Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-08-11

g electrical execution law. Hut Il
fix the direct responsibility for the
bungling work people want to know
what was done in the secret cham
{ Der. Where was the dial showing
the voltage Of the electric current?
and where was the switch that sent
the current into Kemmler's body?
Concerning the scene there Warden
D DurstOn says no man shall ever
8 know. DurstOn himself, OF course,
as the man in direct change Of the
execution, has TO stand what might
] be called the
LEGAL BLAME OF TIE AFFAIR.
How much Of this the warden
should equitably and PERSONALLY
shoulder may be another question,
but there Is no question that he is
universally condemned for net hav-
ing the switchboard and volt meter
in the execution room, and for not
having an expert electrician in
charge 0fth-se. Thewlrden substitut-
ed n new execution-room for the old
one at the last moment 10 avoid, as he
says, the certainty Of Kemmler's
seeing the fatal switch turned. and
Of the spectators seeing who turned
il.
IL Is generally understood that f.
F. Davis Of New York, the man who
was recommended 10 10 the elec-
trical work OF the execution before.
did the work this time. and Davis
has no reputation Is an expert in
New YORK. lie has 4 little shop.
and he does odd i1itS for other
electricians. One o! his assistants
was George W. IRISH OF Cazenovia.
! y. Y. Irish's home j. in Cazenuvia.
bat he now holes place in the
( State Tre=sunvris office in ALBANY.
( Irish has had great fonduess for
| Attending executions, and, though
. not an Dflircr, has uiliciafe,I a 4
volunteer assistant at many hang
ings. Irish plainly intimatei It the
I Osborne HUs4se last night that he
I was the man who turned the fata!
switch aud that he was proud Of Il.
There exists little doubt in Auburn
that Irish was
THE ACTUAL ENECUUONER.
He is not an electrician. Stories
current in Auburn place the voltage
Of the electrical current Uset at the
execution all the way between 500 /
and 20l0. Warden Dlrston saws
that the voltage used az the time II I
[ the inst shock given 10 kemmier was
100 volts. Il Is simply impossible /
that this can be true. The opinion /
/ OF electrical experts is that IL the 1
I full current Of 1900 volts Is passed /
through a man the man viii IL |
Z killed instantly. Electrician 4
Barnes, who was in the dynamo |
room, says that he dou0ts il the
voltage was more than 100. Even /
Warten Durs,On admits that the /
voltage VARIED constantly between
'ojand 20J. DR.. Daniels Of Buffalo
says that the voltage at the time nf
the iirst shock was between 1903 /
aud 1870.
IL viii be remembered that the
object OF Warden Durstou'S visit 10
New York just before the execution
was to get the volt meter repaired.
The impression that Kemmler va.
subjected TO current not niuch
stronger than 600 volts is gaining on
the part Of all the witnesses al the
execution, that he was in A
semi-consciDus state and after the
first shock
SUFFERED INTERNAL TORTURE.
There is little doub. on the mart OF
anyone that Bemmler was aIiv,
after the first shock. Even the
spectators who maintained that he
lost consciousness from the first adj
mltted that there was no possible
way Of telling Nhether he was con-
sci0us or not. The talk about the.
movements Of Kemmlers, body after
the INST shock being simply that of ,
spasnodlc action Is nonsense.
hemmler kept on breathing anu
gurgling, and one of the witnesses
says that the respiration and exha-
lations kept growing stronger and
stronger.
The relaxation Of the muscles
after an electric shock cannot lie ,
eoniounded with these movements
by any manner Of means. Further
ana stronger proof tina. a light cur +
rent, rather than the strong one.
was applied 10 Kemmler. is the fact
that the autopsy did not show anv
OF the usual strongly marked signs
Of electrical death. Even Dr !
, uthwlck, vino was hilariOGs over 7,
the result Of the mornings work.
admitted that the signs Of electrical =
death in hemmler were much less :
than in any ''subject'' he hal ever |,
seen Lefore.
CONTRARY To ENPECTATION
The body Of Kemmler was mot a
buried IN the prison cemetery until 4
asst night. Everybody SUPPOSE;
mat what the doctors left of the )
BODY would be buried shortly after q
he autopsy, or a soon rs night fell n
II the latest, but the burial lid moi ! n
.iAs place untl shortly after l. C
,'Giock tonight. The cause OF the 4
ielay was said to be doubt in the t.
mind Of Warden Durston rs to what r,
he woui ''attac!Ied'' I'm the law Il
the disposition of the "
'Ody meant. II orders that the OF
% y, If unclaimed by relatives, o.
hall be buried In the cemetery at a
ached 10 the prison. The cemetery M
: about n mile away from the prison \
tseh ana is r part Of Fort Lee il
which is an aristocratic 81
Gods Acre" As it was no; d. H.
ectly connected with the prison the 81
Farden believed lie could not bury -
be body there. 4
DE had about made up his mind 1.
bury IL under one OF the fiagstCnes II
q the prison yard wheIi e occurred m
, him that the law distinctly said m
and 50 the warden con- II
luded TO have legal allyiee on the ~
inject. This settled the vexed q
uestion, and the grave digger at Sc
he cemetery was ordered 70 dig a Il.
rave and be on hand 10 bury the In
oiy alto O'Clock tonight, bot the OF
Spress wagon which IN
ATTLED THE NURDERER's BONES ~ ~
yer the stones did not mach II.
lie graveyard till moro than hi
70 hours later. The grave /
as within n short distance Of one Ut
the main streets. The BODY was tn
berslly Eprinkled with quicslime an
ld the Earth was thrown upon h 10
= the light Of lantern. The only
iourners were the grave-digcers r
ID they mourned because theyhad
work 50 late. =;