can be done by the courts and the criminal authorities, There is too much delay in hand< ling criminai\cases, There is toa much leniency shown by some of the courts, [here -is too much coddling of criminals when, and if, they finally do reach prison, In nine cases out of ten, unde the misguided system now in vos gue in many of the States, the criminal lives far better in prison than he does outside and this is especially true of murderers, whether they finaly go to the chair or not. All of this should be stopped. When a murderer is arrested, he should be brought to trial with the least délay consistent with ab« solute justice. Under the Engitsh system, once @ murderer ts brought’ to trial, and that is as promptly, as possible, no technicalities sre permitted to interfere with the rapid procedure of the trial: and the execution of the sentence, t Prompt and drastic admin'strae tion of justice will reduce murders: to a minimum. Nothing will ab« solutely prevent them and certain~ ly additional laws prohibiting this or that weapon will have no ef« sults without causing the spotiight ger, with the blade folded back against the handle, and with a coat held over the left forearm to guard against the opponent's strokes, the razor is a formidable weapon. A carpenter's chisel is employed infrequently This is' more of a spur-of-the-i ioment weapon--one that is caugit up in a moment of with fatal results on several oc- casions. The first case of this character to attract public atten- tiog puzzled the police for quite a while, and it was not until the autopsy revealed a puncture of the heart and a fmall black spot on the flesh over’ the organ that the authorities were able to determine the cause of death; . irae his life, but he knows he cannot bring it into this country with him. So he lands unarmed a) him is a fatal defect. If he cannot buy or otherwise acquire.a knife such as he used to carry at home, he buys a simple three-cornered file and % wooden one of his first acts is to remedy what to Take, for instagtce, the typhus germs which the Paris police dis- covered, Could anything be bet- ter or more fiendishly calculated to accomplish the purpose? Yet we have had parallel cases in this country where typhoid ‘and pneu- monia germs and*even tuberculos- is ‘bacilli have been administered to victims in their daily food. Bill now before the United States Senate, contains many admirablé provisions along these linea, but to be effective, it will have to be made uniform in all of the States, In any legislation, however, care should be taken to avoid the mi takes of New York State's notor- fous Sullivan law. fect whatever, A muprierer is-one to whom law means nothing. De- prive him of one means and he, will use another, ishment swift and hard and the next in line will think twice be~ fore He yields to the homicidal ime pulse, In nine cases out of. ten, that second thought will prevent. Make his pun<« him fem beciming @ WcNercr, handle at a hardware atore for al. 7 , . Bess ORDER DRAWN BY ATTORNEYS IS DEFECTIVE (Continued from Page One) they had information that some of the signatures to pe- titions were obtained under misrepresentation and fraud, had on their attorney’s table letters written by a number of signers to the grand jury petitions. Two of them said they signed under misrepresenta- tion that the matter had to do with good road$ or better ity of the proceedings leading to the indictment, He said that the court being re- quired to be in other counties soon she would take under advisement the question of calling u new grand jury. After the conclusion of this state- ment State’s Attorney McCurdy made his statement regarding the matters pending and which might go before the grand jury, aud asking whether or not bé should file an informations Judge Coffey pointed out that the law requires a grand jury be called at the first of the term before the petit jurors are called, and that ne gvand jury can be called except on written ord Former Governor Burke said that he was representing the attorney gen- eral’s office and that he woeld take roads. Two or three others|up the matter of the informations said they signed without | ith them. ; reading the body of the peti- tion or knowing just what it was about. 3 Steps in Matter. The steps by which the final con- clusion was arrived at began with Judge Coffeys denial -of the motion of the state to amend record and to insert the names of the two women who were passed over when the grand jury was drawn, in conformity with the order. Judge Coffey held this could not be done. The action of the jury commission- 1! ers—Clerk Fisher, Sheriff - Welch, | Auditor Johnson, ‘Treasurer Flow-. | s not in question.” The final de-) holds in effect that they acted correctly, and in accordance with the order given them, but that the order Changed Mind, He Says. Former Governor Burke in open- ing the arguments just after’ 9:30 a, m., Judge Coffey being forced to wait a little while on attorneys! to reach their desks, said that when he first saw the grand jury order he was of the opinion that it was il- legal. He said that, however, the more he studied the more he became ed, The legal arguments centered jury call. tions in calling a’ new grand. jury. the opinion special grand jury. statute. ‘ He said that calling of a special grand jury would be discretionary, that the court was probably bound by signatures on the petitions, to call the grand jury in the first place, the court not having oppertunity to in- vestigate the petitions or anyone op- portunity (9. oppose them. No Necessity, He Says. I da‘grand jury gen- erally. was called where the officers would ‘not act, jor in an emergency such as investigating a riot, 0} where the officers could not get the evidence, He said Mr. McCurdy was a ‘very active ‘prosecutor and that | all the elements so'far as the grand jury ss co Speaking ‘of Stenographers! . itself to them wa After dispos' ige C€ s wrong, of the ‘considered mo- the © to the panel as a whole. d that this order is JJudge Coffey. “It ecg as drawn preeeding the change in the statu The change has left the bar di . So far as this court is concerned, it is clear that ‘the order is not in the form it should be. While there may be some question as to whether the statute was amended by implication yet it i construed as to mean thet gran jurors can be women.” Judge Coffe; that “I feel un- der the circun nees that it is the duty of the court to discharge this panel and before any grand jury is put into service that a new order be issued so the proceedings will be lawful.” Obeys People’s Mandate. 4 Judge Coffey pointed out that grand jury procedure in North Da- and said thay they ken should comply with the ‘order, of the statute. | “The court has no desire to do otherwise than carry out the man: dates of the people as expressed leecliy.” Jndre Cotfev said. i He added tM&e; without regard to the ments of the case, it wa; the duty of the court to prevent anyone receiving the stigma of indictment if there is grave doubt of the legal-! Enid Wentworth wins the international love championship in the stenographers’ league. There are*80-males on the staff of the London business house where she is employed. In the ten years she has worked there—Enid is 26—she has been engaged to each one of them. Now she és marrying the owner and all her old lovers will be at the church to ish her well. The 30 engagement.rings, which she returned have been inset in.a clock which the firm is presenting her as a reminder of her dvgntures in romance, . convinced that it was legally order-| is concerned ‘that are found in], Burleigh county are found, in’ all other counties.” Judge Coffey said he knew little chiefly on the legality of the grand] about the cause for°a grand jury, but would exercise discretion. He Attorney J. F. Sullivan said with| said the only question was. whcth- regard to the question of. whether} er the order itself was invalid only the court could act upon the peti-|in providing for men. Mr. Sullivan pointed out that the that after consideration, he was of | order in providing for men offy cre- that the court would] ated a classification in calling the have authority to draw a new grand jurors, and he cited a number ot jury but that it would have to be aj supreme court decisions to support. He read the! his conténtion that the order thus fatally defective. After the disposition of the grand jury matter Judge Coffey continued with the civil calendar in district court this afternoon, SCIENCE OF RATES. DISCUSSED IN ~ FARGO CASES argo, N. D., Dec, 8—In some in- ces the per toh mile earnings of the railroads should increase with the distance rather than decrease, 0. T. Cull, Assistant General Freight Agent for the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad said today in testifying in the Fargo rate case. This applies where greater distance means diminishing. freight _ traffic he declared and added that this is thé case between Chicago and) Far- #o where the traffic support of the rgilroads becomes less as Fargo is approached and passed. Mr. Cull spent most of the morn, ing on the stand with test:mony ¢e- signed to show that Fargo is not en-, titled to a lower rate from Chicago. Johnston Campbell, Interstate Commerce Commissioner left. this morning for Sacramento, California, leaving the hearing in the hands of! A.C. Watkins, special examiner. for the commission. CONDITIONS AT : KRAOCHN. CHAOTIC Tien Tsin, China, Dec, 7—A cor- respondent returning today from Tsingtao, declared the conditions in the principal city of the Kiaochow lease hold: were, bordering on the chactic. It was said. It was said that large numbers of H bandits had been residing freely in the Japanese coatrolled territory for | several months and during the past forinight had come out openly and were living in the leading Chinese hotels of the city. Practically all of the leading Chi- nese have fled from Tsingtao and all the Chinese shops have closed: their doors. The Japanese banks .are open in the mornings only. i There are 5 as to what will oceur when the for- mal transfer of the Kiaochow ter- | ritory takes place next Sunday. i u.: -apprehensions BIRDS SEEK - - SAFETY UPON > BHEP'S DECK of ;Liverpool, Nov. 1%—Thousands of American land b'rds, blown out to sea by unfavorable winds, sought safety on the decks of the Cunard liner Scythia on her last trip from New York, and stayed on board un- til she docked in Liverpool. When misfortune overtook the feathered travelers. they were migrating, pro. bably from\the north Atlantic states to the warm lands boardering on the Caribbean. Now many of them again are free, but in England; thousands gf miles from their desti- nation,@and were supposed to be wise in bird lore have not yet been i atisfacto to seng- ould ers as to whether the birds still endeavor to reach thei sum- mer haunts in the West Indies, or jgin the robins and linnets of Eng- land in their winter flight to south- ern France and northern Africa. The great flock, several thousand in number, settled on the Scythia’s deck when the steamer was about 400 miles from the American shore, and transformed her into a fleating aviary, Wild canaries, robins, lin- nets, thrushes, sand pipers and > cos, fluttered around the decks, ched on the rigging, and even pene. trated the lounges and engine room. The passengers and crew cared for them, giving thenr-warmth, food and shelter, but even ‘so -many ‘of the smaller birds died from exhaustion. Three owls and a score of pigeons were easily captured. Old sea travelers say they never have known birds to alight before in such large numbers on a single ship. % FLEXIBLE BRACELETS. The newest bracelets are fiexible ones with round and oval stones mounted on metal and combined with carving, These are most effective when worn «with costumes thay match in color, ~~ “Chapel Car Tours South. - <The missionary car “St. Paul” represents the latest mode of teaching lumber camps of* religion ‘in communjties: where no churches exist.. Through mining and Southern \states, particularly: Texas, this special car, owned-by-the Catholic Church Extension Society, is in continuous travel. The car seats haye been converted into: pews and an altar rected at one’end The'pastor is Rev. Patrick H. Griffin. GERMANS SEE "BISMARCK AND COUNTY FILMS j Views of City Shown Before ‘Audiences by Jacob Roth- schiller, He Writes Moving pictures of Bismarck and Burleigh county are being shown in Germany by Jacob Rothschiller and Carl: Wishek, according to a letter received by the state immigration department. Other North Dakota {ilms are shown. In a letter written Nov. 20. in Be Germany, Mr. Rothschiller said: * “Just to inform you that I am getting along in fine shape. I was able to get the films in through to Germany free on the account of.my being on charity mission. I “have been in Hamburg and Bremen, have . Holidy EGET eeReaOers Taare! Christmas and visited charity institutions which have received cows from us. In their dire extremity they surely appreci- ated our shows, and our gifts. “The Red Cross and Government officials have welcomed me hearti- dy and are giving me their utmost assistance. I am busy every day meeting poor people and doing what I can for them. I find that those who once were wealthy are now penniless and hard up, on the ac- count of the enormous depreciation of the German , Mark. “Our North Dakota films (fur- nished by the Commissioner of Im- migration) make a deep impression on all who sce them. On the account of their extreme poverty the people would be more than glad to)be able to take advantage of the opportuni- ties offered in our state. Mr. Carl Wisiek is with ime and helps to put on the shows. We have plenty of work and variety. In a short while we will leave for Vienna, Budapest, and Odessa, Russia, via Warsaw.” SUEDE HANDBAGS. New handhags of suede come in | soft pastel colors and“have a deep jfringe of the leather over the Lag. ; Colored beads are woven into the fringe. Cards” 1 quest. card: We will engrave or print them for you. Now is the time to place your .. orders. Samples submitted upon re- Business houses of all kinds. will find this appropriate advertising. Send the holiday greeting in the most approved way—a printed or engraved For the individual wishing a more personal message we have a most at- tractive line of samples. COME IN AND SEE OUR LINE OF CHRISTMAS and HOLIDAY CARDS. ~ BISMARCK. TRIBUNE Job Printing Dept.