St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-11-19
THE HELMET or DEATH.
Physicians Propose Plan for Killing
by Electricity.
INSTANT RESULTS SECURED.
Criminals Wonld Cease to Exist as Soon
as Button Should Be
Touched.

The November meeting of the Med
| icO-Legal society at the Buckingham
hotel was unusually interesting, as the
prizes for successful essays were
awarded and the report of the commit
tee appointed to devise the best means
OF killing criminals by electricity was
| read
Last spring the society, through sew
| erai of its members, offered three prizes
Tor the best essays on subjects that the
| society was Interested in. Ten essays
were handed in. and during the past six
months the committee. consisting of
eX-Judge Noah Davis, eX-Judge John
+. Dillon. DR.. Stevenson, DIR. Stephen
| Smith and Edward Chamberlain read
| them all, and last night the prizes were
awarded. John Ii. WigmOre, of the
Boston bar, was awarded the first prize
OF 500, given by Col. Elliott f. Shep.
ard, for his essay entitled, 'Circumstan-
tiai Evidence in Poison Trials" to
Hugo j. Grimms, of the st. Louis bar,
the second prize of SIS, offered by the
society, was given for his essay, Sin
sanity IS Defense in the Charge of
Crline:" ard to Henry III. Heyser, of
GAINESVILLE, Wis, the third prize of so
for the essay, "Insani:y at Childbirth
III It's Relation to Infanticide"
. AT the last meeting of the society
committee was appointed, in view of
the new law doing away with hanging
after Jan. l, to report the best method
OF putting the law into effect. The
committee was composed of DR.. Fred
erlek Peterson, late of the state insane
asylum at PoughkeepSie; DR.. j. Mount
Bleyer, Il. Ogden Doremus and DIR.
Frank III. Ingram, formerly assistant
superintendent of the BiackWell'S
Island insane asylum.
In the report which the committee
read a full account of the many experi-
mentS made on animals was given.
After an interesting account of the
effect OF electric currents on the human
brain the report goes on to say:
The electric current, i'm passing
through the body from one pole to an
other, underg0eS more or less diffusion
through the tissues. A current passing
from the top of the head to the small of
the back will be ditfuSed throughout
great part of the brain and all of the
tissues of the neck. The medulla OBJ
longata-a part of the brain which is the
most vital-together with all of the
great nerves OF the neck and the spinal
cord, which exercise Jurisdiction over
the movements of the lungs and heart,
Will be thoroughly permeated by the
current applied in this way. As the
seat OF consciousness is the brain, and
particularly in the cortex of the cere-
Drum, it is clear that this faculty of the
mind will suffer at once if the current
be sufficiently strong. The electric
stream flows from the positive to the
negative pole, and there might be some
possible advantage in placing the posi-
~ IN g
est the center OF CONSCIOUSNESS, al
though death In any case will be inStau-
taneouS.
AFTER mature deliberation we recon-
mend that the death current be admin
IStered to the criminal in the following
manner: A stout table covered with
rubber cloth and having holes along it's
borders for binding, or a strong chair,
should be procured. The prisoner, "
ing or his back or sitting, should be
firmly bound upon this table or in the
Clair. One electrode should be so in
serted into the table or into the back of
the GUAR that it will implnge upon the
Sp,ne, between the shoulders. The
head should be secured by means of a
sort of helmet fastened to the table
or back of the chair, and to this helmet
the Uther pole should be 50 Joined as
w PISoo hlihit Will tto tHo upon llG
top or the head. We think chair is
preferable to table. the rheOphores
can be led off to the dynamo through
the floor, or to another room. and the
instrument for closing the circuit can
be attached to the wall. The electrodes
should oe of metal, not over an inch in
diameter, somewhat oval i'll shape, and
cover with thick layer of sponge or
chamos skin. The poles and the skin
aud hair at the point of contact should
be thoroughly wet with Warm water.
The hair should be cut short. A
dynamo generating an electro-motiye
force OF at least 5000 volts should be
employed. Either CONTINUOUS or alter
mating current should be used. but pref
eraDly the latter. The current should
be allowed TO pass for thirty seconds"
1t has been intended to have a discus
sion following the reading of the re-
port, cut on motion of Air. Clark Bell.the
presi, ent, discussion WAS postponed
until tile December meeting, Wnen it
Was announced that Mr.. nenry Guy
Carleton would read paper on the
same subject.