Czolgosz Is Contrasted with President M’Kinley
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President McKinley and his would-be
assassin, Leon Czolgosz, have been compared and contrasted and an
estimate of the character of Czolgosz made by L. A. Archer of Milwaukee,
a phrenologist of considerable repute in various sections of the
country. He says:
“Judging from the comparative size
of the different lobes of the brain of Czolgosz he is a moral degenerate.
The base of the frontal lobes is large enough to give him ordinary
mechanical ability. A causal observer will readily notice the cramped
appearance of the top and upper forehead while in the region of
the ears the head spreads out like the head of all vicious animals.
Here lies the organ of destructiveness. When large directly above
the ears it merely gives energy, but if the head continues equally
full a half inch further back, just above the mastoid process, large
intellectual and moral faculties would be necessary to prevent its
perversion.
“The heads of the majority of ethic
[sic] teachers are not only broad at the top, but are at least five
to five and one-half inches in height, measuring straight up from
the opening of the ear which is located at the base of the brain.
The head of Czolgosz is not only narrow at the top, but is at least
one inch below the average in height.
“With the top head or moral organs
deficient, a low narrow forehead where reason is located and such
large animal propensities I am surprised he did not use a knife
instead of a pistol.
“He is without a doubt weakminded,
yet I cannot agree with Prof. Starr of Chicago university [sic]
in his statement that Czolgosz was alone in his terrible deed. His
mouth indicates an easily influenced character. It matters not how
lacking one may be in intellect and morals[,] they must necessarily
have strong will power [sic] to originate and carry out a crime
of such magnitude.
“The question arises is he morally
responsible for his actions? To my mind he is no more to blame than
a bent tree is responsible for its crookedness. I do not mean that
the conditions could not have been altered and the man made a law-abiding
citizen, but that under the conditions under which he was born,
raised and lived murder was the inevitable result.
“Compare the head of Czolgosz with
that of Rev. DeWitt Talmage and you find the same faculty large
about the ears which caused the latter to say that the assassin
should have had his brains crushed on the spot. Compare the head
of Mr. McKinley with either of the above named and one finds large
benevolence, reason and a comparatively small base of brain. Therefore,
I was not in the least surprised to hear that our noble president
was the only public voice which pleaded for and forgave his enemy
with the Christ-like words, ‘May God forgive him.’ I have examined
the heads of thousands of people, but I never saw a more perfect
moral or intellectual development than in that of President McKinley.”
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