Life, 1928-04-12 · page 13 of 42
Life — April 12, 1928 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**"The Writing on the Skin"** discusses an alienist's (psychiatrist's) courtroom demonstration at the Hickman trial in California, debating whether criminals' skin conditions reveal mental state. The article references actual murderers Loeb and Leopold and critiques Dr. Vernon Briggs, who wrote about murderers' psychology. **The cartoons** satirize contemporary frustrations: 1. **Top cartoon**: Shows a man escaping on horseback from a woman asking "Weren't you engaged to him once?" — mocking broken engagements. 2. **Middle cartoon**: A car driver honking repeatedly while pedestrians block traffic — satirizing urban congestion and driver frustration with "Keep your tires on!" 3. **"What We Really Need"**: A humorous office dialogue about handling excessive mail and correspondence, suggesting hiring another girl.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Writing on the Skin AT the Hickman trial in Cali- f% fornia, an alienist was _per- mitted to demonstrate “‘skin-writing” on the prisoner, as a test of Sanity. The sensitive state of a man’s epi- dermis has as much to do with his sanity as the color of his hair with his ability to translate Latin. Yet this waster of public time was allowed to escape with his own skin unharmed. When Jack Cade’s man proposed to kill all the lawyers, the answer should have been: “First, let’s chase out half the alienists.” A murderer, especially a degen- te murderer, fascinates the alien- ist as the great auk lures the bird collector. He can’t try enough ex- periments on him, nor preserve him alive too long. Dr. Vernon Briggs, who wrote a book about three mur- derers, got himself into such a state of admiration toward the murderers that he became vexed with every one else in the cases, and almost out of patience with the victims, who put temptation in the way of these fine lads,—the assassins, Dr. Briggs’ own innocence, on the subject of psychology, was illus- trated when he warned the layman not to read a certain chapter of his book—naming the chapter—because it was too shocking. The swarming of alienists around Loeb and Leopold was held to be a great triumph for something or other. As usual, they split even, half testi- fying one thing, and half the op- posite. It is more than a question Man 1n Front: Keep your tires on! “Weren't you engaged to him once?” “Yes, I was until he shook me.” if the salvage of Loeb and Leopold was not the cause of a similar murder of a little girl in New Jersey, and of Hickman’s exploit in California. One dreams of shutting six of the leading alienists in a room together, and asking each to study and report on the sanity of all the rest. Would we not have six reports that all the other five were psychopathic? Edmund Pearson. {S4NG-FROID is knowing you've got an extra ten-dollar bill in an inside pocket. Keep your tires on! “What We Really Need—” y, what do you think of suggestion box business, any- how? Isn't it the limit! Harry: Yeah; who in the deuce is going to put any suggestions in the blamed thing, I wonder? Tom: Well, yours truly, for one, is going to lay off of it. Believe me, boy, I've got plenty to do without putting suggestions intoa box all day. Harry: You sure got a pile of cor- respondence. Look at mine, though. I'm telling you if they don’t get a few more stenographers around here I'll never get any work done. Tom: Isn't it a crime? They expect us to handle a hundred letters a day with one girl. It can’t be done; not if we're to get anything else ac- complished, at any rate. Harry: What we really need is a new girl in this department. Tom: Absolutely. Let's put that idea in the box. James L. Dilley. If There Had Been Republics in Those Days LD President Cole. President Arthur and His Knights. President James’ Version. Senator Lancelot. President Solomon. Congressman Charming. comicbooks.com