'Lives of great men all remind us, We can make our lives sublime; And, departing, leave behind us, Footprints in the sands of time.'"

WAS HAWES INSANE?

A Scientist's Theory of a Most Atrocious Crime--What Professor Windsor Says of Hawes' Mental Peculiarities--Insanity Which the Courts Will Soon Recognize.

[From the Birmingham (Ala.) _Age-Herald_.]

Prof. William Windsor, LL. B., the noted specialist in phrenology and medical jurisprudence, was seen by an _Age-Herald_ reporter at the Caldwell hotel last night, and in answer to interrogatories, made a number of interesting statements concerning the Hawes tragedy.

Professor Windsor has had many years of experience as an expert in the study of insanity in its various phases, and particularly in reference to crimes and their origin. He enjoys a national reputation in his special lines of study, and his conclusions have the weight of scientific authority.

In regard to the subject of discussion, he said: "I have been greatly interested in the case of d.i.c.k Hawes ever since the publication of the tragedy, and have made an exhaustive study, both of the man and the circ.u.mstances of the case. Of course, in the ma.s.s of conflicting statements contained in the evidence, it is impossible to know with definite certainty just how the crime was committed; but the confessions of Hawes and the testimony all agree that the man deliberately planned and executed the murder of his family. Whether he had the b.l.o.o.d.y work done or accomplished it with his own hands does not concern us so much as the fact that motives and impulses existed in the mind of a husband and father for the destruction of the lives of those he was bound to protect, and that those impulses were sufficiently strong to accomplish the execution of the crime.

"The study of the origin of these motives and impulses are highly interesting, in view of the fact that they point to conditions of society that are potent for the breeding of similar crimes.

"To my mind the key-note to the whole case is found in one of the remarks made by Hawes while standing on the gallows, to-wit: 'I want all you boys to let liquor and vile women alone; see what it has done for me.'

"A careful phrenological estimate of d.i.c.k Hawes discloses the fact that he was above an average in appearance, physique and mentality. His brain is ma.s.sive and of good quality, though uncultivated. It is not lacking in the organs of benevolence, sympathy and agreeableness; in reason, perception or reflection. He had sufficient caution and conscientiousness to understand right and wrong, and the consequences of both. There was enough of the affections and social qualities to make him very attractive to women and children, as his history fully shows, all of which is fully shown by the fact that he discharged the duties of a responsible position for years, and commanded a reasonable degree of respect. Such men do not commit crime while in a normal condition. It is as physically impossible as it is for water to run up hill.

"When the domestic relations of such men are blasted by a.s.sociation with prost.i.tutes or by the unchast.i.ty of their own wives, a species of insanity results, which completely reverses the ego or personality of the man. I have observed hundreds of such cases, and have never seen an exception to the rule. In scientific parlance his condition is known as 'reversed amativeness,' or a revolution of character, brought about by an inflamed or abnormal condition of amativeness, the organ of s.e.xual love. As in a normal state this organ electrifies and strengthens every natural affection, making every faculty more exquisitely perfect, so in its inflamed or reversed state it leads to the entire obliteration of every rational sentiment.

"The particular direction in which this obliteration may manifest itself depends largely on the temperament of the individual and the circ.u.mstances of the case. In some men it results in paralysis of the energies, changing the character into shiftlessness. In other cases it results in destroying the moral sense, but does not amount to positive viciousness, while on the other hand it may result as it unquestionably did in this case, in absolutely perverting the affections so as to render the man incapable of the natural feelings of a husband and father, and supplying motives which seem to be of the most inhuman character. They are inhuman and unnatural, but in such cases it is not correct to hold the man as responsible for the deplorable results unless it is clearly proved that the mental unbalance was brought about by his own acts, performed in a state of conscious free will. The law clearly recognizes that the drunken man is insane, and holds him responsible for his acts committed while drunk, if he became drunk through his own volition. If the liquor is proved to have been forced down his throat or he has been drugged by some one else and his mental balance dethroned thereby, he is not responsible.

"It is a very nice question to decide in this Hawes case whether the depraved condition alluded to was the result of his own acts or of his domestic troubles. There is no doubt in my mind but that the species of insanity referred to, existed in the mind of Hawes at the time of the tragedy.

"It is a principle in medical jurisprudence that the more atrocious the crime the stronger is the presumption of insanity in the perpetrator. It is a fact wholly creditable to human nature that horrible crimes are rarely, if ever, committed by persons in a normal state of existence.

The popular mind is not prepared to receive evidence of insanity in such cases because of the revengeful feeling which naturally animates the minds of men under such circ.u.mstances. And there is another difficulty in the way of justice in the fact that this form of insanity is rarely accompanied by such evidences of mania as the uninstructed would demand as necessary to const.i.tute insanity. The perverted state of the affections and the judgment are not necessarily accompanied by the wild ravings and gla.s.sy eyes of the lunatic. Emotional insanity of this type is only temporary. It may, also, only affect a few faculties of the mind necessary to the perpetration of the deed, while the mental balance of nine-tenths of the man may remain undisturbed.

"The great fact remains, in any case, that by harlotry, licentiousness and prost.i.tution the grandest intellects are overturned and the most harrowing discords produced in society. As long as society tolerates conditions of ignorance in regard to s.e.xuality, and fosters or permits establishments having for their avowed purpose the excitement of the pa.s.sions and the obliteration of the virtues, we will continue to have repet.i.tions of tragedies similar to the case of Hawes."

HOW LIVING HEADS AND DEAD SKULLS ARE MEASURED.

An Interview With Prof. William Windsor, LL. B., the Distinguished Phrenologist, Lecturer and Traveler.

[From the Memphis (Tenn.) _Appeal_.]

For several years the citizens of Memphis have not had an opportunity to hear a discussion of the principles of the science of phrenology, or character reading. The announcement in yesterday's _Appeal_ of the series of entertainments to be given in the Young Men's Hebrew a.s.sociation Hall, by Prof. Wm. Windsor, LL. B., beginning to-night, prompted a reporter to call at the Gayoso hotel last night, and send his card to the Professor. He was cordially received by the Professor's wife, Mme. Lilla D. Windsor, a lady of elegant presence and charming affability of manner, in their private parlors on the first floor, and agreeably entertained until the Professor dismissed several who had called for professional services.

"The science of phrenology," said Professor Windsor, smiling, after the usual greetings and upon learning the object of the visit, "is very much misunderstood. It is a popular error to suppose that we depend upon an examination of depressions and ridges in the cranium, commonly termed 'b.u.mps,' when, in fact, a phrenological examination is based upon a critical inspection of the entire physiological structure and condition, including comparative development of size and configuration of brain, as I shall demonstrate in the lectures.

"Come this way," said the Professor, leading to another apartment where a uniformed employe was engaged in unpacking several enormous trunks. "Look at these skulls. Here is the skull of a man executed at forty years of age who murdered a family of six persons in Mississippi in 1842. Contrast it with this skull of a harmless old negress who died at the comfortable age of 108, and you will see how much difference there is in heads," and the phrenologist demonstrated by actual measurement that there was over four inches difference in comparative development. He also exhibited to the reporter a number of other crania showing equal diversity of growth.

"I shall exhibit these crania at the free lectures and demonstrate the scientific principle upon which phrenology rests," continued the Professor, as he conducted the reporter through an inspection of the outfit. "Here are the three smallest mummies in the world, besides many other specimens which I use in my physiological lectures to the s.e.xes separately. I also use a number of portraits and diagrams in my lectures on matrimony and physiognomy; but the real demonstration, of the utility of the work is made in public examinations of leading citizens selected by the audience. It is a fact that character can be read, and read correctly, and if this be true, all that I claim for the science in adapting young men, women and children to proper studies, professions, trades, etc., follows logically and as a matter of course. It also follows that if one character can be measured scientifically, a proper choice for a.s.sociates in matrimony, business partnerships, etc., can be indicated. It is the purpose of the lectures to demonstrate these facts to the satisfaction of the public.

"The first lecture will be devoted to an exposition of scientific principles, the second to the application of these principles in choice of professions and trades, the third to the consideration of matrimony."

"What shade of meaning do you attach to the word 'anthropologist' as used by you, Professor?"

"The word signifies, in its broadest sense, a student of human nature.

In its application it includes man in all his physical, mental and social conditions. Phrenology is the science of the mind--mental philosophy. Anthropology is the science of man--human philosophy. To the proper understanding of these great subjects we must look for the solution of all social problems, concerning the mental, moral and physical advancement of the race, or races, as the case may be."

A pleasant half hour was devoted to conversation, when the reporter withdrew. Professor Windsor is a gentleman of genial social qualities, and scholarly in language and appearance. He possesses a magnificent physique, which he claims to have gained by a strict conformity to his rules of diet and habits of living. He weighs 200 pounds, uses no stimulants--tea, coffee or tobacco--and prides himself on being able to sustain fifteen hours per day of professional labor, made necessary by his large practice and business management. He has just closed a successful course of twenty-seven consecutive lectures in Kansas City, and does not seem in the least fatigued. The Kansas City _Star_, in referring to his closing lecture, speaks of it as one of the finest ever delivered in that metropolis.

CRIME AND ITS CAUSES.

What a Noted Specialist Has to Say of It--Cranial Malformation the Genesis of Much Crime Traced to Other Sources--An Interesting Talk.

[From the Birmingham (Ala.) _Age-Herald_.]

Prof. William Windsor, of New York, is in the city. He has a reputation that is almost international in his specialty; for, as a phrenologist, his discussion of the physical conditions which lead to crimes, have had a wide notoriety.

Chatting with an _Age-Herald_ reporter last night, he gave a most interesting and instructive talk on the noted crimes that have occurred during the past ten years. Professor Windsor has studied most of the criminals that have become prominent, and in a purely scientific way he has gone back of the outward evidences of criminal depravity to understand the physical and possibly hereditary conditions that brought about the overt acts. His fund of information on this subject is almost an inexhaustible one.

In discussing the Maxwell murder, he said: "I was in Texas at the time of the St. Louis tragedy. A friend of mine sent me a picture of the alleged murderer, with a request that I give my theory of the crime.

Like many newspaper cuts, it was decidedly unsatisfactory; but the man who made it had caught enough of the likeness to enable me to know the chief characteristics of Maxwell.

"Explaining the disadvantages under which I labored, I at once wrote to him, and gave my theory of the crime; and when, at last, the matter came out, I found that I was right."

"Do you study every criminal case that comes under your observation?"

"Of course I do. A man who is alive to science can not help doing it.

Whenever I hear of a crime and learn the circ.u.mstances of its commission, I at once begin to devote my own mind to the combination of mental qualities which could have rendered it possible. Of course it is impossible to understand how some of the terrible acts could have been committed; but you would be surprised to know how much is revealed by seeing either the man or a good portion of him.

"The mental characteristics of criminals have much to do with not only the crimes they commit, but the manner in which they perpetrate their deeds, and in a consideration of what has been accomplished, heredity plays a strong part. Some men are born with an adeptness for crime of a certain character. Let the opportunity arise, and they yield to the stress of circ.u.mstance and become guilty men. I have seen a number of noted criminals who would not have been such, except for the unfortunate circ.u.mstances that made them do an act which left them notorious."

"How about these bank cashiers who keep skipping off to Canada?" was asked.

"Well, there is one singular fact about them. The men who leave seldom have acquisitiveness well developed. They have not a sense of values, and when they are put in positions of trust, they fail to appreciate how much is entrusted to them."

"Then they go to squandering?"

"Yes, in one way that is true. They fail to appreciate their responsibilities and take chances. Their carelessness soon tells, and before they know it they are involved. This is the story of more than half the defalcations that have been made public during the past decade.

It is not that the men were dishonest to begin with, but they did not appreciate the value of the securities that were entrusted to them, and by their laxity allowed themselves to become involved, and then yielded to temptation through a sense of shame. There are not nearly as many men who are criminals _per se_ as the world believes.

"Many of the criminals so called are not responsible for their acts.

Their apparent moral obliquity is, in reality, a mental deficiency, for which they are not any more to blame than you or I. I have seen men who had been guilty--yes, even convicted of most heinous crimes, who from the very conformation of their heads revealed certain things that, to say the least, should have been considered in mitigation of their supposed guilt.