The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1890-08-14
polish Of any training or efforts to emo
Element. He was a sample product of
conditions existing to-day in all large


conditions existing to-day in all large
cities.
He worked in the slaughter house
with his father, then he became brick
yard worker, and finally he became 6
huckster on his own account OF his
rascally devices to cheat customers, while
huckstering, Kemmler since his impris
onment has told with chuckles and
much gusto.
In 1877, Kemmler married worthless
woman named Ida Porter, in Camden,
N. j. Two days later he found she had
been previously married, and he left her
to live with Matilda zeigler. They
moved to Buffalo, n Y. Kemmler fire.
quently found his mistress purloining
money from his clothing, and he sus-
pected infidelity on her part. They
quarreled blows were exchanged
Kemmler became a hopeless drunkard.
On the morning of March 80, 1889, all
Buffalo was shocked by the news of the
brutal butchery of q woman at No. 526
South Division street. The woman kill
dwas ''Tillie Ziegler, and the murderer
was the Philadelphia butchers son,
Kemmler The murder was the first
that had been committed in the State of
New York after the law to kill murder
ers by electricity had become operative
Kemmler was arrested, and in the
meantime the unfortunate woman was
removed to a hospital. Her face, arms
and breast were covered with blood, and
she was quite insensible. A casual ex-
animation resulted in the discovery of
tWenty-six distinct gashes on the face
and head, and five bad wounds on the
right hand, arm and shoulder she hav-
ing evidently tried to defend herself
from the savage attack of her paramour.
She fingered in a comatose condition
until the next day, when death ensued
before she had once regained conscious
ness, and she was, therefore, unable to
make an anttmortem statement. The
only eyewitness was the four-year-old
daughter of the victim, who said: Papa
hit mamma with the Ratchet when she
was lying on the fioor'
The couple in Buffalo had lived under
the name of Hort. The victims father,
a Philadelphia huckster, named Tripner,
came to Buffalo and identified the body
of the dead woman as his child. With
him came Henry Kemmler, the muir
derer's brother, who had married sis
ter of the dead woman.
The woman was described by the Buff
falo papers at the time as progresses
ing brunette of about 1876 pounds, and
quite stylish-looking.
After his arrest the murderer refused
to talk of the crime, and at one time
there were doubts as to his sanity. He
made no attempt to escape after the as
sault. When pressed to give a reason
for the deed he only said, 81 wanted to
kill her, and the sooner hang for it the
BETTER Nearly $500 in cash was found
at his room. The coroner's jury pro-
Kemmler q murderer, and i'm
after the inquest he was taken
from the jail to the police court and ar
raigl4ea on charge of fmprdes IN yhe
first degree. He pleaded guilty, saying
he had no use for lawyer
Judge Childs sentenced him to die
within the week beginning June "a, 1889,
by the application OF electricity as pro-
vided by the code, at Auburn State
prison. Counselor Hatch took exeep-
tions to the sentence, upon the ground
that the punishment was cruel and I'M
usual, and contrary to the spirit of the
kemmler reached Au-
burn Friday, May "a, at midnight. A
writ of habeas corpus was served upon
Warden Durston just before the fatal
day arrived, and upon June 25 an ex-
haustive argument was heard by County
Judge Day. The whole argument was
as to the cOnstitutionality of the law
electricity for the gibbet,
upon the ground of the former being
cruel and unusual. Judge Day dismissed
the writ, and thu case was taken to the
General Term of the Supreme Court at
Rochester, where the constitutionality
of the law was upheld. The last resort
was the Court of Appeals, and here too,
the decision was adverse to Kemmler's
counsel.
The criminal was resentenced to die in
the week beginning April 80, 1890. 1t
is likely Kemmler would have been cleo
tricized on April a0th. but on the goth a
United States writ of habeas corpus was
served on the warden, and the case was
then carried to the United States Su-
preme Court on the point of constitu-
OF the law on the same grounds
as urged in the State courts The New
York courts were upheld in the final APP
peal, and hemmler was again sentenced
to be killed in the week beginning Au-
gust 4th.
THE SOURCE OF TIRE DEATH CURRENT.
BY small window in the loft above
the marble shops in Auburn prison is
rugged q dynamo which takes power
from the shop below. 1t is a fifty horse
power machine, which is the mechanical
force, allowing for waste in gearing and
deemed necessary to main
tain fifty Of the arc, or big white street
lamps. The qualifications of this dyna-
mo are:
Commercial voltage force cur'nt) 900
Mean i ,5f2
Maximum. ..............,. g, 376
Speed (revolutions of armatare). / 800
This machine is So constructed as to
generate what is known as an alternax
ting current. In lay terms it may be
said that in alternating current dynamos
the electric force sndergoes rapid peri
odic changes, being one moment at aero
Increasing to maximum, diminishing to
zero; then, reversing Ia direction, it
again rises ta a maximum. to fall again
to seEo. The average of these rapidly
changing strengths is sometimes calico.
the electro motive force Of the dynamo.
The Auburn machine is capable of about
$50 of these reversaas every second, or
about 1400e every minute. When an-
Piled 20, the criminal, as in KemmIer's
case, these rapidly alternating throbs
have each about the physical force nec~
essary TO lift 49, pounds 1 foot in one
second. The nerve cells and tissues
are believed to be racked and smitten,
first in ane direction and then another,