THE NORFOLK WEEKLY [ NEWS = JOURNAL. . . . , . OljK. NKHU'ASKA. I'MtlOAV. XOVMlHKH IM I'.Ml ' SIGNED STATEMENT GIVEN OUT AFTER HIS DEATH. HAD CONFESSED TO MINISTER ADMITS AWFUL CRIME OF SLAYING YOUNG WIFE. HE WANTS PEACE WITH GOD 'Tho Electric Current Is Turned Into Seattle's Body at 7:22 : O'clock Friday Morning , and Death Results in One -ute A Richmond , Va. , Nov. < Sf Henry Clay Beattle , jr. , be fore his death In the electric chair at 7:23 : a. m. today , confessed to the murder of his wife. The statement was given ; out In the rotunda of a downtown hotel , as follows : "I , Henry Clay Beattle , jr. , desirous of standing right be. > fore God and man , do on this , the 23rd day of Nov. 1911 , confess my guilt of the crime charged against me. Much that was published concern- 'Ing ' the details was not true , but the awful fact , without the harrowing circumstances , remains. For this action , I am sorry , and bellevjng that I am nt peace with God and am soon to pass Into His presence , this statement Is made. " Seattle's confession was followed by the following statement by the attending ministers : "This statement was sign- sd in the presence of the two .attending ministers , and is the only statement that can and will be made public by them. "Mr. Beattle desired to thank the many friends for kind letters and expressions of interest and the public for whatever sympathy which was felt or expressed. " "To go before your maker with Jio upon your lips , " exhorted the pai ior , "Is sacrilege. If guilty , speak. " Dresses With Usual Care. Beatllo passed a fairly peacefi night , although his sleep was brokei When he arose this morning h dressed with his usual care and at sparingly. , He did not appear elthc nervous or apprehensive , although h was Incessantly under the eyes of hi guards , who had redoubled their vl | ilance in the final moments so tlu .the law might not be cheated- During the reading of Uie deal warrant the doomed man maintalne his composure. He stood without tremor. As the superintendent finishei Beattio swayed , but so imperceptibl that ho might have been shifting hi weight from one foot tothe otlie When the deputy wardens fell In o either side of him ho bowed his hca a moment. Death March Is Begun. "I am ready , gentlemen , " he sal simply , and the death march was b V gun.Just Just before Supt. Wood and -his - UK appeared Rev Dr Fl\ knelt In prayer with the cemdeiunod man. He prayed for divine forgiveness for him. Beat tie appeared affected. No Member of Family There. No member of the Beallle famll } was present at the execution nor al at the penitentiary when the deall march was begun. Preparations foi the reception of Douglas Ueattlo brother of the doomed man , had been made In the stiperlnlendcnt's office but the young man did not appear The failure of any members of the family to bo present was welcomet by the prison authorities , for Ihe } feared their charge might break dowi at the last moment. In a downpour of rain , the twelve witnesses to the execution tollci through the murky dawn up the hi ! 0 the penitentiary that looked dowi , the city. They were quickly con ' * f - \ single file through the gate ; , y J , ' bars lo Ihe chamber where 1 OQ/S r s lo offer his atonement Th. 6 > < / - 10 conversation. WK jo chamber all was in read Incss. no chair , a solid structure o oak , would ordinarily have appearee like the chairs seen in libraries. Ii the somberly bare chamber , however It was sinister. The Chair a Grewsome Sight. Straps dangled from Its arms am back , and steel clamps appeared h the light of the electric like tentacle : outstretched lo clasp Iho victim. Thi witnesses wore scaled six abrcasl , h an angle of Ihe room. They shufflei their feet uneasily and when on < leaned forward to speak to anothe his action was received with frowns Maj. Woods , with two deputy ward ens , addressed the witnesses , golni through some small formalities de mandcd by tiie law. Then , with his two men trooplni behind , he passed out into the build ing , where Beatlle awailed the sum nions in his cell adjoining. In the death chamber the voice o the warden could be heard plain ! ; reading to the doomed man the flna summons. The warden's voice dronei on , It seemed to the witnesses , intei minably. In real length , the compll ancej with the law occupied only : brief moment. All Dark But the Chair. Then , with Beattle between them the deputy wardens began their prepress ress toward Ihe chair only a few fee away. When Ihe procession , followci by Supl. Woods slarted , a signal wa given which plunged the death chan : ber into darkness , save for a singl light Immediately over the chair. Thi was so hooded that It outlined th chair In a circle of blazing radiance so Intense that the remainder of th room seemed in utter darkness. Th witnesses scarcely could see eao other. The prisoner saw nothing bu the chair. There was no delay in preparln for the end. Beattie took his place the prison surgeon and the eleclr clans adjusted Ihe slraps , a half doze : clamps were quickly thrown int place and snapped. The cap , resemb Ing a leather football head harness was adjusted and the men steppe back. Death Current Turned On. The warden raised his hand. Ii stanlly Beattlo's body sllffened wit such violence thai Ihe slraps creake with Ihe slraln , Ihe clamps rallied a though they \vere cast by hands c death and then that which once ha been Henry Clay Beatlle , jr. , relaxee It was just 7:23 : a. in. , when th shock was applied. One minute latei Beallie was dead. The surgeon had gone torward will a slelhoscope , bad listened for at : other faint beating of the heart tha less than sixly seconds before hai lived. Ho stepped back. "Ho is dead. " The witnesses filed out. One o two were ghastly pale as they steppei into the early morning light. Carriages were waiting for the wll nesses , and they were elrlven rapldl away. The identily of but few wa known. After the formalities ha been complied with and the witnesse had gone , Ihe body of Bealllo was re moved from Ihe chair and taken t Iho mortuary room adjoining. Her it was laid to await the coming c the coroner , who arrived * shortl afterward. The Rev. Dr. Fix remaine as the solo watcher. All preparations had been made fo the removal of the body. The elde Beattle last night sent to the undei taker the brown suit which his so had worn In court when the jury de clareel his guilt. In this the body wo clad for burial. Story of the Crime. The crime for which Henry Cla Beattle , jr. , was executed today wn one of the most sensational In th criminal history of Virginia. Interes In the murder was country-wide owln to its unusual features and the swi movement of Justice. On the night of July 18 , last. Bea tie drove his automobile into Ricl mond. carrying with him the body < his wife which had a gaping shotgu wound in the head. He declared tin a tall , beaided man had accosted him on the Midlothian luinplko , five miles fioin Richmond , and when he had lequehtcd the man to make loom for him In tbu load the stranger wllhotil wainlng killed Mrs. llonttlc. Ho added that he had grappled with the man but was enorpowcred and that the murderer had fled , leaving the gun behind. Tills story of the crime was maintained by Healllo to the end. For a brief time Boattlo's story was gUon some degree of credence , but within a day or two suspicion began to point to him and ho was kept un do r the closest surveillance. Blood hounds , taken to the scene of the crlino , refused to leave the place , circling around the bloodspol on the load. lleattle , It e\entually transpired , had thrown the shotgun Into the ton- neau of his automobile after the shooting , but In passing over some railroad tracks nol far from the scene It had been jolted out and was picked up later by a negrcss. This gun prov ed the means of senellng the young man to the electric chair. At the coroner's Inquest the weapon was Identified by Paul Beattle , a second end cousin of young Henry , as the weapon he had purchased for Henry with money furnished by the latter. Beattlo was arrested immediately af ter the inquest. This was on July 21 , and on Aug. 19 , one month after the day of the murder , the trial was begun before Judge Walter A. Wat son , In the picturesque lltllo Chester field county courthouse , sixteen miles from here. The jury was made up almost en tirely of farmers , and on this fact Boatllc based his claim that ho bad been convicted , not for the murder of bis wife , but because of his relations with Beulah Blnford , a notorious young woman. He insisted to the last tiiat a jury composed of city men would have freed him. Bealtle was defended by H. M. Smith , jr. , and Hill Carter. The prosecution was con ducted by L. O. Wcndenburg and L. M. Gregory. The trial moved swiftly , though many witnesses teslifled , and on Sept. S , afler fifty-eight minutes of consid- ration nnd prayer , the jury. In chorus instead of through its foreman , de clared Beattie to be guilty of the murder of his wife. Motion for a new trial was denied and Nov. 24 set as the day for the execution. On Nov. 13 the Virginia supreme court of appeals refused to grant an appeal on a writ of error , and twc days later Gov. Mann , who had been appealed to for commutation or re prleve , Issued a statement declaring thai Ihe inleresls of Ihe people oi Virginia , demanded that Beatlic should die in the electric chair. THE BEATTIE BABY UNNAMED Parents of the Murdered Woman Re fuse to Discuss the Case. Dover , Del. , Nov. 24. The cxecu lion day of Henry Clay Beattle , jr. found the Owen family going about their usual routine as though m tragedy had ever entered their quiet lives. "I thank you for the news , " said R V. Owen , the father of Beatlle's mur dered wife. Mr. Owen , who Is. the manager of a large plant in this city was at his work when Ihe news lhal Ihe law had laken his son-in-law's life was given lo him. "I thank you for Ihe news , but 1 have nothing to say. " Mr. Owen explained that since the murder of his daughter none of the members of Ihe family has had any Ihing lo say about Ihe affair. "Wo have not and will not discuss the affair outside the family circle , ' he said. But he would talk about the baby Ihe G-monlhs-old son , now an orphan "My wife , " he said , "was natural ! } much wrought up after Ihe death ol our daughter and our doctor lold us 11 would bo better for her to care foi the child and relieve her mind. We brought the baby to Dover and it is with us now. We will keep it ane : raise it. " Mr. Owen said lhal Ihe infant hat not been given a name. "We call hln : 'Baby , ' " he said. The question oi naming him had not been considered by the family. "You see , we him been in this tangle for the last few months and no one has talked aboul the baby's name. " VIRGINIA PAPERS BREAK Statute Forbidding Printing Details li Disregarded. Richmond , Va. , Nov. 24. One fea ture of the Beattie execution thai aroused a great deal of Interest and speculation was the attitude to be as sumed toward it by the Virginia news papers which are forbidden by a state statute to print the details of an elec trocutlon. As a part of the law has substituted the electric chair for the hangman's noose , the Virginia legls laturo wrote this paragraph Into the statute : "No newspaper or person ahal ! print or publish the details of the ex edition of criminals under this act Only the fact that the criminal was executed shall be printed or publish ed. " The legislature , however , failed te provide a penalty for a violation o the section. Hitherto the law has been complied with , out of respect te state authority , but the Beattlo cast has so enthralled the state during UK last seevral months that there wen Indications today that many newspn pers would feel compelled to dlsrc gard the statute on this one occasloi and give as many details as could hi obtained. LIFE'S DISAPPOINTMENTS ( Copyright Ml. ) CHAMP CLARK IS SCORED BY NEBRASKAN SAYS THAT SPEAKER - ER OF HOUSE IS FAILURE AS LEADER. Lincoln , Nov. 24. Inasmuch as Champ Clark is a candidate for the democratic presidential nomination , the following editorial , by W. J , Bryan , which appears in today's is sue of the Commoner is significant : "There Is a progressive majority In congress but It lacks leadership , Speaker Clark's usefulness in that capacity is being impaired , partly b > the fear that he will be accused ol imitating Cannon , and partly by the mistaken Idea that It is his special mission' to prusecvo harmony amou the democrats in the house. "In both cases he errs. The flrsl error tends to make him a negative quantity but the second may converl him Into a positive force for harm. Ii be conceives his highest duty to be te preserve harmony he will exert his In fluence to prevent the consideratioi of any measure upon which democrat ! arc divided , the trust question for in stance. "Progress is more Important thai harmony. The men who oppose re forms are always quick to threaten r bolt if remedial legislation Is at tempted. The democratic party is r progressive party. Nine-tenths of the rank and file are progressive , but the one-tenth is powerful because it It made up of men with large corpora tion connections and of politician ! whom they intimidate. The people need a champion in the house. Te whom will the honor go ? " A DUEL FOUGHT IN FRANCE. Paris , Nov 24. A dispute over the merits of the charges against M Langevlne , professor of general ant experimental physics at the College of France , brought by his wife and in volving the professor's co-worker in scientific research , Mine. Curie , re suited In a duel with swords between M. Chervet , editor of Gilblas , and Leon Daudet , editor of Action Fran caise. There were several fierce bouts un der the cameras of photographers Finally Daudet was wounded in the arm. A reconciliation followed. The charges In which the names ol the two eminent scientists , Mine Curio and Prof. Langevlne , have been involved were founded on the facl that Mine Curie and Prof. Langevine were in close association in their scl entlfic researches. This gave rise tc jealousy on the part of Mine. Lange vine , who thereupon brought sull against her husband , coupling hit name with that of Mine. Curie. Mine. Curie , who was creditee ! equally with her late husband In the Inquiry of radium , was after his deatl ; named to occupy the chair of physics which be had had at the College ol France. Omaha Firm Wins. Washington , Nov. 24. The Inter state Commerce commission In a ml Ing handed down yesterday decided li favor of Sunderland Bros. , against the Chicago , Burlington and Quincy rail road , et. al. . In the matter of reweigh Ing coal at Omaha. The commissioi holds that the present rule Is unjus and unreasonable and must be amend ed so as to provide that If rewelghim of coal discloses a variation of mor < than 1 percent with a minimum o 500 pounds , from the original ship ping weight , the original weight ane charges will be corrected action am roweighlng charge refunded to con slgnee , but if rewelghing falls to dis close a variation of 1 percent will in minimum of 500 pounds , the orlgl nal weight and charges will not b charged and the rowelghlng charg will be relayed by the defendant. NO VERDICT YET IN TAR CASE HOLLOW EYED AND WEARY IS THE JURY AFTER ALL NIGHT. "HUNG" JURY IS THE FORECAST At Times During the Night the Jur ors' Voices Were Raised to a High Pitch The Judge May Keep Jury Till Saturday Morning. Lincoln Center , Kan. , Nov. 21. Hollowed eyed and weary , the jury in the "tar party" case was still locked in its room trying valiantly to reach a verdict when the dawn broke today , All night long , under the orders ol Judge Dallas Grover , the jurors had struggled in a futile attempt to reacli a verdict. The testimony of Chestei Anderson and E. G- . Clark , which the jury requested near midnight be read to them again , was gone over man } times. Occasionally the voices of the jurors were raised to a high pitch but that was not frequent. It seemed that the men were giving the case much thought and keeping their equa nlmity. On every hand today predictions that the jury would bo "hung" were heard. Two of the defendants spent prac tically all of last night in the court room sleeping on benches. They were Sherill Clark and John Schmidt. Aftei Judge Grover left , about 1 o'clock Schmidt departed to meet Clark , whc had preceded him to their hotel , bill the suspense was too great for then : to sleep away from the court room and a few hours later they returnet to the scene of their trial. No spec tators remained all night. It was said at the beginning of the court that the defendants who have pleaded guilty might be disposed ol today. It was known that their attor neys preferred sentence deferred un til next term of court , but Judge Gro ver made no definite promise that he would do this Judge Grover sum moneel the jury for the conference shortly after 7 o'clock this morning and was told no agreement had been reached. He gave them an hour and a half for breakfast , with the adnionl tlon lhat they must return to their de liberations at the end of that time. The Court said he might keep the jury together until tomorrow morning , A STEEL CASE ROW Open Break In Committee Betweer Littleton and Stanley. Washington , Xo21. . An opei fight In the house of representatives between Representative Stanley ol Kentucky , chairman of the bouse special committee of Inquiry Into the I steel corporation , and Representative .Martin W. Littleton of New York , c democratic committee , was assured j when Chairman Stanley declared he , would appeal to the house to force i Littleton's resignation from the com ' inlttee. The fight , certain to be pro cipltated soon after the house con venes , will determine the course ol the steel committee. The committee adjourned Indefinitely yesterday , fol lowing the sensational testimony o : the Merritt Bros , of Duluth , regarding their loss of millions In ore land am railroad properties to John D. Hock efoller. Tills was done because Chairman Stanley was powerless t < enforce continuance of the hearlngi under objections filed by attorney ! for the United Slates Steel corpora tlon that the corporation Is now a dc fendant in a federal suit for violatloi of the Sherman anti-trust law. Ii considering the point raised by the counsel , Representative Llltletoi : took the position that nothing furthoi should bo done by the committee un til the house bad been consulted. Mr. Littleton , who left the sessions of the committee , has broken opciilj with Chairman Stanley and will carrj the question as to the future of the committee to the house. Mr. Stanley after a conference with Messrs. Beal and McGilllcuddy decided to make tin question a party Issue , and ho wll call upon the democratic majority te sustain him in opposition to Llttlctoi and to force the latter's rcslgnatioi from the committee. Rockefeller's Statement. New York , Nov. 24. John D. Rockc feller , in a statement given out here replied to the charges made by th Merritt Bros. , before the Stanley stee investigation committee regarding tin methods used by Mr. Rockefeller li poourliiE control of the Mesnha ermines mines , and the Duluth , Mesaba am Northern railroad , pointing out tha these charges were denied under oatl as long ago as 1S95 in litigation eve the Lake Superior Consolidated ire : mines. He furthermore submits th text of a paper bearing the date o Jan. 22 , 1897. to which are attache the names of Alfred and Leonada Merritt and "all the other member of the family , " declaring themsolve satisfied thnt neither Mr. Uockefelle nor his agents committed any frau or made misrepresentations In th matter in question. Mr. Rockefelle then sets forth what he says are th facts with regard to the loans whic the Merrills leslllfed and denies Ihn the loans in question were ever cnllo by him. TOMMY JOHNSON DEAD. Famous Kansas Athlete Hurt in N < raska Basketball Game. Kansas CUy , mo , , rsov. 24. Thoma Warwick ( Tommy ) Johnson , forme Kansas University athletic star , die yesterday at the Kansas t'nlversit hospital in Rosedale , Kan. , a subur of a complication of diseases. Mrs. Francis Luther of Lawrence Kan. , Johnson's mother , and Kdwar Johnson of Omaha , Neb. , were at th bedside. Johnson was 2G years ol < An accident in a basketball gam with the Nebraska university in 190 and later injury in a college wiebtlln ; match hastened the death. Johnboi was one of the mosl widely know ; athletes in the Missouri valley. A Nebraskan In Trouble. | Salt Lake , Nov. 26. Perseverini use of the malls by a deserted Nebraska braska wife has brought C. L. O'Don nell face to face with a charge o polygamy. Ho was arrested at Grea Falls , Mont , according to advices re cehed by Sheriff Sharp , and will b < returned to this county to stand trla for marrying Miss Pearl Wilson o Salt Lake City in August , 1910 , whil Kiltie Hull O'Donnell , whom he mai rled at Omaha In 1905 , was living a Lincoln undlvorced. Report Sixty Drowned. Vienna. Nov. 24. The Austria ' steamer Romania , was wrecked toda | near Rovlngo. II Is reported tha 1 sixty persons were drowned. A slroi I co swept the coast of the Adrlat'-1 fo three days and caused much damag ' to shipping. CONDITION CHI WEATHEI Temperature for Twenty-four Houn Forecast for Nebraska. Maximum 28 Minimum G Average 17 Barometer 30.1 Chicago , Nov. 24. The bulletin li sued by the Chicago station of tb United States weather bureau give the forecast for Nebraska as follows Fair tonight and Saturday ; warmt east portion tonight. TELLS STORY THE CASE HAS NOT YET GONE TO THE JURY. STEHR DENIES MURDERING DOY Tells of the Night of the Blizzard When the Little Fellow's Feet Were Frozen Declares He Only Whipped the Doy to Correct Him. Madison , Nob. , Nov. ! . . Special to The NOWH : The Stohr murder CIIHU liinl not KOIIO to the Jury at noon te > - ilay. but probably will K , > tlilH aftor- noon. MI-H Stohr WJIH on the stand all ( I , , , inoriiliig Yesterday afternoon lionry stohr , the ( lofondant , occupied the Btuiul and tlio general Impression of tnoso In the courtroom WUB thnt his story weakened the caHo. The manner f lilH tolling the Htory , answering iiuostloim only when prompted by At torney Ilarnhnrt , Indicated bin un- 'ruthf illness. Stohr said ho WJIH L'C years old and had married Minnlo Lucon , April 6 , 1909. at Hamburg , Oormany , when Kauri. Stohr wan not quite 2 yearn old. Ho came to America nnd lived at the homo of hlH sister-in-law , Mrs. Hankrath , woven montliH , until his wife and child followed him. H0 stat ed he had whipped Kniirt with a strap taken from an old IiarneHs several limes for bedwottlng. It was this Imbit of the child's that made Stohr want Kaurt to stay In normany , ho said. lie denied making throats against the child in case Kaiirt should bo brought to America , ns Mrs. Hank- rath had testified. Jto said bo enter- talnod no ill will against the child , and denied striking him with an Iron roil Intentionally , Insisting it was an accident. Says Feet Were Diseased. Ho said the child's foot were dis eased and bad been treated in Ger many by a doctor. Ho denied having been arrested in Germany for ill treating the child , but admitted be had been called into police court on complaint of a woman for Investiga tion in this connection. Ho explained to the Jury that he had bandaged the child for a disease , causing marks on the stomach and hips. Ho explained the marl : on the eye by stating the child had fallen out of bed , striking hia eye oi > > box. Photographs of the exterior and interior - torior of the Stehr home and an exact model of the child's bed weio intro duced. Stehr said on Monday proceeding the amputation he had a half bushel of coal and $2.r.O In cash and was out of a job. Asked why be had failed to call a physician earlier , ho said lie had no money. Child's Feet Frozen. Ho said the child's feet were fiozen during the blizrard of Jan. I. Ho was awakened In the night and found the walls of the room white with frost and snow , the boy's bedding being frozen stiff. Ho arose , changed the boy's bedding , put a dry cover over him , covered his feet and went back to bed. The next morning he found much snow in the house nnd the boy complained that his feet hurt ( at an other point Stehr had said the boy did not complain about his feet until about five days later. ) y Put Feet In Hot Water. He put the child's feet in hot va- - tor and later put vaseline on them. Stehr said he firbt called Dr. I'll- ger. Later the same day he called Dr. Verges , who administered appli cations and later returned wtili Dr. Tashjean Then County Commission er Burr Taft came. Next day , assist ed by LoebiiB , Stein took the boy to the Klentz homo and never saw the little fellow afterward. Two days later he was arrested. He was not advised of the death or the fiinoutl. During cross-examination by Judge Powers , Stehr admitted whipping the boy with a leather strap for the rea son complained of , at least three times and admitted telling Julius Kell the boy's feet were frosted in the blizzard. He denied that be had lock ed the child in an outbuilding during the storm. Madison. Neb. , Nov. 23. Special to The News : Henry Stehr took the witness stand In his own behalf this afternoon , to try to convince the jury that he had no Intention of killing his 4-year-old stepson , Kaurt. Court reconvened at It o'clock tliia morning with Minnie Bankrath , Mrs. Stehr's half sister , still 011,1110 stand. The defense waived cross-examina tion. I ) . Rees , a juror at the coroner's Inquest , testified that the body ap peared "a bruised and mangled mass. " This testimony was violently attack ed by M. D. Tyler , counsel for the defense. It was characterized as vi- clous and the defense moved that the court strike It out. The court BUS- talned the objections in part. At this Juncture the state unexpect edly rested. The defense then moved to the court that the state elect the count on which It desired the case to go to the Jury. The motion was overruled. The defense moved then that the court Instruct the jury to find the defendant not guilty of murder in the first or second degree for the reason of Insufficient evidence. The court overruled this motion and ordered the defense to proceed.