St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-04-30


of habeas corpus for Kemmler and ask
that it be accepted. II must have some
assurance of the regularity of this
proceeding" said the warden. Mr..
Sherman explained that he had obtained
the writ from Judge Wallace on Mon
day and that certified copy would
be sent from the clerk of the court at
Utica. That was not considered Suf-
ficient and thereupon MI. Sherman
went before Supreme Court Judge
Dwight, who was sitting in chambers
here, and made affidavit that he was
lawyer and had obtained the following
writ of habeas corpus from Judge
Wallace:
The President OF the United States to
Charles +. Dursten, Warden and Agent OF
Auburn Prison-Greeting: The people of the
United States, whom God defend, do COM
mand you that you have the body OF William
Kemmler, by you imprisoned and detained,
as it is said. together with the time and cause
of such imprisonment and detention by
whatsoever name the said William Kemmler
is called or charged, before the circuit court
of the United States for the northern district
of New York, to be held at Canandaigua Oh
the third Monday Of June. at 10 O'Clock in
the morning. Witness the Hon. Melville
F. Fuller, chief justice of the United States.
Fail not at your peril, and have you then
there this writ.
VII luc UdCk VI tuG VIII ID GIllo llluOloC-
ment:
1.-THE within writ is granted this 2Sth day
of April, 1890 William j. Wallace, judge
United States circuit court.
Mr.. Sherman had also prepared a
paper for Kemmler to sign, certifying
that Mr.. Sherman was authorized to act
| as his counsel and to apply for the writ.
Judge Dwight said this would have to
be signed by the prisoner in the pres
ence of notary public. Warden Ours
ton was satisfied with these certificates
of the regularity of Mr.. Sher-
mans business, and, except to an
nounce the news formally to
the newspaper men and to
notify Kemmler, the warden's
troubles for the day were over. The
eral way about O'clock Ill the after
noon about what was going on. Their
information came from District Attor-
neY Quinby while at dinner. He said
to some of the correspondents at the
table, swell, there is not going to be
any execution, and am tired and going
home this afternoon" AS a result
there was crowd of the newspaper
men at the prison in quick order to get
the details. 1t was 2:15 when Warden
Durston stepped from his Office
into the prison corridor and for
mally announced that the writ
had been served upon him.
The newspaper men jumped down the
prison steps and ran up State street to
the telegraph offices three blocks away.
Some tOwnspeOple ran hither and
thither, and after the correspondents,
and soon there was a long string of
men and children running up the hill
to Genesee street. The almost general
inquiry was shouted out in front of
houses and stores: ''Say, has he been
touched off?' This expression "tOuch
off, is the Auburn name given to the
new death method for which so many
new words have been coined, and it
was amusing to hear the repeated in
quiries yelled at the newspaper men in
their race for the telegraph Office.
"Who Touched Him Off,"
"When he was touched off, how did he
die?'' Auburn has been pretty well eX-
cited during this week, and the scores
and scores of men from out of town
newspapers have only helped to whet the
interest of the outside world is in this
new and untrled manner of getting rid
Of murderers. During the first hour
after the news was on the street the
town was busy discussing the new phase
of the question. Warden Durston had
accepted Mr.. Sherman'S papers and had
given out the news, but not until about
5 o'clock was the first intimation con-
veyed to Kemmler. That common
place individual, who is and who is not
the chief point of interest in all this
matter, has passed the hours In his ac-
customed simple way. The fellow has
little or no intellect. and is almost abso-
lutely devoid of moral understanding.
The story of what were thought to be
his last hours on earth is precisely the
often Of so many other ordinary
Notary David b. Mcneil. who is a
storekeeper in the prison went with
Warden Durston to get Kemmler's
signature to the affidavit certifying to
Mr.. Sherman's retention as counsel, it
was supposed that Kemmler would ex-
hibit some joyful appreciation of the
new and unexpected chance presented
to save his life. Up to this tine Kemm-
ler had had cause to think only of his
coming death. The appearance of
Notary Mcneil and Warden Durston
with the paper they were bringing him
should have changed the nature of his
thoughts. But nothing of that kind
happened. Mr.. Durston made no ex-
plantations. He simply read the paper,
and asked Kemmler to sign 1t. The
doomed man took the paper that meant
the
Postponement of His Doom
as If it were really some paper he had
to sign to express his willingness to
die, OF as if it were confession of his
sins. His listless manuer justified the
assumption that possibly he thought
this was a formality always observed
before an execution. He seemed as if
he would not be surprised if, after
signing it, he should be ordeted to kneel
for the last time and then to get up and
go to the death chamber. Not once did
he ask question. BE put his name
OIL the document with studious
pleasure. proud of being able to
write. and then gazed in an alb
affixed his signature. "Kemmler has a
mind,n said Warden DurSton later, in
telling the story, (which Is of peculiar
structure. He can not have more than
one idea before him at any one time,
and the idea that has possessed him for
days past has been that his death was
inevitable. That is all he is thinking of
now, and all he will think of until l ex-
plain very minutely to him all about
the papers. The apathy we found him
| in is genuine and not feigned." The
warden, for some reason best known
to himself, kept putting off an
| nouncing to Kemmler the change
in his fortunes. A company
newspaper men gathered around
him in his Office and strongly urged
that it was cruel and unusual to delay
doomed man of his reprieve. Finally,
l. the warden smiled and said he would
see Kemmler. 1t was little before
o'clock when the warden went to
tell the unsuspecting murderer of the
great meaning of the paper he had
signed and the greater meaning of the
writ of habeas corpus. Mr.. Durston
went into the condemned mans cell
alone and found him busy writing his
autograph on cards. Like child who
has just learned to scrawl its name,
that is
Kemmler's Chief Delight.
Kemmler raised his head whenthe war