The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-08-14
EDISON INTERVIEWED.

New York, Aug. I'm an interview
with Sun reporter last night, Thomas
A. Edison said 1.-THE fault lies wholly
with the doctors. Theoretically they
are right, no doubt. The nerve centre of
the human system lies in the base of the
skull. But practically they are all at sea.
Here we have had something like 30 per-
feet examples of instantaneous death by
electricity in the accidents that have
happened in and around New York.
How was the electricity applied in these
cases Never to the head. OF what use
has been the death of these 30 men? In
every case the mortal charge entered
through the head. In no case was the
strength of the scurrent half what was
said to have been passed through Kemm-
ler's skull. The reason why contact by
hand is so much more fatal than through
the head is that electricity travels
through the water in the human body.
The hair of the head is non-cOnductor.
You see that when you comb your hair
with a rubber comb. Anything that
electricity attracts is a non-conductor.
The bones are also non conductors, and in
electrical executions like that of Kemm-
Ter the bones of the skull have to be
penetrated. The EUening Sun says that
kemmler's skin was burned at the back
OF the neck. This statement proves he
got only very small part of the current.
HAD he received the whole 1900 volts
into his body, it would have burned him
up. l testified to the resistance of the
various parts of the body during the,
Westinghouse litigation in New York last
spring. l had experimental upon /. 100
people and / knew whereof l spoke. l
said then, as say now, that the true way
to execute criminal is to send the cur
rent through his body from one arm of
the death chair to the other. The arms,
hands and fingers are full of blood,
which is good conductor of electricity.
Let the hands be properly cleansed and
moistened, and the charge would pass
through the heart causing instant death.
III is true that l recommended the cleo
trlcal machinery used at the execution.
see no reason to find fault with the
machinery. | have no doubt that the
electrical experts who assisted at the exc
cution handled the machinery in the best
possible way. The trouble, to my mind,
lies wholly in the application of the cur
rent to the victims body, the working
out OF doctors theory in the face Of
the plain demonstration of experience"
HAROLD p. BROWNS OPINION.
LOUISVILLE, Aug. 7.-"Kemmler was
dead within second after the alternat
ing current was turned on" said Mr..
Harold p. Brown of New York to re-
porter at the Louisville hotel last night.
He is the man, who, after the New York
Legislature passed law to execute by
electricity, made the experiments and
placed in position the dynamo at Au-
burn. Mr. Brown added.
I'm regard to Kemmler's execution
will say that my experience with ami
mails and the reports Of the death, show
that one seconds contact with the alter
mating current will prove instantly fatal.
If this current before the expiration of
% or 30 seconds be turned off the muscu--
lar rigidity caused by the passage of the
current through the muscles will be fol-
lowed by corresponding relaxation,
which may produce spasmodic expulsion
of breath and attemps at respiration. If
the current is kept on more than 80 sec
0nds there is no movement whatever of
the muscles when the current is cut
off.
Kemmler was killed instantly and
painlessly within the first second, but as
the current was taken off before 30 sec
onds had passed there were areflex mo-
tons OF the muscles, which frightened
some of the attendants into thinking
that he was not dead, The current was.
applied the second time, and at once, as
the report reached me, an appearance
was produced on the face and hands of
the criminal which showed beyond doubt.
the first shock had killed him"
How do you account for the burns on.
Kemmler's body P''
1T seems to me-" replied Mr.. Brown,
that there was not sufficient moisture
on the electrodes"