Publication information

Source:
Buffalo Courier
Source type: newspaper
Document type: article
Document title: “Czolgosz’s Face Is That of Hardened Criminal, Says Physiognomist”
Author(s): anonymous
City of publication: Buffalo, New York
Date of publication: 18 September 1901
Volume number: 66
Issue number: 261
Pagination: 7

 
Citation
“Czolgosz’s Face Is That of Hardened Criminal, Says Physiognomist.” Buffalo Courier 18 Sept. 1901 v66n261: p. 7.
 
Transcription
full text
 
Keywords
Leon Czolgosz (physiognomical examination); Leon Czolgosz.
 
Named persons
Leon Czolgosz; Emma Goldman.
 
Notes
The identity of George W. Nightingale (below) cannot be verified.
 
Document


Czolgosz’s Face Is That of Hardened Criminal, Says Physiognomist

 

Fredonia Expert’s Opinion of the Assassin’s Character Differs Widely
from That of the Buffalo Police.

     Those who make it their business to study the faces of criminals say that if the ears in the photograph of the man in question extend above a line drawn across the top of both eyes, he has the primary characteristics of a criminal. This characteristic the cowardly assassin, Czolgosz, has not.
     George W. Nightingale of Fredonia, a self-styled expert physiognomist, says that after seeing the photograph of the Anarchist in The Courier last Sunday he intently studied his face with a view to determining his traits of character.
     Nightingale summed the situation up and in a letter addressed to The Courier tells his professional opinion of Czolgosz.
     “In last Sunday’s Courier,” the letter states, “I saw the reproduction of the photograph of Czolgosz, the Anarchist who mortally wounded the President. I have been asked by many friends to read his face to determine his characteristics and to give them my opinion.

FACE THAT OF A CRIMINAL.

     “I have studied his face carefully an hour at a time on several occasions. This is my conclusion: He is not one of the innocent men. The authorities will find him a very hard man to handle. I note the features denoting strong determination, strong will power and a stubborn disposition. He is a man that cannot be driven. His face is that of a criminal and if given his liberty he would commit the same deed again. He is deep in thought and nothing concerning the others will ever be found out from him.
     “From the shape of his head I conclude that to a great degree he is a coward. He would lack the quality of self-defense. The end of his chin denotes that it is that of a deep plotter and a man that could not be trusted, but a man not easily led by others. The crime he committed has been given great thought, which covered a considerable space of time. He is like a cat; he commits deeds by stealth.”

DISAGREE WITH NIGHTINGALE.

     No one disputes the fact that he is not of the innocent type. The police disagree with Nightingale, however, as to his face being that of a typical criminal. He lacks many of the characteristics of real criminals. As to his quality of not being easily led, the police again draw different conclusions. They declare that Emma Goldman’s inflammatory literature and incendiary speeches made Czolgosz fall easy prey to the wiles of the Anarchists.