Warren's Toff-Theory

[DVV]

Hi all,

this extract from a French newspaper, "La Presse", 8 October 1888.
An interview with Warren - quite rare, and amazing, as you'll see...

"J'étais à peine entré dans son cabinet, une grande pièce très simple, possédant pour tout meuble trois fauteuils, une petite bibliothèque et une grande table de travail, que sir Charles Warren vint à moi, me donne un shake hand (poignée de main) comme savent en donner les Anglais et engage immédiatement la conversation sur le fait du jour.

- Voyons, monsieur, me dit-il, c'est moi qui le premier vais vous interroger. Pensez-vous que le meurtrier appartienne à une classe inférieure de la société ?

- D'après ce que j'ai lu dans les journaux anglais, je croirais volontiers que vous avez affaire à un meurtrier appartenant à la classe dirigeante, comme vous dites en Angleterre. Ne pensez-vous pas que j'ai raison ?

- Je suis absolument de votre avis ; et mes renseignements personnels me permettent presque de l'affirmer. Voyez-vous, ce quartier de Whitechapel n'est pas seulement habité par une population pauvre. Il y a de tous les mondes dans ce district. Il y a des mendiants, des évêques, des nobles, des membres de la Chambre des Communes et même de la Chambre des Lords.

Ici, sir Charles Warren s'arrête et reprend en riant : "ça pourrait être un évêque...ou un Premier ministre. En réalité, j'ai des raisons de croire que ce doit être quelqu'un qui a appartenu à une excellente famille et qui est aujourd'hui un déclassé."

- Vous avez sans doute, à l'heure actuelle, de sérieux indices, et nous sommes peut-être à la veille d'une arrestation. Et cette arrestation amènera, peut-être, un gros scandale ?...

Sir Charles Warren : "Peut-être...nous sommes actuellement sur plusieurs pistes et je crois que le public pourra bientôt être satisfait de sa curiosité."

Amitiés all,
David

[ChrisGeorge]

Hi David

As I am sure is the case with a number of my colleagues here, I am not proficient enough in French to translate all of this but I wonder if you might be kind enough to supply a translation. Thank you in advance for that courtesy if you are able to do it.

Best regards

Chris George

[DVV]

Hi Chris,

I understand, of course... But have I enough English ? Hmmm...my problem, alas.
Last time, Chris Scott provided us with a perfect translation ("Ripper tour with Henry Moore").
In case nobody would help me in this case, I'll try my best, I promise.
This one is shorter and certainly easier to translate.

Amitiés,
David

[Chris Scott]

"I had barely entered his room - a large but very simple apartment, having as its entire furnishing three armchairs, a small bookcase and a large work desk - when Sir Charles came over to me, shook my hand as the English are accustomed to do, and immediately began conversing about the business of the moment.
"Well, sir," said he, "I am going to question you first. Do you think that the murderer comes from a lower level of society?"
"From what I have read in the English papers, I would undoubtedly think that you have here a case of a murderer belonging to the ruling class of society, as you say in England. Don't you think that I am correct?"
"I am completely of your opinion. And my own private information allows me to practically assert it. You see, the Whitechapel district is not only inhabited by the poor. There are those from all classes in this district. There are beggars and bishops, noblemen, members of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords."
Sir Charles then stopped and continued, smiling: "It could be a bishop - or a Prime Minister. I really have reason to think that it must be someone who came from a good family but who is today an outcast."
"No doubt you now possess some weighty clues and we are maybe on the brink of an arrest. And that arrest may lead to a great scandal..."
Sir Charles Warren: "Perhaps... we are currently following several lines of inquiry and I believe that the public will have its curiosity satisfied."

[DVV]

Many thanks, Mr Scott.

You saved me.

Amitiés,
David

[Phil Carter]

David,

Thank you again for this article... you are correct, it is very revealing! This really is strange...We now have a direction in which Warren pushes us... something which was only "rumoured" to be a possibility at the time I believe.
Infact, I am not aware of Warren making any statements of any great weight at all about the Whitechapel murders to the English press? Perhaps someone could tell me if he had?
And this article is October 8th 1888.

Chris,

Once again, your translation is superb... far better than I could muster.. but I did get the bit about "coming from a good family and now an outcast".


with best wishes

Phil

[ChrisGeorge]

Thank you again, David, and Chris. Curious indeed! One might think that the speculation that the suspect was thought to be of good family might relate to Montague John Druitt although it would seem to be too early for such suspicions about Druitt to be entertained at Scotland Yard in early October 1888, one would think.

Chris

[DVV]

Infact, I am not aware of Warren making any statements of any great weight at all about the Whitechapel murders to the English press?
Phil

Excellent observation, Phil.

Indeed, the journalist goes on saying something like : "I was very pleased, for Charles Warren seldom talks to the press".

And at the end, Warren said : "Please, don't publish that."

Amitiés,
David

[DVV]

As is clear from this article, Warren seemed pretty confident that the murderer would be soon arrested.

The same journalist had an interview with Williamson, which was published on 7 October.
Interestingly, Williamson seemed optimistic too:

"Now, to tell you the truth, I don't think such deeds will occur again."

Amitiés,
David

[Chris]

Quite amazing. Though I suppose we already knew Warren had some strange ideas about the murders - a few days later he wrote that he was inclined to think that they had been done by a secret society [Ultimate Sourcebook, pp. 347, 348]. Maybe there could even be a connection between that belief and the idea that the murderer came from an "excellent family", depending what kind of secret society he had in mind ...

[Tom_Wescott]

Great find, DVV. I wasn't aware that English is your second language. You can't tell it from your posts. And great translating, Chris Scott. I wasn't aware that French was your second language!

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[DVV]

Thank you again, David, and Chris. Curious indeed! One might think that the speculation that the suspect was thought to be of good family might relate to Montague John Druitt although it would seem to be too early for such suspicions about Druitt to be entertained at Scotland Yard in early October 1888, one would think.

Chris

Hi Chris, all,

Warren's words : "I really have reason to think that it must be someone who came from a good family but who is now an outcast"....definitely make us remind of Stephen White's : "He was (...) dressed rather shabbily, though it was obvious that the material of his clothes was good. Evidently a man who had seen better days..."

Hence Warren and Williamson's "optimism", after the double event ?

Amitiés,
David

ps: thanks Tom...kidding much appreciated...

[Tom_Wescott]

Hi Deevs, I wasn't kidding. I see you write in French sometimes, but I just took it for a pretension. I mean, your name is David. Good to know we've got a real Frenchman around. There must be a lot of gems hidden in the papers from France.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[corey123]

Hello all,

This line is interesting.

" I believe that the public will have its curiosity satisfied."-Sir Charels Warren.

Wierd, the public was never satisfied.

I wounder what the "Lines of inquiry" was to? Or rather who were they inquiring about?

Yours truly

[DVV]

Hi Corey,

thanks for your kind words (on the other thread).
Amazing indeed... Their optimism, and THE line of inquiry that Warren refers to, so congruent with White's suspect.
I never put much faith in White's report, but since these words from Williamson and Warren appear just after the double event, I don't know what to think right now...

Amitiés,
David

ps 2: I'm flattered, Tom!