St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-10-28
Paris Letter.

quette prison. This man, VINO conducts
the ceremonies in Which the guillOtine
plays the most prominent part, is very
quiet person. OF retiring disposition,
who breads notogiety and avoids contact
with his neighborS as much as possible.
There is nothing in the headSman's APP
pearance nor in his home to denote his
CHASTITY office.
After some difficulty your correspond
ent secured the address of NJ. Deibler,
and found that the headSman was not
indispOsed to tell the details of his UNI
enYiable profession. He could not,
however, be induced to exhibit even
privately the guill0tine, which he re-
ferred to as 1.-The machine" He said:
1.-The machine is ready mounted for
use, and / may be summoned OFF at any
moment. | usually get twentyfOur
hours notice in Paris and more than
double that time for the departments,
but must hold myself constantly in
readiness to start off at moments no
tiee. AS rule. | have to spend at La
Roquette the whole night preceding an
execution. A great deal has TO be
done in a very short time. Soon
as the two black vans arrive
one containing the woods of justice
and the other destined to convey the
body of the culprit to Ivry cemetery
have to superintend the installation OF
the machine. which takes upward of an
hour. The fixing of the knife of the
apparatus itself is an intricate Job.
There must be no hitch at the last mo-
ment. The instrument is invariably
placed on five stones just outside the
central door of the Roquette prison. |
accepted the post | now hold on the
resignation of Nj. Heinrich, whose valet
ho1 f,r Int
appointment was taller by trade. and
many a wOrkingman in the ROquette
quarter, where live. has had his clothes
made by me. But. you see, l have risen
in the world. From a member of old
clothes on my own hook, have got to
be first-class cutter in the government
establishment and N. Deibler smiled
at his rather CHASTITY Joke.
"'While l am fixing the machine"
continued the headSman, 1.-THE Able
saure arrives. The Able Faure enters
La Roquette and gives spiritual comfort
to Che doomed man. After being left
alone with the chaplain for a short time
the culprit is handed over to my assist
ant, who brings him from his cell down
the stone stairway which leads to the
depot-the prisoners last station on
earth before reaching the machine
where he is seated on wooden stool
and his toilet begins. This doesn't
take much time, for his hair and beard
were clipped On entering the prison.
The man is piniOned. his shirt
stripped Of its collar. and he then
goes forth to his death by the central
door. when he is strapped to the fatal
plank. which, toppling over, brings his
neck into the half circular portion of a
ring that | secure before Springing the
&C | n N
of the upright posts the knife falls and
the head is received in tin vessel con-
tanning SawduSt. The body is I'M
strapped, put into coffin, with the cul-
prit'S head between his legs, and the
remains are then driven off to Ivry
cemetery, where they are baried."
"Does life endure any time after the
head is seyered?'
No, think not" the executioner
replied, reflectively. 1.-The great loss
of blood produces syneope. Be-
sideS''--
Here M. Deibler went out of the room
and brought in large black leather
box, which he placed on the table. On
raising the lid there appeared the
bright steel knife of o5lique shape,
which is fixed to the cross beam of the
guillotine at each execution, and which
NJ. Deibler carefully watches over and
cleans at home. He took it out of its
soft red lining the other afternoon,
Stroked it with his hands as if to brush
the dust off its highly polished surface,
and. turning it oyer, said:
There; look at the back of this
knife. 1t is heavily weighted, you see,
to make it fall swiftly and with ire
mendous force when touch the spring.
Now, this is the reason why | think
that ali consciousness departs from the
brain of a man after the fall of the
head. at the same instant that the
neck is severed by the blade. the
weighty portion strikes so fearful a
blow on the Oceiput that the cheek is
often bruised from the fall of the head
into the tin vessel containing the saw
dust. Yet the head is only raised few
inches above the tin vessel which re-
ceiyeS it. Such blow is. in my opin-
ion, sufficient to drive out any ray of
memory, reflection or real senSibility
that may linger, after the decapitation,
in the brain of the most obdurate, bull
headed criminal"
Are you in favor of capital punish
ment?"
such question should not be put tC
me. My business is to carry out the
sentence of the law. without inquiring
whether the law is right or wrong
Custom has not hardened me to such an
extent that am unable to distinguish
however. between one criminal and an.
other. feel the responsibility of shed
ding the blood of fellOW-creature as
acutely now as i did the first time
when the Paris Journalists said | had
lost my head as well as the man l eX-
ecuted. / feel that responsibility. es-
peeially in cases with prisoners like
Moreau, the herbalist of Saint-Denis
who protested in quite a different man.
her from avowed criminals, even at the
foot of the guillotine, that he died limo.
cent.
Nor do [ wish to enter into the ques-
ton of the respective merits Of hanging
garrOting or beheading. Whether some
more scientific method of giving death
will replace the guillOtine i cannot say
l think not. Electricity has been sug.
geSted, and poisoning 10y means oil
pruSsic acid. The guillotine does its
work thoroughly, fer when the head is
once severed there is no means of stick
ing it on again. while recovery from
poison or electricity is not impossible
with the aid of the executioner, who
might be induced TO moderate the dose
for a consideration. The guilotine
permits of no collision between the
administrator of the law and the
1GltuuS Vi tHc SulIbs. as lOilS DIS capita
punishment shall exist in France the
present method will. think, be main
tanned as more sure in its effects anC
as offering the least objection.
Capital punishment may be said Il
be virtually abolished In France at tht
present day. Paris alone last year triec
300 men for murder and convicted
only five of them. The leniency shown