The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922, October 25, 1901, Image 6

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    HOW CZtOLGOSZ, WILL DIE. M
the World
People and
Tho method to be employed In tho
legal cxciutlon of Assassin Czolgosz Is
thoroughly In keeping with the prog
ress of tho centuries. Ho Is to dlo by
tho latest and mcst approved form of
capital punishment, electrocution.
Whllo tho manner of his taking off Is
perhaps, a minor incident compared
with tho major fact that ho Is to pay
tho penalty of his llfo for his c:Ime, It
a commentary on tho advancement
f tho world that an assaBsln guilty of
tho most heinous offense Is to bo exe
cuted, not as In tho old days by a
more barbarous and painful death than
that meted out to other murderers, but
in tho most humano method approved
by tho laws of tho stato in which ho
was convicted. TImu was when tho
under the new conditions nnd with re
sults which moro than verlfl'd all tho
claims of tho physicians. Autopsies
wcro hold on the bodies of tho first
criminals executed In order that tho
surgeons and officials might learn cx
nctly what effect the tremendous cur
rent had upon tho tissues and organs
of tho body, and discover if posslblo In
that way whether death was instan
taneous. It was found that tho blood
was coagulated and other Indications
wont to provo that electrocution was
a certain, Inbtnntancous nnd practi
cally painless form of death. This la
what awaits tho assassin who murder
ed President McKInley nnd plunged tho
nation into grief. Under tho Inw ho
has an Intervnl of twonty-ono days bo-
, 1 mi i
when It Is reduced to 1,800 volts. After
sovoral seconds, In, order to mako as
surance doubly aure, tho current Is
again increased to upward of 2,000
volts and then cut off. Tho execution
Is over in less than a minute, tho pen
alty demanded by tho law has been
paid.
Death In l'nlntcii.
This method of execution has met
with so much favor from criminolo
gists, physicians and humanitarians
that it has been adopted by several
other states, notnbly Massachusetts
and Ohio. It Is nn improvement In
hanging from soveral standpoints, be
Ing swift, suro nnd painless, and tho
removal of tho body within a minute
after tho current Is turned on is a
great advanco from tho old method,
whoro a man was allowed to hang for
from ten to ilftsen minutes slowly
dying, while a Jury of doctors counted
his falling pulso heats nnd finally pro
nounced him dead. Thoro aro no
pulso bents In tho olectrlc-chalr execu
tion. Tho movement of tho handlo on
tho switch board is practically simul
taneous with tho stoppage of tho heart,
tho obliteration of all (.snso and feel
ing and lmmcdlato death,
Slnco tho imposition of sentence
Czolgosz hns lost tho norvo which
enrried him through tho ordeal of the
trial nnd hns col'apsed a'most com
pletely. Tho chances nro that by tho
tlmo tho dny of his oxrcutlon arrives
ho will hnvo to be dr.gg.d or carried
to tho chnlr. Ills collnpso occurred on
his arrival at Aubuin pen t;ntlary at 3
o'clock on tho morning nft:r his sen-
tenco was pronounced in Buffalo. Un
to that tlmo ho had carried hlmsolf
mnrvolously well. Ho Btood tho trylnc
test In tho courtroom and oven tho
Imposition of sintonco without a vls-
IDlo weakening and marched back to
his cell almost nB Jauntily ns though
ho hod been acquitted.
ho was flit and Block after his two
weeks of rest and good l'X;d and look
ed much better than ho did when ho
was arrested.
Mny Mnko Trouble nt Kiocutlon.
But since his sentence ho has chnng
od his demeanor. Realizing that his
clumsy efforts to feign Insanity wero
deceiving no one, ho dropped them
after tho trial and conducted himsoll
in n quiet, orderly way, as though
ho wero quite resigned to his fato and
wanted only to hnvo It hurried along
and get it over with. But tho Incident
nt Auburn, when tho mob clnmorcd for
his blood, wukd a complcto change
in him and seemed to tako away what
ever spirit of bravado he had up to
that time. Ho has been n trembling,
whimpering wretch ovor slnco and the
chances nro that ho will be led to ths
oxecution shrieking with torror oi
practically unconscious from fear.
But In that ovent tho rcdeomlng
fcaturo is that tho spectacle will not
labt long. At a hang ng when a pris
oner faints or st ugglea thero is nl
ways a painful sc;n. as It Is neces
sary to havo him cn his feet in o.det
to placo tho noose nrcund his neck
With tho electrocution chnlr thh
troublo Is obviated. Tho most weak
kneed and trembling of condemned
men can bo phc d In tho chair nnd
bound In tho usual way without th6
slightest miiEcular aid on tho'.r own
part. Tho current can bo flashed
through them and the crime has bocn
expiated.
CHAIR OF DEATH IN THE EXECUTION BOOM AT AUBURN PRISON.
aoBihsln of a ruler wib dragged to
pieces' by four horses attachod to his
four limbs and driven in opposlto
directions. In soma of tho orlontnl
countries to this day tho most oruol
nnd revolting tortures aro resorved
for thoBo who oven nttompt tho life of
a potontato or aro suspected of com
plicity In plots against him. Boiling in
oil, drnwing and quartering nro among
tho loast torrlblo of theso punishments-,
whllo tho lopping off of slnglo mom
bors from tho living body until death
relieves tho Yictlm Is a common pun
ishment for notablo crimes.
Menu of Dentil Iluiniwio.
In China to this day criminals' sus
pected of plots against tho omparor or
othor high officials aro placed In a
bamboo cago and kept constantly
nwako by tholr guards until death
from fatlguo ensues. Thoy aro prod
ded with shnrp Instruments on tho
loast sign of sleep and their bufferings
uro impossible to dcscrlbo after throo
or four days of tills torturo. But Czol
gosz, who woulid havo mot a fnto as
torrlblo as any of theso had ho com
mlttcd a like crime In nn orlontnl
country, or ovon In mnny European
countries, Is to meet doath In tho form
declared to bo most humano nnd prac
tically painless by medical mon.
current of electricity Ib to bo shot
through hla body, paralyzing tho heart
action Instantly nnd causing doath In
a fraction of a second. In tho familiar
phrase of tho streot, "no will novor
know what struck him" after tho elec
trician concealed In an Inner room
moves the fatal switch which will send
2,000 or moro volts' of tho mysterious
current through his body.
lteault of I.onif Acltntlon.
Moro than, ton youis ngo tho nglta
tlon looking to tho abolition of hang
ing was begun In Now York stato,
After sovorul magazine and newspaper
articles had been published expressing
the opinions of eminent physicians and
criminologists on ovory phaso of tho
subject, a commission was appointed
by tho legislature to mnko an exhaus
tlvo Inquiry into tho Bubjcct. This in
vcstlgatlon dragged along for several
years, during which tlmo tho matte
was thoroughly exploited In tho news
paperh, and at Inst a favornblo report
was submitted recommending that
electricity bo substituted na a death
agent for tho tlmo honored rope's end
which had bocn used In most English
sneaking countries for hundreds of
years. A bill was passed by tho legis
laturo authorizing tho chnngo in 1897
nnd It was ordorcd in tho law thut all
executions should tako pluce In tho
stato ponltontlnrlcB. Electrocution
chambors wore constructed at Sing
Blng and Auburn, equipped with tho
'death chnlr" which BUporseded tho old
gallows, wires which took tho placo of
tho rope ana an oiecino swucnuouru
which poiforrnv tho functions of tho
old Vtrap."
Dentil It Initnntnnitous.
Several executions huvo taken placo
tweon tho dnto of his scntonco nnd his
execution in order thnt any logal stays'
of proceedings mny bo brought by his
nttomoya beforo tho higher courts, but
in tiio present case, of courso. nothing
or tiio kind will bo attempted.
Tho Chnlr of Diiith.
Tho condemnod man will bo led by
guards into tho death chamber in tho
Auburn ponitontlary. Near tho wall
at ono end of tho room Is nn oak chair,
constructed something nftor tho mnn
nor of an easy chair, with broad wood-
on arms. It rests upon a rubber mat
tlng.whlch Insulates it completely. At
tachod to tho back of tho chair Is an
adjustable board, against which Czol
gosz will rost his back, nnd this board
is equipped with a Blldlng rod to which
Is attached tho "death mask," a strap
which can bo fnstonod around tho hoad
nt tho forehead. On tho inner Bldo of
this Btrnp are two Binall spongoB,
which press upon the temples and
which nro connected by wires with tho
rou in tho back of tho chair. This rod
carries' tho electricity, conducted to It
by heavy wires from tho wall. Thoro
nro straps faBtoned to tho back of tho
chair to pass around tho uppor arms of
tho condemned man and holding tho
nrms sccuroly ngalust tho chair, othor
Btrnps on tho arms of tho chair Itself
binding tho forearms down and pro
venting the least strugglo. Another
stout Btrnp or bolt attachod to tho back
of tho chair pasaos across tho abdomen
of tho prisoner and binds him occurolv
to tho seat. His nnklcs nro also Btrap
pod to tho foot rest at the bottom of
tho chair.
When nil is In readiness two Binnll
olectrodoa lltted with moiat spongos
like thoso passing against tho fore
head are plncod against tho bare calf
of oach leg, tho trousers either being
slit for tho purposo or turned up ns far
as tho knee. When theso electrodes
aro faBtoned Into place tho body of
Czolgosz will form pnrt of a circuit
from tho wires nt IiIb head to thoso nt
his logs, nnd any current entering tho
uppor wlros must pass from tho olec
trodes attached to his logs and thus
back to tho dynamo.
Muthml ! Klmplo.
Tho execution ItBslf, theso details
being attended to, Is exceedingly sim
ple Upon tho wall of tho doath chnm
bor 1b a largo switch board und a num
ber of gauges which register tho num
ber of volts of current passing over
tho wires. Ono of tho officials soloctod
lor the purpose, either tho sheriff or
soma othor officer legally charged with
tho execution, pulls down a handlo on
a switch, which completes the circuit,
nnd In a fiftieth of a second about 2,200
voltH of tho dendly electricity leaps
through tho body of tho murdoror and
passes on through tha wlros. ft that
traction of tlmo It la nil ovor. llu Is
dead as certainly-ns though a gulllo-
tlno had dcBcondod upon his neck. The
curront Is usually allowed to remain
at that Intensity for about ten seconds,
Ncono of Horror Expected.
But tho ptoplo of Auburn had hoard
thnt ho would arrlvo that morning, and
a mob of about 300 had assembled at
tho station. When tho train pulled In
thoro was nn outcry from tho mob for
tho murderer's blood. Ab ho was
hUBtlcd from tho train to tho prison
fists struck nt htm and hands reached
ovor tho officors' shouldors to seize
him. Immediately ho collapsed and
beenmo panic-stricken. Falling upon
tho floor of his cell, ha screamed with
fear nnd ngony nnd begged tho officers
not to glvo him up to tho mob. That
Bccmod to bo his greatest fear Hint ho
would bo lynchod. As tho dnys passed
ho grow a bit quieter, but it Is appar
ent to hlo guards that lie has lost his
nerve, and thoy foar ho will mako a
pltlablo Bpectaclo of hlm3elf when tho
tlmo comes for his last march on
earth thijjt from his coll to tho death
chamber.
An nrrant coward, tho chances aro
that he will bo paralyzed with fear
when ho views tho apparatus prepared
for his death tho grisly chair, tho
head ploco and tho straps. It is, in
deed, a spectaclo which might mako
tho most blustering braggart quail, and
In tho case of a pitiful coward like tho
man who murdored tho president tho
effect will probably bo distressing In
tho oxtromo to tho Bherlff nnd othor
officials charged with his legal oxecu
tion. But they have little pity for
him. Indeed, nt tho start beforo his
trial tho shorlff diroavcred thnt tho
guards stationed outsldo his cell wero
practicing a mild form of torturo by
kooplng him nwnko nt night. Thoy
managed to mnko noises' which startled
him ovory tlmo ho wont to sleep; thoy
talked or sung or whistled and gloried
Tho AVhc on licet Hugnr.
The Amerlcnn Sugar Refining Com
pany, otherwise known as tho sugar
trust, recently began a war upon tho
boot sugar industry by cutting tho
prlcq of granulated to 3 cents n
pound nt Missouri river points. This
has been followed by a reduction of
price in all states from Colorado to
California amounting to 30 cents a
hundred pounds on beet sugar and 20
cents on cane sugar. Tho object is to
deal a blow to tho beot sugar manu
facturers In tholr own torrltory. Tho
recent report of Secretary Wilson on
tho beet sugar industry estimates tho
total product of 190) at 19S.G00 tons', of
which 119,000 tons como from tho Pn
clflc coast nnd Rocky Mountain states,
besides 7,000 tons from Nobraaka, Cali
fornia, with nn hnnual output of 80,
000 tons, la tho lending producor.
I'lrimien of Our Institution.
Courngo nnd confidence, not terror
and doubt, sayB tho Chicago Record
Herald, havo been tho most truly ro
mnrknblo nnd persistent things in the
background of our national sorrow.
Tho confidence was perfect and It was
Illustrated In tho facts of our dally llfo
( when tho doubt expressed In intomper-
ato declamations was 'loudest. Except
for tho day of public mourning tho peo-
plo wont nbout their business as usual,
and thoro wns not tho slightest sign of
actual approhdnslon anywhere. It was
nssumed ns a mattor of courso that tho
vice-president would succeed to tho
Presidency without nny disturbance,
that thero wns no pi:sslb!o chance of
national insecurity, thnt tho ordlnnry
affalra of llfo would go on without In
terruption. It was felt that tho founda
tions of tho republic woro ns firm as
tho foundations of tho ovcrlastlng hills.
What stung tho people was tho out-
rago upon humanity, tho cruol personal
aspocts of tho n?saslnntIon, tho wan
ton naturo of the assault upon their
own sovereignty, which' incensed
though It did not torrlfy them. Thoy
novor really thought that thoy had
anything to learn from Russia on tho
making and tho administration of laws,
and that civil llborty and solf-govern-ment
hnd suddenly becomo a failure.
They nover thought of punishing nn
nrchy, with nnarchy, nnd thoy know
that a great democratic republic llko
this with Its equal lovo for llborty and
order does moro to eliminate the
causes of anarchy than any other po
litical institution known to history.
Itcilgnntlnn of l'rculdrnt Allium.
Tho cducntlonnl world of both con
tlnents suffers loss in tho resignation
of Charlca Kendall Adams, presidont
of tho University of Wisconsin, which
expresses Its appreciation of his serv
ices by giving him indeflnito leavo of
nbsenco inBtcnd of accepting his resig
nation. Dr. Adams retires to n milder
'JImnto on account of ill health.
Dr. Adams arrived nt tho University
f Wisconsin when It was In urgent
ieed of his intellectual resources, his
reserve, fortitudo nnd precision. Un
lor a flabby administration tho doltn
juonclca of. somo of its faculty would
havo Inflicted gravo injury upon tho
institution. His discretion in vicissi
tudes overcame tho ill effects of por
xtclous subaltern teaching. Ills moral
aims wero promoted with rctlcenco nnd
dignity and throughout his tcnuro tho
McKInley Very I,nit 'Wonts.
Dr. Mntthow D. Mnnn, tho omlnont
Buffalo surgeon who attended Presl-
dent McKInley, thus describes his last
moments and words:
"As President McKInley was dying
I Btood behind n Bcreon in his room
nnd heard him say his last words. Hie
wlto enmo Into tho room nnd ho Bald
to her:
" 'Good by, all; good by. It la God's
way. Hla will bo dono, not ours.'
DR. CHARLES KENDALL ADAMS,
University of Wisconsin has risen to a
foremost placo in higher education,
both abstract and practical.
Tho president of tho modern unlvcr
ity must possess tho comprehensive
and genial culturo derivable from an
tlquity. Ho must walk, however, with
tho quickening music of humanity
which Is no longer "still" nor "sad
it is a trumpet blast that calls nations
now, and It Is given to tho United
States to bo in tho fore.
. BMWik
Klectrlo Tab on Prayer.
John Alexander Dowlo Is now nblo
to keep tnb on his prnyera. All this la
accomplished as tho result of novel
uses to which is put that triumph of
modern mechanical ingenuity, tho olec
trie tlmo stamp. Few except thoso fa
miliar with tho busy llfo "Dr." Dowlo
leads realizo what a scrvlco the olec
trie tlmo stamp will bo to him. "Ell
Jah II." sponds a considerable, part of
his time daily praying for various
Zionitos whoso friends or relatives
havo nsked tho genoral overseer to
Jolu them In prayer for healing at
such or such an hour, says a Chicago
papor. Theso requests far prayers aro
received by Dowlo's secretaries, tabu
lated according to tho specific hours
at which the special prayer Is sought,
and taken up by tho head of tho Chris
tian Catholic churcn at tho tlmo spec
ified. The moment Dowlo finishes a
prayer ho Blnps tho written slip into
tho Jaws of his eloctrlc tlmo stamp,
slams his hand on top of tho devlco
and the exnet tlmo ho prayed is In
stantly recorded upon the sheet. Horo
Fumouo n a (loiter.
Miss Genovievo Hecker of Noroton,
Conn., who won tho national, woman's
golf championship, Is, In tho Held of
woman's athletics, tho most remarka
ble young woman In America. Al
though only 19 years old, sho has throo
years of famo as a golf player behind
her, with tho probability of extending
QEinEVIEVE HECKER.
her conquests to cover English nnd
Scotch links. Tho ilnal great game,
besides being her last fo,: tho season,
was tho last sho will play beforo sho
becomes tho wife of Georgo Jenkins,
hor lover since school days. Tho wed
ding la to tnko placo beforo Christmas.
Miss Hecker is tho daughter of tho late
John V. Hecker, who was a million
aire flour manufacturer.
Lust Hour of Grcut Men.
No llfo had moro In It of terror than
Napoleon's, yet ho said, on his dying
bed: "There la nothing torrlblo In
death; ho hns been my pillow for tho
last threo weeks, and now ho la about
to tako mo nwny forever." Louis XIV
wns hnppy in his death. "Why woep
you?" ho asked his friends. "Did you
think I should Hvo forever? I thought
dying had been harder?" Sir Philip
Sidney would not chango tho Joy of
his last hour for "tho emplro of tho
world." "Let mo fall asleep to tho
pound of dollclous music," said Mira-
bcau; and Humboldt, the naturalist,
exclaimed in his dying peace: "How
grand theso raysl They seom to beck
on earth to heaven." Sir William
Hunter wnntcd a pon "to wrlto down
how easy nnd pleasant a thing It is
to die." But surely tho most beautiful
farowoll ever addressed to tho world
was that of Keats. "I fool tho flowors
growing over mo," ho said In a. phraso
which, as a thing of beauty, is a Joy
for over.
Labor Chief Is n l'reachor.
Rov. Sheldon A. Harris, tho Dwight"
miniatcr who wua elected ns vico-presl-dent
of tho Illinois Federation of La
bor at tho recent convention In Jollot,
PRAYED
M 12 1-Q4PM 1901
JOHN ALEX. DOWIE,
AN ORDEAL TO BE ENCOUNTERED BY THE ASSASSIN.
in tho fact that their endoavois wcro
driving sleep from tho brain of the
murderer a mild form of tho Culneso
torturo which keops criminals awnko
until thoy die. But ns soon as tho
shorlff heard of this ho put a stop to It,
largely bocauso ho did not want. Czol
gosz to appear In court thin, drawn
and haggard as though ho had boon
persecuted In thn Jail. In tho eyes of
tho law he was still Innocent until he
had boon proven guilty, nnd ordors
wero iBBued to feed him well and lot
him havo plenty of Bleep. Tho ro
suit was' that when ho came Into court
"Thoro was some further conversa
tion with his wlfo in the way of leave
taking, but this Bhould not bo repeat
ed. About an hour later ho said to his
wlfo:
" 'Nearer, My God, to Theo, e'en
though it bo n cross, has been my con
stant prayer,'
"He tried to say something moro,
but I could not catch It. I gave out at
tho tlmo tho first sontonco as being tho
most npproprlnto to bo remembered nB
his last words, I wrote them down at
tho tlmo, so that thoro can bo no ques
tion about It."
A PRAYER REGISTER.
Is a facsimile of one of Dowlo's tlmo
stamps.
When a wook or bo later tho gonornl
overseer Is Informed that nt such or
luch an hour tho pntlcnt seemed to Im
prove, ho can rofor to tho documen
tary evidence to provo that ho pruyed
it that hour for tho healing of tho bo
llover in his powers. Many times Dr.
Dowlo has produced tho stamped and
timed Blips to convince- followers of
Ihe potency of IiIb prnyera.
A Duke Who Mut Not Mf.rry.
Ono of the most remarkable figures
sf Vienna society is Archduko Eugon,
rrand mastor of the German Knights
pf Malta. Tho offlco, which Is Invnrln
oly hold by a member of tho Austrian
rolgnlng family, brings n very lnrgo
incomo, but tho holder may not marry,
Tho archduke looks remarkably well
in his full costume In white, which ho
wears only on festive occasions. Ho lb
I general in tho army and commander
in chief of tho Tyrol.
REV. SHELDON A. HARRIS,
was formerly a mission worker In the
neglected districts of Chicago. He waa
born in Pennsylvania Feb. 2, 1852, and
camo to Illinois in 1859. His father
was David Allen Harris, an officer of
tho Morrill horso, which sorved with
distinction in the civil war. Rev. Mr.
Harris began llfo as n wood machinist,
no became a salesman for a Chicago
houso, then entered evangelical mis
sion work and spent four years among
tho poor. Ho was ordnlned in 1880.
Ho located in Dwight in 1900. Ho is
chnplnin of the Sous of Veterans of
Illinois and belongs to sovoral fratorn
nl orders. His sympathies havo al
ways been with tho labor unions nndf
tho poor. Ho says: "I bollovo in
Christianity, but not In churchlanlty."
Tho Connecticut Election.
Tho result of the voto In the consti
tutional amendmont election In Con
necticut last Monday is tho adoption
of two amendments, which aro now a
pnrt of tho organic law namely: the
election of state officers by a plurality
voto nnd tho enlargement of tho stato
senate. The first of these reforms waa
carried by a majority of over 20,000
and tho second by ovor 35,000.
Tho main fenturo of interest, how
ovor, was the voto upon tho proposi
tion to call a constitutional convention
for tho purposo of securing roform in
representntion and doing away with
tho anomaly of n little town or village
having tho samo power in tho legisla
ture as a city. Tho sectional character
of constitutional reform Is Illustrated
In tho retuniB of tho election. Of the
city registered voto only 35 per cent
wns polled and In tho country towns
83 per cent, but tiio urban vote was
substantially solid for tho convention,
ns woll ns (ho vote of the larger fac
tory towns. Tho seventeen cities of
tho stato gavo 30,021 majority for the
convention nnd tho rest of the state
8,867 ngalnst It, Of the 1C8 towns for
ty voted for It.
V