Pathology of Lying [73]
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
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