Ripperologist #63

[Howard Brown]

Discussion of the latest 88 paged Rip can be held here....

[Eduardo]

Well, How, looks like you'll have to kick it off...

[Howard Brown]

Dear EZ:

I will read it tomorrow night and offer up my observations.

I am really interested in the Szemeredy article....to think that a Hungarian could be linked to these crimes...oy !

It looks terrific as usual....and also to be read with earnest is the article by Dave O,John Sav,and Robert Chazz...all this tomorrow night.

Man,its good to see Chris Scott back in action.;)

[Howard Brown]

Already sent in to The Rip....

A few words in appreciation for the efforts made in making this issue of Ripperologist. The content is exceptional as well.....

Right off the bat,the article [ or perhaps book ] by the trio of Robert Linford,John Savage and David O’Flaherty is a trove of information on the coronial [ coroner] system in Great Britain which augments the previous work done by Adam Wood on Wynne Baxter [ issue 61,September ] and offers insight to the position of coroner in Britain,a position often looked upon in the past with disdain. There is more to come from the trio regarding the Druitt inquest, the depositions from Dr.Diplock having been lost, in a future issue, as well as other utile information..
Most of us are familiar with the "El Dorado" reference in the foreward from Mr.Sugden’s book,The Complete History of JTR,which describe how we Ripperologists set out to hunt for the Ripper and often wind up in "desolate plains".

I dissent from a lot of fellow Ripperologists in my view that the study of what is seen as "peripheral" to the crimes themselves [ i.e.,work on fish and chips...costermongers...daily police routine...and now the encyclopedic study of coroners in Britain ] is less than germane to the overall study/history of the Whitechapel Murders.

In a "quick fix" society, often times we unintentionally develope a sense of entitlement, a mindset that dictates that every article on Ripperological matters should or must be devoted to "a crime", "a suspect", "a victim" or an aspect that is specifically "murder" related.

We would do well to remember Sugden’s words about the trek through the jungles. These three men have established a grundlagen for future reference on how coroners operate and saved you and I the drudgery of swinging that swath in the future by their own hard and praiseworthy work in this aspect of historically valuable data.

Mr.Carman Cumming’s article on Tumblety is well worth perusing.

The gist of his article deals with the less than believeable pronouncements of Sandford Conover, who is the source of the uteri jars ostensibly owned by the alleged misogynist Tumbelty.

The I Beg To Report section had a few reports that "begged" interest this month.

In particular,the horrific total of missing prostitutes in Edmonton,Alberta.. 83 women have been either reported missing or dead [ undoubtedly more of the former ] in the Western Canadian city over the last few years...Has anyone heard of this before? Fortunately for the street working girls, the RCMP has launched a project known as KARE,devoted to sharing information between the various police agencies. Unfortunately for the citizenry and dedicated police personnel of Edmonton, this probably won’t prevent women from plying their trades on the streets.....

Jose Scarsi offers an article on Alois Szemeredy which states that the eventual suicide by this contemporaneous suspect was not his first attempt. Twice before, the Austro/Hungarian had tried it only to be thwarted in his attempts.

Messrs. Wood and Zinna are better qualified to discuss Szemeredy than I ,so in closing the article was interesting for its revelations on the thefts by this man of mystery.

Adam Wood’s story on the history of East End "fast food", the import of Portugese marranos [ marrano indicating a Jew who concealed his or her religious affiliation due to a sense of impending persecution..] of fish and chips had my mouth watering and eyes working overtime. What a terrific view into this profession/business which at one time [ 1910] had 25,000 shops in Britain !!

My fellow Manchester United devotee included Israel Zangwill’s "Children of the Ghetto" [1892] coverage of fried fish. Zangwill,as some may not know,was the author of the term,The Melting Pot. Whats interesting in Adam’s great article,is that often times the primary way one immigrant group will gain acceptance in a host nation isfrom and through their staple foods. In America,for instance, the Italian-Americans had a rough go in the 19th Century in many areas. However,their food is synonomous with their successes in the States. Likewise,the Hispanic communties of the Caribbean [especially Cuban barbecue and Puerto Rican foods ] are well recieved ambassadors of their cultures. Pasta and pasteles are a staple at this reviewers hacienda.

No one will give me an award,but my thumb deserves one for voting several hundred times on the BBC site that still has JTR as the "Worst Briton". Eduardo Zinna covers this contest in depth and it’s a worthwhile read. The BBC History Magazine ran a contest in which our favorite subject won over numerous other "bad Brits" in the magazine’s contest. While JTR was most certainly NOT the "worst Brit", his ranking does indicate the influence of the crimes on Great Britain’s conscience.

Its to our collective benefit that the Great Scott....my friend Chris Scott....is back in the swing of things. In this latest " News Trawl", one of the stories discusses the Billingsgate Fish Market [ it ties in with Mr.Wood’s delicious...I mean...excellent article on fish and chips ]. These fish porters had a helluva job. Often hauling 300 to 400 pounds of fish around on their backs....they were well respected [ in contrast to the coroners of the Linford/Savage/O’Flaherty article ] for their feats and importance.

Another story Chris fished out was the one on the Connecticut man who,after reading about the latest adventures of JTR,decided to kill his wife with a hatchet.

Mr.Wilf Gregg deserves credit for his now-monthly ascertations of current crime and Ripper related books. It’s a basically thankless job,but Mr.Gregg should be praised for taking the time to offer his insights into the books HE took the time to peruse.

Least,but not last,is the new column by my friend "Monty".
Monty,like a KGB agent,will now scour the Internet for sites that interest him and are Ripper based Being an idiot,I told him that he was voted "worst Brit" on our site before realizing the editors of Ripperologist were so hard up for a columnist,that they had to go to the hinterlands of Leicestershire and use Monty.....Just let us know when you plan to check our site out Monty. I’ll make sure we put up new curtains and sweep the carpets.


In all seriousness,Monty [Neil Bell to you ] did an excellent job on his first assignment. He covered the Casebook and The Met Police Crime Museum sites. He done good ,that Monty.

Last on the list is the "Last Word" by Mr.DiGraiza.
Mr. DiGrazia discusses the death of Thomas Ince in 1922 aboard the Oneida,a yacht owned by William Randolph Hearst,the subject of the great film,Citizen Kane and how Hearst may have been the murderer of Ince,whose body was quickly cremated after his demise. Cremation would be the best way to avoid exhumation....especially for the benefit of a publishing giant like Hearst. Hearst may actually,as rumor stated, have been trying to kill British citizen Charlie Chaplin,whose amorous ways cost him more than once in his life.

Mr.Digrazia ties in the WM press and the power of a man like Hearst [ Joe Pulitzer,the Hungarian Jew publisher and prize giver being another ]and how the media can extend the life of a story. A very nice tie-in by Mr.Digrazia.

Great issue gentlemen....and great efforts much appreciated.
Sincerely,
Howard Brown

[Joe Chetcuti]

You're a natural with this critiquing stuff, Howard !!

All the writers in this issue worked hard and dug deep into their research. Eduardo's translation of the Szemeredy story deserves a big thumbs up. Language translation can be a tricky thing, yet Eduardo was right on top of this one.

I'm glad Mr. Cummings shared his info. Conover was the man who said that Tumblety sent anonymous messages to Washington DC falsely claiming that Luke Blackburn and himself were one in the same. Conover declared that Tumblety was solely doing all of this for the sake of notoriety.

Some people dismiss Tumblety as a Whitechapel suspect because they feel that the quack was once again at it in 1888. Dropping hints to the press & police that he is involved in these killings, and doing so for the sole purpose of self-publicity. On Dec 2, 1888 Conover's words appeared in the NY World as the La Bretagne was steaming into Manhattan. If there ever was a moment to once again establish the notion that Tumblety was just "publicity-seeking" during this Whitechapel matter, now was the chance. And the man who originated this whole concept was doing the talking. You would think Conover would have used this opportunity to really drive the last nail in the coffin and solidify the impression that we're all just dealing with a notoriety-seeking trickster.

But look what happened. Conover pretty much said, "No. Tumblety isn't screwing around this time. I'd look into this man as being the killer."


And in another matter... cheer on the Mastiff to win the "working group" competition tonight in the Westminster Kennel Dog Show. Myself and 23 other people threw $10 each into the pot and we each drew a dog. It's winner take all. Howard, you should be rooting on the Hungarian dog called the Komondor. Get a look at that thing tonight at 8pm on the USA Network. It looks just like Cousin Itt from the Addams Family.

[Howard Brown]

Thanks Joltin' Joe...:)

"Howard, you should be cheering on the Hungarian dog called the Komondor. Get a look at that thing tonight at 8pm on the USA Network. It looks just like Cousin Itt from the Addams Family"

I've got news,Big Joe...that dog is better looking than Hungarian people ! If it doesn't win at MSG, they oughta enter it in the Miss Hungary pageant...a contest I came in third in once.;)

Good to see you post again Joe. Hoping all is well over there for you and yours.

[Joe Chetcuti]

It's funny, the reason why I have time today is that I'm in the waiting room of a medical center that has internet access. We used to read magazines in the waiting rooms in the old days, now today we get to go online and watch our stocks drop while we wait.