Anderson in NY Times, March 20, 1910

[DVV]

But even Ostrog's part of the memorandum is not entirely without merit.

That's a most elegant way to express how rubbish it is.
Agreed!

Amitiés,
David

[jason_c]

Hi Jason,

you must be kidding.
Just have a look at the Ostrogish part of the same document...
How accurate would you find it ?

Amitiés,
David

From what we know of Ostrog its not very accurate according to his criminal record at least. But even Ostrog's part of the memorandum is not entirely without merit. This may further change in future if we ever find more information on him.

You asked why Kosminski was put forward as being a suspect. MM gave his reasoning, its there in black & white. Theres no need for anyone to believe MacNaghten, but it was the basis for police suspicions against him.

[Simon Wood]

Hi Stephen,

Although during the LVP there had to be more than one Polish Jew in London, I'm certain that when Anderson was writing TLSOMOL he referenced the innocent Kosminski from the MM.

As I wrote in my article, Anderson may have been a lot of things but he most definitely wasn't stupid. He probably didn't name his Polish Jew because, as unlikely as it may have been, Kosminski could have sued him for libel. And based on Leopold Greenberg's reaction to Anderson's "wicked assertion" I'm willing to bet that the Jewish community would have stepped up to help him bring an action.

Happy New Year.

Simon

[Stephen Thomas]

Things get confused.

What has to be remembered is..............

Anderson does not give the name of the person he said did it.

[DVV]

Wether we believe the above, it is the arguement against Kosminski handed down to us.

And any desperate tinkering to show Anderson and MacNaghten walking on water would benefit from these two agreeing with each other in the first place.

Hi Jason,

you must be kidding.
Just have a look at the Ostrogish part of the same document...
How accurate would you find it ?

Amitiés,
David

[jason_c]

Hi All,

In the complete absence of any evidence to show that Aaron Kosminski was Jack the Ripper, what does it matter to us whether the poor man was a drooling vegetable or Brain of Britain? He was what he was, and we can get a pretty good idea about that from his extant case notes. No amount of argument about the many and varied manifestations of schizophrenic behaviour is going to make him any less innocent.

If we are truly concerned about such matters, then Aaron Kosminski deserves better from us than the current lynch mob mentality which seems intent on protecting the reputations of two top cops at the exorbitant expense of condemning an innocent man to eternal damnation.

Better to spend our time asking why Macnaghten originally chose to put Kosminski in the frame for the Whitechapel murders, why it took seven years for Anderson to first advance his nameless homicidal maniac committed to an asylum theory, and why someone so desperately wanted Macnaghten and Anderson to be seen walking on water that they were willing to tinker with Swanson's marginalia.

A very happy and prosperous New Year to you all.

Simon

No need to spend our time doing that, we already have the answer.

"Kosminski -- a Polish Jew -- & resident in Whitechapel. This man became insane owing to many years indulgence in solitary vices. He had a great hatred of women, specially of the prostitute class, & had strong homicidal tendencies: he was removed to a lunatic asylum about March 1889. There were many circumstances connected with this man which made him a strong 'suspect'."

Wether we believe the above, it is the arguement against Kosminski handed down to us.

And any desperate tinkering to show Anderson and MacNaghten walking on water would benefit from these two agreeing with each other in the first place.

[Stephen Thomas]

Basically any Jew would have done, but one with a name was better.

Except that Anderson doesn't give a name. Kos(z)minski's name is only mentioned in Macnaghton's dodgy dossier and in an addition to Swanson's notes in Anderson's book. What's to have stopped the authorities banging a Jewish JTR in the local 'looney bin' under the name Tommy Atkins or whatever?

[Cap'n Jack]

You little tinker, Simon!
Good post.
Basically any Jew would have done, but one with a name was better.

Hi All,

In the complete absence of any evidence to show that Aaron Kosminski was Jack the Ripper, what does it matter to us whether the poor man was a drooling vegetable or Brain of Britain? He was what he was, and we can get a pretty good idea about that from his extant case notes. No amount of argument about the many and varied manifestations of schizophrenic behaviour is going to make him any less innocent.

If we are truly concerned about such matters, then Aaron Kosminski deserves better from us than the current lynch mob mentality which seems intent on protecting the reputations of two top cops at the exorbitant expense of condemning an innocent man to eternal damnation.

Better to spend our time asking why Macnaghten originally chose to put Kosminski in the frame for the Whitechapel murders, why it took seven years for Anderson to first advance his nameless homicidal maniac committed to an asylum theory, and why someone so desperately wanted Macnaghten and Anderson to be seen walking on water that they were willing to tinker with Swanson's marginalia.

A very happy and prosperous New Year to you all.

Simon

I think that youre spot on Simon....what we need is to have a horse that can pull a cart, not a cart that must pull the horse. Reasons for the comments seem non existent....maybe that was the formal Ripper Suspect policy....make sure you suggest someone with no discernible connection with any of the Canonicals.

Hope you had a great Xmas mate.

[Simon Wood]

Hi All,

In the complete absence of any evidence to show that Aaron Kosminski was Jack the Ripper, what does it matter to us whether the poor man was a drooling vegetable or Brain of Britain? He was what he was, and we can get a pretty good idea about that from his extant case notes. No amount of argument about the many and varied manifestations of schizophrenic behaviour is going to make him any less innocent.

If we are truly concerned about such matters, then Aaron Kosminski deserves better from us than the current lynch mob mentality which seems intent on protecting the reputations of two top cops at the exorbitant expense of condemning an innocent man to eternal damnation.

Better to spend our time asking why Macnaghten originally chose to put Kosminski in the frame for the Whitechapel murders, why it took seven years for Anderson to first advance his nameless homicidal maniac committed to an asylum theory, and why someone so desperately wanted Macnaghten and Anderson to be seen walking on water that they were willing to tinker with Swanson's marginalia.

A very happy and prosperous New Year to you all.

Simon

To Pirate, no offense taken at all and thanks for expanding on what you meant. I would agree that he seems to have been ill but far from the drooling feeb many think of him.

My best regards mate, and return wishes for a great Holiday for you and yours.

Best regards

[DVV]

Exactly, Chris,

...
1894: Macnaghten memo.
1895: First mention of an Anderson theory.

Amitiés,
David

[Chris]

I really don't understand all this stuff about Anderson's THEORY which I've been seeing for years. Anderson is not saying that such and such MIGHT have happened, he is saying they DID happen. He is offering up a STATEMENT OF FACT. Maybe he was telling the truth and maybe he was lying but either way he was not theorising.

But it's worth bearing in mind that as late as 1895 - four years after Aaron Kozminski was committed to Colney Hatch - Arthur Griffiths was describing Anderson's opinion in these terms:
He has himself a perfectly plausible theory that Jack the Ripper was a homicidal maniac, temporarily at large, whose hideous career was cut short by committal to an asylum.

http://www.casebook.org/dissertations/dst-spe.html

[DVV]

Hi Stephen,

Yes, he's offered a "statement of fact", but also said he had already formed his theory, clever as he was... and this theory proved to be correct when suspicions fell on a certain Polish Jew.

Amitiés, meilleurs voeux,
David

[Stephen Thomas]

I really don't understand all this stuff about Anderson's THEORY which I've been seeing for years. Anderson is not saying that such and such MIGHT have happened, he is saying they DID happen. He is offering up a STATEMENT OF FACT. Maybe he was telling the truth and maybe he was lying but either way he was not theorising.