Bismarck weekly tribune., 1889-01-04
FRANCES HEADSMAN.
a CHAT WITH THE MAN WHO
WORKS THE euILLoTlNE.

Retiring Disposition Of tho Public Exscu
tioner-How He Does His Work-Th,
Fatal Knife-A Method Superior {,
Hanging or Electricity.
Few people have ever seen the public exc
cutioner of France, and it is no easy matte,
to find him, for the police refuse to give hi
address, and his name is carefully omitted
from the directory. The dreaded sMonsieu,
de Paris, as he is called by the lower classes
is, however, NJ. Deibler, and he rents fla,
on the second floor in squalid little street
half an hours walk away from the Roquett<
prison. This man, who conducts the cere
monies in which the guillotine plays the
most Important part, is very quiet person
OF retiring disposition, who breads notoriety,
and avoids contact with his neighbors al
much as possible. There is nothing IN tho
headsman's appearance nor in his home to
denote his ghastly office.
After some difficulty your correspondent
secured the address of NJ. Deibler. and found
that the headsman was not indisposed to tell
the details of his unenviable profession. He
could not, however, be induced to exhibit.
even privately, the guillotine, which he re.
ferred to as 1.-THE machine" He said:
THE TERRIBLE MACHINE"
"Ihe machine is ready mounted for use.
and may be summoned off at any moment.
usually get twenty four hours notice In
Paris, and more than double that time for
the departments, but must hold myself con-
stantly in readiness to start off at moment,s
notice. AS rule, have to spend at La
Roquette the whole night preceding an exc.
cution. a great deal has to be done in very
short time Soon as the two black vans ar
rive-one containing the woods of Justice
and the other destined to convey the body of
the culprit to lvry cemetery-I have to su-
perintend the installation of the machine.
which takes upward of an hour The fixing
of the knife and of the apparatus itself is an
intricate job. There must be no hitch at the
last moment. 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 M.
Hetndrich, whose valet had been forsevers,
years Until my appointment was a tailor
by trade, and many workingman in the
Roquette quarter where live has had his
clothes lnended by me. But, you see / have
risen in the world From mender Of old
clothes OIL my own hook have got to be e
first class cutter in the government establish.
ment," and N. Deibler smiled at his rather
CHASTITY joke.
"While l am fixing the machine" con.
tinued the headsman, ''the Able Faure
arrives. The Able Faure enters La Ro-
quette and gives spiritual comfort to the
doomed man. After being left alone with
the chaplain for short time the culprit il
handed over to my assistant, who brings him
nom 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 be11tnk. This doesn't take mich t;n,a
for his hair ard beard were clipped on enter.
ing the prison.
THE FATAL KNIFE.
"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
ring that secure before springirg the knife.
Soon as touch a button in ono of the up
right posts the knife falls and the head is re-
ceived in a tin vessel containing sawdust.
The body is unstrapped, put into coffin,
with the culprit's head between his legs, and
the remains are then driven off to Ivry ceme-
terry, where they are buried"
docs life endure any tine after the head
is severed?'
'No, think not" the executioner replied.
'sThe great loss Of blood pro-
1uoes syncope. Besides''-
Here NJ. Deibler went out of the room and
brought in large black leather box, which
1e placed on the table. On raising the lid
here appeared ehe bright steel knife of
'bique 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
ed lining the other afternoon, stroked it
With his hand US if to brush the dust off its
highly polished surface, and, turning it over,
aid:
''Ieere; look at the back Of this knife. It
g heavily weighted, you see, to make it fall
swiftly and with tremendous force when
touch the spring. Now, this is the reason
why think that all 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
soA AeCo ~ icdl LUZ u DlON vi CuG OCClDuU CQ1G
the check is often bruised from the fall of the
head into the tin vessel containing the saw
dust. Yet the head is only raised a few inches
above the tin vessel which receives it. Such
q blow is, in my opinion, sufficient to drive
out any ray of memory, reflection or real
sensibility that may linger, after the decapi
tation, in the brain of the most obdurate,
bull headed criminal"
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.
Are you in favor of capital punishmentY'
s'Such a question should not be put to me,
Ny business is to carry out the sentence Of
the law, without inquiring whether the law
IS right or wrong Custom has not hard.
ened me to such an extent that am unable
to distinguish, however, between one crimi-
nal and another. feel the responsibility Of
shedding the blood of fellow creature as
acutely now Us | did the first time, when the
Paris Journalists said had lost my head as
well as the man had executed. l feel that
responsibility especially in cases with prison.
ers Like Moreau, the herbalist of Saint Denis,
who protested, in quite different manner
from avowed criminals, even at the foot of
the guillotine, that he died innocent.
SNor do wish to enter into the question
OF the respective merits of hanging, CARROT
ing or beheading. Whether some more sci
entic method Of giving death will replace
h.