Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-04-09
THOU SHALT NOT KILL
Pennsylvania's Law Made a Terror
to Evil Doors.
FOUR MURDERERS HUNG TODAY
Terrific Storm All Over the West
en States.
'UR MURDERERS HUNG TO-DAY
AVARIoUs BUDGET OF NEWS BY WIRE.
HANGMAN'S WEDNESDAY.
Four Murderers Sent Into Eternity To-
day I'm Pennsylvania.

~S Aa S"'ss ~ ehhtds
EAsToN, Pa, April 9.-wm. Bartholomew was
hanged here this morning for the murder of
Aaron W. billiard. The drop fell at 1894
O'Clock. Although Bartholomew had threat
| ened to give the sheriff trouble and to fight to
| the last, he walked to the scaffold quietly and
with firm step.
After all arrangements had been completed
he declared himself innocent and then began
damning all his accusers and demanding that
Detective johnson and his parsmour, Mrs.
billiard, be also hung. His last words
we're mixed with violent oaths and
| blasphemous language. The drop fell
| IN the presence of a thousand persons and
during q heavy shower of rain. minute
later, after the drop had fallen, slight nerv-
Gus twltching of the body was noticeable. but
there was no other evidence of distress or suffer-
ing. immediately after Bartholomew had been
pronounced dead the body was attired in a
black suit, placed in a coffin and sent to the
home Of his family at Weavcrsville, where the
funeral will take place next Sunday. Bartholo-
new behaved well during the morning, but re-
fused TO dress, or to cat to join the ministers
| in prayer. Religious services we're. however,
held in his cell. just before the arrival of the
sheriff he said to Rev. DIR. Kurt of Allentown:
''As sure as there is a God in Heaven am as
innocent Of the shooting as you are.''
The crime for which Bartholomew was
! hanged was the brutal murder of Aaron W
billiard, near Beersvile. Northampton county
| on the morning of September 6, 1889. Bar
tholomew and billiard were farmers and lived
about three miles apart. Bartholomew was A
widower and frequently visited billiards home
The visits resulted i'll a scandal and billiard
changed his place of residence. The visits
were afterward renewed and Bartholomew was
made welcome, because he helped support the
family. Later on billiard had reason TO sus-
pect his wIfes infidelity and he eoposed 10 re-
move to Mercer county. Bartholomew wanted
10 go along, but the billiards refused to take
HIM. Then Bartholomew proposed an elope-
ment and Mrs. billiard declared she would not
leave the place until after her husbands death.
Two days before the murder Bartholomew
called on Mrs. billiard and proposed to put her
husband out of the way. 1t was agreed that he
| should come shortly after midnight and dis
turb the chickens that roasted on a tree near
the house. Mrs. billiard was to arouse her
| husband, send him down to the yard with his
gun and lighted lantern and when he neared
the tree she should tell him to look up at the
hens. The plan was carried out billiard was
shot near the tree. He staggered back to the
house and fell dead at his wife's feet Barthol-
omew returned to his home and when the
I crowds gathered the next morning to inquire
about the tragedy they were told that billiard
sHOt DN n chicken tnle1.
Bartholomew was at once suspected of the
CRIME. detectives made up strong case of
clrcufnstantlal evidence against him and he
was arrested. Mrs. billiard made a full con-
fession on the day of her husbands funeral
and repeated 1t at Bartholomew trial ON
a promise that her sentence would be COM
muted to imprisonment for life. Bartholomew
was convicted within two months after the
tragedy and sentenced to be hanged. Mrs. Dill
lard was also convicted of murder in the first
q onh in MIL 81
made she is now in the Eastern penitentiary.
ALFRED ANDREWS.
BELLEFoNTE, Pa, April 9.-Alfred andrews
was hanged here today for the killing of Clara
Price. The drop fell at ll:O3. 1t was lust
10:i5 o'clock when the march to the scaffold
began. The prisoner was as composed as it was
possible for a man TO be- When on the scaf-
fold he read the 10th chapter of Romans and
exhorted all present to forsake their sins and
meet him in heaven. He then prayed and bid
all good-by, after which the Rev. Mr. Houck
pronounced the benediction. Andrews neck
was not broken by the fall, but he died from
strangulation. About live hundred people wit
messed the execution. Everything passed off
wei! and there were no mishaps of any kind.
Alfred James Andrews was twenty-five years
OF age. He was born in England, and owing TO
harsh treatmen. by his stepmother he ran away
from home several years ago and came to this
places, never staying long at any place. For
the last three years he has been living at Bris-
bin with a woman to whom he was never mar
ried. On November q the body of pretty
Clara Price, the seventeen year-old daughter of
David Brice of karthaus. was found lying on
the ground about half mile from Karthaus
The inquest showed that she had been shot
and also disclosed evidence of attempted out
rage. This led to the belief that the girls as
sallant was known to her and that he had shot
her to prevent her eNpnslnU him An1rauS
had been seen on the road shortly after the
girl had left her home. He was arrested on
Sunday, December and brought to Jail at Belle
fonte. He denied any knowledge of the crime
but III the trial in January strong circumstan-
tial evidence was presented against him and
the jury after one hours deliberation rendered
a verdict of murder in the first degree. After
being taken to jail on the day OF his conviction
he made confession, admitting that he had
shot the girl but persisted in his denial of any
attempted outrage.
ZACH TAYLOR.
NAYNEsBoRo. Pa, April 9.-Zach Taylor was
hanged here at HIP o'clock this morning He
walked firmly upon the scaffold and was brave
to the last. In a speech he said he was an in
nocent man; he never saw the man who was
murdered,an that he was going home to Jesus
After religious services Taylor shackled his |
own ankles. He babe and kissed those present |
goodbye. When all was ready, at 11:12 The |
dropped a white handkerchief as a signal to |
spring the trap. The fall was three feet and |
his neck was broken. His body was coffined |
and taken to his home in Masontown, Fayette |
county.
Taylor's crime was participation in the mur- |
der of William McCausland, an Allegheny City \
live stock dealer. On the morning of Septem- /
ber 10, 1857, McCauslands body was found /
lying by the roadside near McCann's Landing,
in Greene County, with a bullet hole in the /
head. The unfortunate man had left home the /
night before on a business trip with 81, 200 ON /
his person, and this money had been taken.
A half dozen detectives were put to work on |
the case and a couple of months later George \
w. Clark, Frank Clark, John T.. Clark, Frank /
Clark sr, James Neff and Zachariah Taylor
we're arrested and indicted for the murder.
The men were said TO belong to a gang that |
had been terrorizing Greene county for years.
George Clark were first tried and convicted
and on February 26 he was hanged The trial
Of the others implicated followed the conyic-
ton of Clark and three more were held re-
sponsible for the crime, Benjamin Clark, whose
partial confession was used against the Others
Zach Taylor and James Nef The remainder
of those arrested were released from custody
as the evidence against them was not conclu-
sive. James Neff secured a new trial and