St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-04-30
Kemmler's Electrical Execu-
ton Indefinitely Post
. poned.
Given a New Lease Of Life
by a New York At
torney.
The Constitutionality Of the
Law Submitted to Fed
epal Courts.
A Move That May Prolong the
Lives Of Many Condemned
Prisoners.

AUBURN, N. Y, April 29.-Notwith-
standing all the elaborate preparations
for the electrical execution of William
Kemmler; Notwithstanding the ignorant
murderer had professed his readiness to
meet death; Notwithstanding Warden
Durston had practically decided upon
the time of administering the fatal cur
rent, and Notwithstanding most of the
authorized witnesses had arrived in
Auburn, the whole proceeding is
now stopped and indefinitely ad-
journed. This postponement has
been accomplished by the serving of
writ of habeas corpus, and not in many
years has there been so dramatic an IL
lustration in New York state of the tre-
mendous power exerted by that venera.
BILE anti-SaXOn process. Here was low
brute, uneducated murderer, condemned
to death, and only waiting for the Or
der to leave his cell and walk to the
fatal chair: he had made his will, giving
away all he was worth in the world, a
slate, pictorial Bible, Testament and
a trick puzzle; he had just been bap-
tized into the faith Of the Methodist
church, and had received the last words
of his ministerial advisers; his coffin
had been made and he was soon to be
placed in it, mangled by the physicians
knives, when at this last moment
lawyer, unknown to Warden Durston,
and not only unknown to the prisoner
but even unexpected by him, lawyer
from the distant city of New York, who
In his regular practice has nothing to
do with murder cases, suddenly appears
and gives the condemned man
New Lease Of Life.
1t was as if at a hanging in a county
Jail at the very moment when the rope
was being fastened you heard an i'm
periOus rap at the jail door and mes
senger should stride in bringing
reprieve from the governor. Such at
any rate was the effect produced here
in Auburn to-day at the prison and on
the streets when the startling news was
announced. The lawyer who caused
this commotiOn was Roger M. Sherman,
Of New York city. He had never
communicated with Kemmler, and
very likely had never known anything
about him except through the news
papers. Just who employed Mr.. Sher-
man it would be interesting to know.
His connection with the case seems to
be like that of W. Bourke Cochran, who
a year ago opposed the infiction of
death by electricity upon Kemmler on
the ground of its being cruel and un-
usual, and therefore against the
state constitution. There has been
little doubt that Mr.. Cochran,
after having got interested in
the fight, had some assistance from
the electrical company whose apparatus
hoe h0an nhncor, fn bill rrs or rnyci in,
this state, in the matter of obtaining ex-
pert testimony and in other details.
That company said it did not want it's
dynamos to be used. Nevertheless they
were obtained, but not directly from the
company. The decision to try the dy-
namO of this concern was made by Har-
old P. Brown, an electrical agent, popu-
larly considered to be working in the
interests of rival electrical company.
Mr. Brown denies any such connection.
The decision resulted in the fight for
Kemmler's life OH the ground of the
unconstitutionality of the law. The
case was carried to the court of appeals,
but that body decided that the legis-
lative enactment must stand. Since
that time there appears to have been
nothiug done until yesterday and to-
day except the weak attempt in the
state legislature this session to aD0llSh
Capital Punishment.
1t is only by chance that the present
step. ostensibly in behalf of Kemmler,
counts for anything, for had there not
been little delay in getting the appa-
ratus in final order and in completing
other ARRANGEMENTS, the prisoner would
have been shocked into the next world
Oft Aox, iy
was the Warden's intention, is is de-
clared by those who have seen the
first notifications, to have the
killing done this morning. Had
his original plans been carried
out, the movement of Kemmler's
mysterious friends would have been
fruitless. A frequent topic of specula-
tion therefore, since the developments of
to-day, has been upon the point as to
when and where the writ of habeas cor
pus proceeding had its inception. This
mornings trains brought more of the
men who expected to be among the
twenty-seven invited to witness the eX-
ecution. There also appeared OH the
scene at the same time Mr.. Sherman and
Henry D. Galley. The New York news
paper men recognized these lawyers and
Immediately became suspicious. Mr..
Galley is of the law firm of Carter,
Hughes & Cravatt, attorneys for the
United States Electric company, the
Brush company, and in some ways for
the Westinghouse concern, whose sys-
TEN has been adopted for executions in
was to have been executed this week.
Mr. Galley stopped here at the Osborne
house. MIR. Sherman took room there
also, but did not register, and did every
thing possible to keep his
Presence in Town Unknown.
MI. Galley apparently had no busi-
ness with Mr.. Sherman. They were
not together in the corridors or on the
streets. and Mr.. Galley declared that he
had nothing to do with the interference
in Kemmler'S behalf, and that the West
lnghouse c ;mpany had no interest in
the present '1nOvement. He had tele-
gram while here from George Westing-
house. The last part of 1t read that the
Westinghouse people had nothing to do
with the stay of proceedings. Mr..
Sherman left here on the sos
p. m. and Mr.. Galley on the 7:O5
D. m. train. Soon after Mr.. Sherman
arrived in Auburn he saw Warden
Durston and told that custodian of the
life of Kemmler that he had with him a
writ of habeas corpus. which would re-
lieve the warden Of the job of putting
an electric shock into the murderer any
day this week or for some weeks to
come. The warden was surprised. He
did not know Mr.. Sherman, and
he has been pestered so during
the last fortnight by electricians
and newspaper men in disguise
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