druitt getting the sack

[Jonathan H]

To Lynn

That's exactly what Scotland Yard did do. They did take credit for solving the mystery, and long before the retirement of its top cops.

Anderson did this to Griffiths in 1895.

Macnaghten, anonymously, to Griffiths in 1898, and then to Sims from 1899 to 1917.

In his own words under his own name in 1913, as he retried, and in 1914 from retirement.

As an aside: Anderson believed that his Ripper was deceased and that he was believed by his own people to be the fiend, and so did Mac--but only the latter's actually was dead and actually had a family who believed in his culpability (according to the meager extant record).

[lynn cates]

front door

Hello Jonathan. Thanks.

Of course, I meant a front door approach.

Cheers.
LC

[Jonathan H]

'Front door approach'?

What does that mean ...?

You don't mean naming a person do you? (perhaps you don;'t)

Naming a person who could not enjoy the protection of due process, as they are deceased (Anderson thought his suspect was dead too?

A dead Ripper who had living, respectable relatives, in the case of Druitt (and 'Kosminski') who would be socially ruined, if not worse in the case of the Jewish family.

It had to the side door approach. eg. We will tell you some things but not enough to find them.

That so-called 'Ripperology' does not grasp this essential aspect is the reason for much grief.

[Hunter]

'Ripperology' doesn't grasp anything beyond what the individual 'ripperologist' believes.

[Jonathan H]

No, no, no it's nothing like that flexible, not as a group.

Individual reseacrhers disagree, but there is a general consensus among the 'community' that Druitt cannot be the Ripper because 1) there is no evidence against him, and 2) Macnaghten knew less than we do about him, and 3) Druitt's various vocational and athletic commitments preclude him from having the opportunity to be at the scene of the crimes.

The most extreme version of this 'school of thought' is that Druitt was never suspected by his own family at all, was sacked for being gay and, in variations of this interpretation, Macnaghten meant homosexual when he wrote 'sexual mania'.

Take a look at this clear-eyed understanding of Mac's memoirs before the before 60 years of Ripperological derailment:

‘The Mirror’ (W.A.) Oct 13th 1951

THE TRUTH ABOUT JACK THE RIPPER

As Told To 'The Mirror' by Ex-C.LB. Inspector HARRY MANN

'... Here again I refer to Sir Melville MacNaghten [sic], Scotland Yard chief. In Sir Melville's opinion the man's brain finally collapsed and he brought about his own destruction. He does not say why that opinion was held, but there is a hint that maybe the Yard held a little more information in the end than has ever been released.

Anyhow, this is Sir Melville's final summing up: 'I Incline to the belief that the Individual who held London in terror resided with his own people; that he absented himself from his home at certain times and that he committed suicide on or about November 10, 1888.'

His final murder was committed on November 9. Maybe the police found out after his death who he was; maybe he came of a respectable family, and after his violent end no good purpose would have been served and a lot of suffering on innocent people would have been inflicted by disclosing his identity. That dreadful secret is, I think, buried forever in a suicide's grave.'


That's more perceptive than anything in, for example, Sudgen whose chapter on Druitt is beautifully expressed and yet hopelessly flawed (and error riddled) because he was not able to free his thinking from the Ripperological consensus, nor did he have access--why not?--to the 'West of England' MP article.

[pinkmoon]

If druitts brother had a suicide note in his possession surely the coroner would want to see this after all the suicide note would be a massive piece of evidence in an inquest surely it would be retained as evidence

[Cogidubnus]

Hi Jonathon

I know how much deviousness (is that a word?) you attribute to Mac, and I'm sure he's as capable of misinformation as the rest of us, but have to say that for me he doesn't quite hit the gold:-

I Incline to the belief that the Individual who held London in terror resided with his own people

We know that Druitt didn't

Maybe the police found out after his death who he was; maybe he came of a respectable family, and after his violent end no good purpose would have been served and a lot of suffering on innocent people would have been inflicted by disclosing his identity.

Too many maybes for my liking...sounds like posturing

Just my gut feel

All the best

Dave

[Chris Scott]

If druitts brother had a suicide note in his possession surely the coroner would want to see this after all the suicide note would be a massive piece of evidence in an inquest surely it would be retained as evidence

The Acton Gazette account of the inquest says that the suicide note was produced at the inquest and read, at least by the Coroner, if not out loud:-
"Witness had deceased's things searched where he resided, and found a paper addressed to him (produced). — The Coroner read the letter, which was to this effect:-"Since Friday I felt I was going to be like mother, and the best thing was for me to die."

[pinkmoon]

It wouldn't have been hard for a single man to doss down in Whitechapel when he wanted to he would have just been another face among lots of faces I don't think the people who ran these common lodging homes were really that botherd what there guests were up to as long as they could pay for their stay.A lot of people in Whitechapel at that time of day were up to no good opium,vice straight and gay amongst other things.my father and his two sisters who were born in Shoreditch in late 1920s always said that Whitechapel was the pits and to be avoided at all costs because of what went on there to be avoided at all costs at night time unless you wanted to be up to no good

[Chris Scott]

We will never know the full details of one crucial piece of information in this puzzle, namely the full content of Macnaghten's "private info." On his retirement Mac was interviewed and stated that he would never divulge the identity of the killer and that he had destroyed all papers he had relevant to that identification. This would suggest to me the possibility that the "private info" was in Macnaghten's private possession and not on the police files.

[pinkmoon]

Would the suicide note have to kept for a length of time as evidence?

[Limehouse]

In my opinion great caution must be exercised in this field in that the references to Druitt's leaving the school are fragmented and come from press reports of the inquest. The two assertiosn are these
1) Druitt's brother William Harvey is reported as follows:
"Witness then went to London to make inquiries, and at Blackheath he found that deceased had got into serious trouble at the school, and had been dismissed." But let us not forget that this is the same brother who we know was reported to have told an untruth at the inquest in that he asserted that Montague had no other family apart from himself, William.
2) The issue of a suicide note or notes is contradictory. Some accounts mention only a letter found which was addressed to William Druitt - this was the one which was quoted as alluding to "being like mother." But other reports on the inquest make mention of a letter written to Valentine at the school and that this mentioned suicide. Some reports make the distinct point that these were two distinct and different documents - "The deceased had left a letter, addressed to Mr. Valentine, of the school, in which he alluded to suicide. A paper had also been found upon which the deceased had written, "Since Friday, I have felt as if I was going to be like mother."
IF William Druitt's account is correct in asserting that his brother had been dismissed for serous trouble at the school there is no evidence whatever as to what this may have been and to suggest, as is often the case, that this resulted from sexual impropriety with his pupils, says more about modern sensibilities and priorities than any sustainable indication.If Druitt got into serous trouble there are any number of possibilities - financial irregularity, poor job performance, sexual misconduct with a female servant, irrational behaviour consequent upon incipient mental illness, drunkenness and so on. We know NOTHING about any of those and none is more or less likely than any of the others.

Excellent post. I agree 100%. Furthermore, how reliable is the 'private information' when Mcnaughten did not even get basic details about Druitt's life correct - such as his age and his occupation? How do we know he didn't confuse Druitt with someone else entirely?

[lynn cates]

Met

Hello Jonathan. Thanks.

I mean a straightforward, "Here's what happened. [Details.] See? We are doing our job."

I don't think the Met was/is perfect, but I would need a reason to buy into deception on their behalf.

Cheers.
LC

[lynn cates]

emendation

Hello (again) Jonathan.

To emend, slightly, your post #35, I would NEVER claim Druitt CANNOT be "The Ripper." Rather, given the dearth of evidence, I must withhold judgment.

Cheers.
LC

[lynn cates]

evidence

Hello Jason.

"[T]he suicide note would be a massive piece of evidence in an inquest surely it would be retained as evidence[?]"

Very well. Evidence of what?

Cheers.
LC