New-York tribune., 1890-01-01
PRICE THREE CENTS. !
DEATH BY ELECTRICITY.
THE COMMISSION TESTING THE BROWN
MACHINE IN AUBURN.
HORSE AND CALF SLAIN sATIsFAcToRrLYS
EXPERIMENTS AT REsUscITATIoN FAIL
iBY TELEGRAPH TO THE rKrHusE.a


Auburn, y. Y. Dec 3l.-The Special Commission
appointed to test the efficacy of the electrical
machines which Harold p. Brown has sold I'd
the State TO be used in putting murdcrers 70
death arrived in this city at o'clock this morn.
ing The Commission is composed Of DR.. T. Mac
donald. of the State Lunacy Commission. formerly
Superintendent Of the State Asylum for Insane
Criminals; DR.. a. B. Rockwell of New-York q
great authority upon electricity as applied IN the
science of medicine. and Professor Laudy. Of the
school OF Mines Of Columbia COLLEGE, an expert
upon electrical measurements. They were ac-
companled by Mr.. Brown. who furnished the
machines in Auburn and Sing Sing prisons Gen.
eral Austin Lathrop, Superintendent Of State
Prisons and two other prosperous-looking gentle
men. who were too modest to give their names.
The party took breakfast at The Osborne House
and then went to the prison and exchanged
salutatiOns with Warden Charles f Durs1on.
After the arrival Of the 40 train there were
three additions to the party, two Auburn gentle
men and Dr. Fell, of Buffalo. DR.. Fell was
member OF the original Commission that
mended the substitution Of electricity for the
rope.
When the Commission was asked il reporters
would be allowed to witness the tests Of the
electrical machinery the members smiled and
be placed in the chair When making tests Of
the machine in Sing Sing prison last week re-
porters from New-York were admitted, but they
wrote such accounts of the tests that the Com
mission was shocked. The Commission cided
that no reporters should be allowed to witness
any more Of these tests This information was
communicated by Dr. Macdonald tn morning.
DR.. Macdonald said that the Commission simply
desired ascertain whether the machine possessed
the voltage called for by the States contract with
Mr.. Brown. Mr.. Brown had nothing whatvcr
to do with the tests The Commission will
make official report of the tests to GeseAl
Lathrop.
The work of testing the machinery was begun
early, but the dynamo had been in motion but q
few moments when one of the pulleys, a steel one,
broke and the test had TO be postponed until this
afternoon. Dr. Macdonald said that the Com
mission would make some experiments with
animals if they could get the animals While
waiting for the broken pulley TO be replaced the
entire party was taken through the prison BY
Warden Durston.
This afternoon the Commission purchased an
old horse and four-we eks-old calf and took
them into the prison ! he animals were sub
Jected 10 tests, and this ellng Dr. Macdonald
described the result 10 tie reporters. lie said
that they were successful, and had demonstrated
that the alternating cure NJ possessed the power
10 cause death instantancously. The Old horse
was killed first quantitr If cotton waste was
fastened 10 his head and a pund MS right hind
le- Just below tie gambrel roHt. then the wires
wee ranged and the curr,y.t turned The
contact Of the current with the horses body was
less than halt minute he was killed instantly.
The current registered about 1900 volts Tbs
horse did not stru rgle. In the case OF the calf
DR.. Macdonald said that the current was Of the
same voltage as the one used on the horse: ths
contact on the calf was less than ten seconds.
AS the calf fell over DR. Fell went ia
work on IFS body 10 see if animation had simply
been suspended. He performed the operation Of
tracheotomy. opening the windpipe, ana applied
his patent resusctatin2 apparatus; an artificial
respiration was kept up for half an hour but
there was no sign Of returning life. The heart
of the calf could not be made 10 beat again. and
the members of the Commission were in high glee
because DR.. Fells apparatus had been used With
success in five cases upon human patients DR..
Fell was brought bere by the Commission foe
the special purpose Of making the test The
machine in Auburn prison can generate a current
of 1000 volts
The Commission started for New-York City this
evening