Pathology of Lying, Etc.

W >> William and Mary Healy >> Pathology of Lying, Etc.

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When we first saw Adolf, although he talked so intelligently, we
asked him to give us some evidence of his educational ability,
and to our tremendous surprise he failed to be able to multiply
simple numbers or even to do addition correctly. There was no
evidence of emotional upset, but we waited for further testing
until we had seen the father, that we might be sure of the school
history. As mentioned above, we found that the boy had entirely
misled us.

We then entered upon a systematic study of the boy's abilities
and found some strange contrasts. Perceptions of form and color
were normal. Given a very simple test which required some
apperceptive ability, he did fairly well. Given simple
``Construction Tests'' which required the planful handling of
concrete material, Adolf proceeded unintelligently. He showed no
foresight, was rather slow, but by following out a trial and
error procedure and with some repetition of irrational placing of
the pieces he finally succeeded. Moderate ability to profit by
trial and error was shown, but for his age the performance on
this type of test was poor. On our ``Puzzle-Box,'' which calls
for the analysis of a concrete situation, a test that is done by
boys of his age nearly always in four minutes or less, Adolf
failed in ten minutes. He began in his typically aggressive
fashion, but kept trying to solve the difficulty by the
repetition of obviously futile movements. On a ``Learning
Test,'' where numerals are associated in meaningless relation
with symbols, Adolf did the work promptly and with much
self-confidence, but made a thoroughly irrational error, inasmuch
as he associated the same numeral with two different symbols--and
did not see his error. His ability to mentally represent and
analyze a simple situation visually presented in our ``Cross Line
Tests'' was very poor. In this he failed to analyze out the
simple parts of a figure which he could well draw from memory.
This seemed significant, for the test is practically always done
correctly by normal individuals, at least on the second trial, by
the time they are 10 or 12 years of age. A simple test for
visual memory of form also brought poor results.

As an extreme contrast to the above results, the tests that had
to do with language were remarkably well done. A visual verbal
memory passage was given with unusual accuracy, also an auditory
verbal passage was rendered almost perfectly. Considering that
the former has 20 items and the latter 12 details, this
performance was exceptionally good. Also, the so-called Antonym
Test, where one is asked to give as quickly as possible the
opposite to a word, the result, considering his foreign
education, was decidedly good. Three out of twenty opposites
were not given, apparently on account of the lack of knowledge.
The average time was 2.3 seconds. If two of the other
time-reactions were left out, which were probably slow from lack
of knowledge, the average time would be 1.6 seconds for 15
opposites. This shows evidence of some good mental control on
the language side. Motor control was fair. He was able to tap
75 of our squares with 2 errors in 30 seconds, just a medium
performance. A letter written on this date contains quite a few
mis-spelled short words: ``My father Send me to This Court for
The troubels I had with my sister,'' etc.

While awaiting trial Adolf, stating that he was desirous of doing
so, was given ample opportunity to study arithmetic. After a few
days he told us unhesitatingly that he now could do long
division, but he utterly failed, and, indeed, made many errors in
a sum in addition. He had acquired part of the multiplication
table.

Study of his range of information brought out some curious
points. He told of some comparative merits of law schools, had
some books on home-taught law, and was a great reader of the
newspapers. In the latter he chiefly perused reports of court
cases. He was quite familiar with the names of various attorneys
and judges. He could give the names in contemporary politics,
and knew about sporting items. His knowledge of the history of
this country was absolutely deficient, but he does not hesitate
to give such statements as the following: ``The Fourth of July
is to remember a great battle between President Lincoln and the
English country.'' Again he makes a bluff to give scientific
items, although he has the shallowest information. When it comes
to athletics, much to our surprise, we hear that our flabby boy
is a champion. Of course, he knows some of the rulers in Europe
and by what route he came to New York, but he informs us that
Paris is the largest country in Europe.

Adolf says he plays a very good game of checkers, that he had
played much, but on trial he shows a very poor game, once moving
backwards. When purposely given chances to take men he did not
perceive the opportunities.

We asked him to analyze out for us a couple of moral situations,
one being about a man who stole to give to a starving family. He
tells us in one way the man did right and in another way wrong.
It never is right to steal, because if caught he would be sent to
the penitentiary and would have to pay more than the things are
worth, and, then, if he was not caught, a thief would never get
along in the world. The other was the story of Indians
surrounding a settlement who asked the captain of a village to
give up a man. Adolf thought if he were a chief he would say to
give battle if the man had done no wrong, but on further
consideration states that he would rather give up one man than
risk the lives of many, and if he were a captain he would surely
rather give this man up than put his own life in it. He thinks
certainly this is the way the question should be answered.

On our ``Aussage'' or Testimony Test Adolf gave volubly many
details, dramatically expressing himself and putting in
interpretations that were not warranted by the picture. Indeed,
he made the characters actually say things. On the other hand,
he did not recall at all one of the three persons present in the
picture. He accepted three out of six suggestions and was quite
willing to fill in imaginary details, besides perverting some of
the facts. This was unusually unreliable testimony.

Our impressions as dictated at this time state that we had to do
with a young man in good general physical condition, of unusually
flabby musculature, who showed a couple of signs that might
possibly be regarded as stigmata of inferiority. Mentally, the
main showing was irregularity of abilities; in some things he was
distinctly subnormal, in others mediocre, but in language ability
he was surprisingly good. No evidence of mental aberration was
discovered. The diagnosis could be made, in short, that the boy
was a subnormal verbalist. His character traits might be
enumerated in part by saying that he was aggressive,
unscrupulous, boastful, ambitious, and a continual and excessive
liar. In the exercise of these he was strikingly lacking in
foresight. This latter characteristic also was shown in his test
work. The abilities in which he was overbalanced gave him
special feelings of the possibility of his being a success and
led him to become a pathological liar. From the family history
the main suggestion of the causation of the mental abnormality is
in illness during developmental life, but neither ante-natal nor
hereditary conditions are quite free from suspicion.

At the time of this first trial Adolf maintained a very smart
attitude and tried to show off. He had succeeded in having two
witnesses subpoenaed in order to prove that he did not hit his
sister, but on the stand it came out that one of them was not
there at all, and the other, who was a little girl, stated that
she saw Adolf hit some one. Just why the boy had these witnesses
brought in was difficult to explain. Perhaps he had the idea
that some one ought to be called in every case, or perhaps he
thought they would be willing to tell an untruth for him. His
statement in court did not agree with what he had told us and was
utterly different from what his sister stated. It came out that
he had struck her on a number of previous occasions. It was
shown clearly that the boy was a tremendous liar. The case was
transferred to the Juvenile Court and from there the boy was sent
away to an institution for a few months. After the trial his
father said in broken English, ``To me he never told the truth.''

Just after his release the family moved to Chicago and Adolf soon
put himself in touch with certain social agencies. He found out
where I was and came to see me, bright, smiling, and well. He
had gained eight pounds during his incarceration. He wanted to
tell all about his life in the institution and because we were
busy said he would come the next day. He did not do this, but a
few months later came running up to me on the street with a
package in his hands, saying he was already at work in a downtown
office and was doing well and going to night school. Five years
more would see him quite through his law course. A few months
after this he applied at a certain agency for work as an
interpreter and there, strangely enough, some one who knew him in
New York recognized him. He, however, denied ever having been in
court and produced a list of twenty or twenty-five places where
he worked and gave them as references. It is to be remembered
that at this time he had already been brought up in court at
least three times, that he had been on probation, and been sent
away to an institution.

During the last four years we have received much information
concerning the career of Adolf, although his activities have
carried him to Milwaukee, Cleveland, St. Louis, and other towns,
in several of which he has been in trouble. He has very
repeatedly been to see us and we have had many opportunities of
gauging his mental as well as his social development.

His family continued to live in one of the most populous suburbs
of Chicago and Adolf maintains that his residence is there, an
important point for his political activities which are mentioned
later.

What we discovered in our further studies of Adolf's mental
condition can be told in short. We have retested him over and
over. (When he has been hard up we have given him money to
induce him to do his very best.) There are no contradictions in
our findings at different times. Once, in another city, in
connection with his appearance in court, Adolf was seen by a
psychiatrist who suggested that he was a case of dementia precox,
but nothing in our long observation of him warrants us in such an
opinion. His mental conditions and qualities seem quite
unchanged in type during all the time we have known him, and
instead of any deterioration there has been gradual betterment in
capacities, certainly along the line of adjustment to
environment. His wonderful ability to get out of trouble is
evidence of these powers of adjustment, as is also, perhaps, his
keen sensing of the utility of the shadier sides of politics and
criminal procedure.

In work with numbers Adolf is still very poor. He is unable to
do long division or multiplication, and cannot add together
simple fractions. Addition he does much better, but even at his
best he makes errors in columns where he has to add five
numerals. He now can do simple subtraction such as is required
in making change, but fails on such a problem as how much change
he should get from $20 after buying goods costing $11.37. His
memory span is only six numerals, and these he cannot get
correctly every time.

After numerous attempts to mentally analyze our simple ``Cross
Line Test,'' with much urging and extreme slowness he finally
succeeded at one time in getting it correctly. As stated above,
this is a test that is done with ease usually by normal
individuals 12 years of age. On our ``Code Test,'' requiring
much the same order of ability, but more effort, he entirely
failed. For one thing, he has never known the order of the
alphabet either in English, German, or French. Our ``Pictorial
Completion Test,'' which gauges simple apperceptive abilities, he
failed to do correctly, making three illogical errors.

The result on the Binet tests are most interesting. From years
of experience with them we ourselves have no faith in their
offering sound criteria for age levels above 10 years. Adolf
goes up through all of the 12-year tests (1911 series) except the
first, where he shows suggestibility in his judgment of the
lengths of lines. In the 15-year tests he fails on the first,
but does the three following ones correctly. Two out of the
adult series are done well--those where the definition of a word
is required and the statement of political ideas. Two or three
of his specific answers are worth noting: ``Honor is when a
person is very honest. It means he will never do what is wrong
even if he can make money by it.'' ``Pleasure is when everything
is pleasant, when you are enjoying yourself.'' Adolf tells us
that the king is head of a monarchy, he has not the power to
veto, and he acquires his position by royal birth. In contrast
to this he says the president is the presiding executive of a
republic, he has the power to veto, and he gains his position by
election. It is perfectly clear in this case, as in many others,
that the Binet tests show very little wherein lies the nature of
a special defect or ability. Adolf's capacity for handling
language has grown steadily. He has been reading law and knows
by heart a great deal of its terminology. In a short
conversation he talks well and is coherent. The aggressiveness
which is ever with him leads him to stick to the point. He has
had very little instruction, his pronunciation is often defective
and he does not know the meaning of many of the longer terms with
which any lawyer should be acquainted. He speaks fluently and
has now long posed, among other things, as an interpreter.

Our final diagnosis after all these mental tests is, that while
he could by no means be called a feebleminded person, still Adolf
is essentially subnormal in many abilities--we still regard him
as a subnormal verbalist. Probably what he lacks in powers of
mental analysis has much relation to the lack of foresight which
he continually shows in his social career. His lying and
swindling have led him almost nowhere except into difficulties.

Adolf has been steadily gaining weight, although he has grown
only an inch and a half in these years. He is stout and
sleek-looking and as flabby as ever. He has not been seriously
ill during this time. Whereas before he used to be untidy in
dress he now gets himself up more carefully.

The following are examples of Adolf's conversation and show many
of his characteristics: (Soon after he came to Chicago we spoke
to him of his progress.)

``The other day I met a fellow and he says, `How long have you
been in this country?' and when I says four years he says,
`You're a liar. There never was a fellow I ever heard of who got
hold of the language and was doing as well as you are in four
years.' '' A few months later he tells us he is selling goods on
commission and descants on how much he can make: ``That's
`Get-rich-quick-Wallingford' for you. There's Mr. A. and
Congressman X., they started out from little beginnings just the
same as me. I'm going along their line.

``Do you know I got sued by the Evening Star for libbel. That's
what I got for testifying in that case. I tell you what I would
like and that's vice investigation work.''

At another time: ``Well, doctor, I am general manager for my
brother's business now. He's got a bottle business. There's
money in that, ain't there? I was down in court to-day. I tell
you, there was a fellow who got what was coming to him. It was a
case before Judge H.--assault and battery. He was fined $10 and
costs--all amounted to about $30. Well, I had a little dog and I
tell you I have a heart for animals just the same as persons. He
kicked the dog and I told him not to do it and he says, `You're a
liar,' and then he ran down stairs and pushed me along the stones
over there. I called the police and they did not come for about
three quarters of an hour.

``I'm studying law. Taking a correspondence course. They give
you an L.L.B. It's a two years work and you get all the volumes
separately,'' etc. ``Then we have a slander suit. A neighbor
called my sister dirty names. I am going to file a $5000 slander
suit. I would not let that man call names like that, and then
he's got about $5000 in property.

``Some people are down on me, but I tell you I have been a leader
of boys. We got the Illinois championship--you know, the boy
scout examinations. There was an examination on leaves. I was
their leader. I had 9 boys up and there were 117 leaves and
every boy knew every leaf. Of course I told them or they would
not have known. Some people are down on me for what I do for the
boys, but I tell you I've been in court and I've made up my mind
I will help other kids. Sometimes kids can be helped by talking
to. Then there is me. I won the boxing championship this
year.'' (At this period I enquire about his prowess and the
recent encounter with the young boy who dragged him over the
stones. With a blush he says he never was any good at real
boxing or real fighting.) ``I'm this kind of a fellow. If they
let me alone I'm all right, but if they start monkeying with me
something is going to happen. When you start a thing don't start
it until you can carry it through. These people that started
with me were not able to do that.''

Later it came out that the alleged fighting with the boy is all
in Adolf's mind. He tells us, without noticing any discrepancy,
that no complaint against this boy, who he said had been already
tried and fined, would be received by the police authorities, nor
will they issue a warrant.

Within the last year or two there has been almost complete
cessation of Adolf's attempt to become a lawyer. At an earlier
time he came to us with a speech written out in a book. He was
going to recite it when a certain case came up in the Municipal
Court. As a matter of fact we heard that the boy said nothing on
the occasion. At various times we have heard of his getting
mixed up in different ways in a number of cases. Once he
succeeded in giving testimony in a notorious trial. His own
account of his interest in the case is shown in the following:

``Doctor, you remember that X. boy and that Y. boy. Judge B. is
going to try them. They are down in the S Station and they are
going to stay there unless they sign a jury waiver and they can't
do that. They are only 15 years old--I got their ages--it cost
me $1 to get their ages and I am going to be there when they are
being tried.'' (The statement of the ages is untrue.) ``It
ain't right to keep these boys down there. They look pale. They
don't give them anything but black coffee. I'm going to
represent them boys. You know, doctor, I'm working in three
places now--holding three jobs. Two days in the week I work for
the A's, two for Mr. B.--he ain't exactly my boss--and then for
myself. The A's pay me $6, Mr. B. pays $3, and then I make $7 or
$8 myself interpreting. I'm saving it up to go to law school.
In three years I graduate. They are going to hold it up against
them boys, their records, and I am going to deny it. It ain't
right. I was talking to the detective that arrested X. and I
says to him, `Look here, you took the knife. What right have
they got to take in one fellow without the little fellow?' I
want to represent this case myself.''

Adolf has worked for law firms and aided at times as an
investigator of criminal and vice situations. Occasionally he
has been much worried about his own court record. He did not
want it to stand against him. He thought he could get his sister
to swear that he never quarreled at home. Shortly afterwards he
served a short sentence for stealing from a law firm. Later he
came in and said he had a job in the legal department of a large
concern and that he had changed his name because he believed his
old name was ruined. ``I'm determined to be a lawyer. Ever
since a little fellow I have wanted to be--ever since I have had
an understanding of what the law means. I used to play court
with the other little ones and talk about law.'' At this time he
wanted a little loan. He had become particularly interested in
philanthropic work and thought he could do something on the side
about that--perhaps become a leader of boys, or help the
unprotected in some way. Adolf was really employed now to
investigate cases by some lawyer. About this time he had been
wearing a badge, impersonating an officer of a certain
philanthropic society.

For long this young man was concocting all sorts of schemes how
he might work in at the edge of legal affairs, as an interpreter,
a ``next friend,'' an investigator, etc. More recent activities
have taken Adolf away from the field of his first ambitions and
he has tried to use his talents in all sorts of adventuresome
ways. The accounts of his lying and impostures belong logically
together, as follows.

During all our acquaintance with Adolf we have known his word to
be absolutely untrustworthy. Many times he has descended upon
his friends with quite unnecessary stories, leading to nothing
but a lowering of their opinion of him. Repeatedly his
concoctions have been without ascertainable purpose. His
prevaricating nearly always centers about himself as some sort of
a hero and represents him to be a particularly good-hearted and
even definitely philanthropic person--one who loves all creatures
and does much for others. Pages might be taken in recounting his
falsehoods. Most of them, even when long drawn out, were fairly
coherent. I remember one instance as showing how particularly
uncalled for his prevarications were. After hearing one of his
tales, we started downtown together, but missed a car. Adolf
walked to the middle of the street and said he could see one
coming just a few blocks away. Being doubtful, I a minute later
went to look and no car even yet was in sight. Adolf sheepishly
stared in a shop window. He never took any pleasure in his
record of misdeeds. He was never boastful about them and indeed
seemed to have quite normal moral feeling. But so far, none of
his perceptions or apperceptions has led him to see the
astonishing futility of his own lying and other
misrepresentations.

Already this young man's court experiences we know to be very
numerous and possibly we are not acquainted with all of them.
Early we knew of his forging letters and telegrams and engaging
in minor misrepresentations which were really swindling
operations. Later his transactions have been spread about in
different cities, as we have already stated. The young man
borrowed small sums frequently on false pretenses. He has found
the outskirts of legal practice a fruitful field for
misrepresentations galore. For instance, at one time he stood
outside the door of a concern which deals with small legal
business and represented to the prospective patrons that he as a
student of the law could transact their business with more
individual care and for a less sum. He really succeeded in
getting hold of the beginnings of a number of legal actions in
this way. In one city he posed as the officer of a certain
protective agency and posted himself where he would be likely to
meet people who knew of this organization, in order to obtain
petty business from them. We have heard that he has been a
witness in a number of legal cases and has earned fees thereby.
In Cleveland Adolf succeeded in starting a secret service agency
and obtained contracts, among them the detective work for a newly
started store of considerable size. This was a great tribute to
his push and energy, but his agency soon failed. In St. Louis,
where he stayed long enough to become acquainted with not a few
members of the legal fraternity, he forged a legal document. A
great deal was made of the case by the papers because of its
flagrancy and amusing details. It seems Adolf had become
enamored of a certain woman who was not living with her husband.
The account runs that he urged his suit, but she refused because
she was not legally free. Adolf replied that he would make that
all right and in a week or two produced papers of divorce. These
were made out in legal form, but it seems that he over-stepped
the mark. The alleged decree stated that the fair divorcee must
be remarried inside of a week. This seems to have aroused her
suspicion, as had also some violence which Adolf had prematurely
displayed. The young man was duly sentenced for the fraud.

Concerning punishments we can say that in the five years since he
left New York he has served at least four terms in penal
institutions and has been held to trial on one other occasion.
This latter event concerned itself with Adolf's impersonating a
federal officer. He made his way into a home under these
conditions, just why we do not know. The case was difficult to
adjust and was dismissed because no statute exactly covered it.

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