| Publication information |
|
Source: Minneapolis Journal Source type: newspaper Document type: article Document title: “His Face Is Weak” Author(s): anonymous City of publication: Minneapolis, Minnesota Date of publication: 11 September 1901 Volume number: none Issue number: none Pagination: 6 |
| Citation |
| “His Face Is Weak.” Minneapolis Journal 11 Sept. 1901: p. 6. |
| Transcription |
| full text |
| Keywords |
| Leon Czolgosz (physiognomical examination); Alonzo P. Williamson; Alonzo P. Williamson (public statements). |
| Named persons |
| Leon Czolgosz; William McKinley; Alonzo P. Williamson. |
| Document |
His Face Is Weak
Czolgosz’s Pictures Indicate a Man Easily Influenced.
——
OPINION OF DR. A. P. WILLIAMSON
——
The Face Shows No Marked Traces of Degeneracy—Problem a Difficult One.
The face of Czolgosz, President McKinley’s assailant,
according to the opinions of expert criminologists, is weak rather than bad.
It displays no marked traces of degeneracy, but indicates clearly enough that
the man is readily susceptible to outside influences.
Dr. A. P. Williamson, one of the best known alienists
of the northwest, agrees with this estimate of Czolgosz’s character. Dr. Williamson
has made alienism his hobby. For many years he was connected with one of the
state insane asylums, and his library is filled with works on degeneracy and
kindred subjects. Said Dr. Williamson:
“The face of Leon Czolgosz is decidedly weak,
but it exhibits no marked traces of degeneracy. At least, nothing of the kind
is to be noticed in his published photographs. The mouth and chin are very weak.
The lips are a trifle thick, and that is sometimes regarded as a mark of degeneracy.
The head is perhaps too round; the oval head being considered the better type.
The man is undoubtedly easily influenced, and predisposed to follow along the
line of least resistance. He lacks will power. In one of the photographs his
ears seem to be set rather low down on the head. That is considered a bad sign,
but as it is not noticed in the other photographs, it may be simply a trick
of the camera.”
It is, of course, a difficult task to estimate
the character of a man simply from a photograph, unless the subject is a pronounced
type. The color of the eyes and hair, the expression of the eyes, and the actions
of the subject, all of which are lost in the photograph, are invaluable aids
in reaching a correct conclusion in such investigations. However, so far as
the photograph may be utilized, authorities agree that the face of Leon Czolgosz
is weak rather than bad. It is not the face of a typical murderer.
In making his estimate of Czolgosz’s character
Dr. Williamson spoke with three photographs before him, furnished by The Journal.