Warden William Watson, of the Schuylkill county prison, reported that Albert Shinsky believed that the murder of Mrs. Mummey, a "witch," was justified in the Bible. Warden Watson was quoted in the Phila. "Inquirer," of March 26, 1934, as follows:

"He told me," said the Warden, "that there are numerous instances in the Scriptures where the sacrifice of human life has been declared necessary. He cited the Old Testament tale of how Abraham was about to kill his son Isaac on the altar as showing the necessity for taking human life to placate spiritual curses or spells.

"He told me that all the New Testament writers clearly believed in the power of demons and that the devil is a real personage, and not merely an evil influence as modern theologists have it.

"The Bible represents the devil as a fallen angel, who goes about whispering and suggesting evil acts. If you will read closely you will find that Hell was made for the torment of the devil, and not human beings, as a way of escape from that place has been provided for all of us."

An eminent psychiatrist, Dr. A. I. Baron, of Philadelphia, who examined Shinsky in jail, reports that

"When I left his cell after an exhaustive research as far back as his earliest memories, I knew that I had been talking to an adolescent boy of the most primitive development. I had been talking with a mental and emotional infant.

"If the State demands the death penalty for Schuylkill county's 'hex' slayer, society will be seeking revenge upon a 13-year-old savage."

Dr. Barton reported that Shinsky, although 23 years old, "has actually been five different people, each personally at war with the other four;" that he was "in medical phraseology--an emotional, imaginative extrovert with schizophrenic reactions."

If psychiatrists were called in to examine 100, or 1000 adults, taken from the streets at random, we wonder how many of that number would have large traces of the same "disease" attributed to Shinsky. Surely the "things" he bred in his mind can be found in the minds of all too many others.

It is probably true, as pointed out elsewhere in this account, that "religion and superstition walk hand in hand;" that children learn about "this and that," but cannot, when they reach adulthood, separate their thoughts from those learned as a child. The general effects of this inability to forget surely has taken a terrible toll in the history of man.

Yet, on the other hand, if we could forget as easily as would be necessary to get rid of witches, we would as likely forget to whom we are married, whose kids belong to who, and certainly where we live!

Whether Mrs. Mummey was a witch, or not, we'll never know--and the authorities sent Albert to a place for men with "weak minds."

The Late Clarence Darrow, Esq., Was Interested in the York "Witch" Case

The late Clarence G. Darrow, eminent lawyer and scholar, is quoted in reference to the York witchcraft case, at the sentencing of 14-year-old John Curry, to "life in prison."

"Outrage," is the one word expressed by Darrow, who then queried: "Do you think the State of Pennsylvania will stand for it? . . . It seems a terrible outrage." Yes, the State did stand for it, although, after something like ten years Curry was released from the penitentiary.

While many persons did not like all of Darrow's opinions, nevertheless he was a deep thinker, and we record here his opinions regarding the York case, as reported in the Harrisburg "Patriot," Feb. 21, 1929:

"Belief in witchcraft cannot, in itself, be thought a crime. If it is there would be but few of us really innocent. Not so many years ago our best people and devout Christians not only believed in witches but guaranteed their celestial happiness by murdering them.

"We placidly admit that there are sections of our country where people are isolated by their own customs and thought, or by geography, and live quaintly a century and a half behind our little more enlightened communities. But we forget that a mere century and a half takes us almost back to Cotton Mather and the stake. Then witches were hanged for the glory of God and for the peace of mind of those who thought they had been or might be bewitched. There are today groups of people who have advanced but little in mentality beyond the ignorant frenzy that glorified in hangings.

"Even today a literal interpretation of the Bible would force us to believe in witchcraft and sorcery. And those simple folk of which that Curry boy is a product hold strictly to the Word just as they find it. To them the Witch of Endor is very real. The devil is real. Spells are real. In their world, furnished by traditions, myths and Old World lore, handed down unchanged from one generation to another, there are evil spirits as certain as a flying railroad train bearing down on a motorist stalled on the tracks.

"Is there any doubt that Curry and those others believed that Rehmeyer had an evil power which he could exercise at will? Is there any doubt that they thought a lock of his hair would break the spell? Nothing new in that belief, nothing unusual. Reach into your own pocket for your own personal protector against bad luck.

"Our belief in capital punishment as a deterrent is just another form of witchcraft. Apart from the mass desire for revenge, there is a subconscious desire to rid ourselves of what we believe to be an evil person. We look in vain for any proof that executions have had any effect on crime. When England punished by death everything from bread and sheep stealing to wholesale killing, crime was far more general than it is today. Education and the training of youth in trades and profession has diminished crime, never the death penalty.

"Isn't there every reason to believe that the crime of murder is a symptom. In the York case it was clearly a symptom of a prevailing ignorance, a condition which should never be allowed to exist in the State of Pennsylvania. . . ."

No Witches--No Angels.--The reader must reach this conclusion in his own reasoning--we are not intent on persuading you to believe something you do not want to believe; persuasions are not made that way. If we do not have witches, as some would tell us, then we cannot have angels, according to those others who feel they do some thinking, too. Denying the one, and not excluding the other, makes a man's everyday reasoning look silly, does it not?

When we compare notes with men of the cloth, as to the possibility of there being witches in the world, and here at home, they usually greet the comment with a rather blank expression, but no rebuttal.

Yet, it just must be true that we do have witches and "witchcraft" in Pennsylvania--in and out of religious circles--for we have great faith and belief in the presence and power of angels--not only those that hovered over the hills of Judea, but also the red and blue hills of our beloved Pennsylvania!

To accept belief in one element and not in the other would tend to destroy the joys of many holidays fostered by the Christian church.

State to Banish Belief in Witches.--One of the most interesting news items we have seen in two score years, appeared in one of the Harrisburg papers a few years ago. lt was inspired in one of the highest state departments, but got out of the department, into the papers, without the head-man knowing anything about it (so he said). This is the item; read it thoroughly:

Harrisburg (during the Earle Administration).--State educators declared here yesterday that hexerei, terror of numerous rural farm communities for many years, is being banished from Pennsylvania by the public schools.

School authorities explained that instruction in the sciences, even in the lower grades, has proved the most effective weapon against the superstition.

They said that "hex" symbols calculated to cause illness in a farrn-house or disease of cattle still may be seen on farms and houses, but that the younger rural folk spurn beliefs that frightened their kin only a few years back.

Court records show the "hex" responsible for many crimes, including murder and arson, during the past 50 years.

Many items of news get into the papers--all types of stories--but it is noteworthy to record that some one had in mind becoming a new Savior of the human race!

How in the world are the school authorities going to do all this? Do they think that children will remember only what they learn in school, and forget all they learn at home, in the Sunday-school, church, in the theatres, AND on the streets?

Will the schools teach a new truth--that "all is good"--"nothing is evil?"--and won't the kids forget? With teachers who are recruited from every type of religion, some anti-religious, and some too religious, what impress will that make on the student, as against "science?"

Will the public school system evolve a new plan of study that will prove the stories in the Bible to be something different than children have been led to believe--for years?

And, what will the new studies have to say on the subject of, let us say: "holy-water," as used by the Catholics in their devotions; or, even plain water, as used by the Protestants in their baptism ceremonies?

If the schools must support this phase of religion and its symbolism, will they declare that water for baptisms, or holy-water, are efficacious when used in a religious sense, and not be of effect when used by "witch doctors" either at home, or abroad?

Science already agrees that there is no value to either of these waters, or services, but if it is forced down the throats of youngsters in school, it will upset the plans of the church fathers of all creeds! The latter claim that holy-water, accompanied by "prayers," has a special virtue that beats anything science has yet produced! Can school-learning overcome this belief?

The science which the school authorities are teaching is a poor science that says "hex" slayings and practices, are so much more vicious and devastating in Pennsylvania, than "sex" slayings and their many practices; so much more degrading and superstitious than the thousand and one promises delivered from a hundred thousand platforms in America and throughout the world, which never come true; and worse than the countless self-abuses of which they say little or nothing--and certainly not in the public press.

The State and school authorities flounder in their own mire when they fail to recognize that many of our superstitions are condoned and taught within church and school, and which, per se, makes them "perfect" (or "white art"); but when practised outside church or school, makes them "black art."

Let us talk about "hallowe'en," the season when witches, vampire bats, black cats, and fantastics with their false-faces and hideous make-up, are abroad in all America. Where, if you please, do we see greater evidences of a survival of the idea of "witches" than in the grade schools of America?