Reviews : Mercier, Charles. Crime and Insanity. Pp. 255. Price, 75 cents. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1911
| Author | Maurice Parmelee |
| DOI | 10.1177/000271621204300127 |
| Published date | 01 September 1912 |
| Date | 01 September 1912 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
344
sponsive
as
M.
L6vy
would have
us
believe
(pp.
447,
465);
there
was
a
very
widespread
use
of
asset
currency
based
upon
commercial
paper
in
the
United
States
prior
to
1863,
although
M.
L6vy
says
there
is
no
trace
of
such
a
thing
in
the
organization
of
American
banks
up
to
the
present
time
(p.
453);
two
and
one-quarter
per
cent
is
not
the
rate
of
interest
which
banks
must
pay
on
deposits
of
postal
savings
bank
funds,
but
the
minimum
established
by
law
(p.
467).
The
rate
paid
from
the
beginning
has
been
two
and
one-half
per
cent.
The
Second
Bank
of
the
United
States
was
not
established
in
1815,
nor
was
it
ended
by
suspending
payments
in
1837
(p.
521);
the
total
issues
of
greenbacks
were
450
million,
not
400
million
(p.
522);
greenbacks
were
not
made
legally
convert-
ible
in
1875
and
actually
so
before
that
date
(p.
523);
the
act
of
1900
does
not
declare
the
standard
of
value
to
be
a
dollar
of
29.8
grains
of
gold .900
fine
(p.
526)
but
a
dollar
of 25.8
grains;
national
bank
notes
to-day
do
not
constitute
nearly
half
the
total
circulation
(p.
545)
but
more
nearly
one-fifth.
Despite
such
inaccuracies,
the
general
impression
given
by
the
numerous
descriptive
and
critical
chapters
is
sound,
and
the
book
will
prove
a
very
useful
book
of
reference
upon
a
phase
of
modern
banking
which
is
of
great,
although
of
relatively declining,
importance.
E.
W.
KEMMERER.
Cornell
University.
Mercier,
Charles.
Crime
and
Insanity.
Pp.
255.
Price,
75
cents.
New
York:
Henry
Holt
&
Co.,
1911.
Dr.
Mercier,
who
has
written
numerous
books
on
insanity
and
criminal
responsibility,
has
attempted
in
this
little
book
to
discuss
briefly
the
relation
between
crime
and
insanity.
He
discusses
the
main
forms
of
insanity
which
he
thinks
lead
to
crime,
drunkenness,
feeble-mindedness,
epilepsy,
paranoia,
general
paralysis
of
the
insane,
melancholia.
In
treating
these
kinds
of
insanity
he
gives
a
good
many
concrete
illustrations
of
how
insanity
causes
crime.
So
far
the
book
bears
upon
the
subject
and
is
of
more
or
less
value.
But
the
author
also
tries
to
work
out
a
classification
of
crimes
to
which
he
devotes
six
chapters
comprising
more
than
half
the
book.
This
part
of
the
book
has
very
little
to
do
with
insanity
and
the
classification
of
crimes
which
he
evolves
is
very
cumbersome
and
could
be
criticised
in
various
other
ways.
In
the
last
chapter
he
recommends
that
the
question
of
whether
or
not
insanity
has
influenced
conduct
in
criminal
cases
should
be
decided
by
the
jury
which
is
rather
strange
inasmuch
as
the
tendency
of
enlightened
opinion
to-day
is
in
favor
of
putting
these
questions
in
the
hands
of
impartial
experts.
Throughout
the
book
there
is
a
great
deal
of
bad
psychology.
This
is
illustrated
by
the
loose
way
in
which
he
uses
the
word
&dquo;instinct.&dquo;
For
example,
he
defines
what
he
calls
&dquo;the
social
instinct&dquo;
as
being
&dquo;the
inherent
repugnance
to
injure
others
in
order
to
gain
advantage
to
ourselves.
It
is
the
honesty
that
is
preserved
by
an
inherent
repugnance
to
act
dishonestly;
the
desire
to
avoid
injuring
others
in
mind,
body
or
estate;
the
sympathy
that
is
pained
by
injury
done
to
others;
the
instinctive
aversion
to
any
act
that
is
injurious
to
the
social
fabric&dquo;
(p.
235).
It will
be
observed
that
most
of
the
principal
psychological
phenomena
are
con-
fused
in
this
definition.
MAURICE
PARMELEE.
University
of
Missouri.
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