The Hot Springs star. (Hot Spings [Hot Springs], Dakota [Dakota Territory, i.e. S.D.]) 1886-189?, 1890-08-15
EXTREMELY HORRIBLE.
SUCH THE OPINION OF A CHI
cAoo PHYSICIAN


CAGO PHYSICIAN
Concerning the Execution of Murderer
kemmler-He Must Have Suffered tho
fortunes of tho Dalnned-The Afiair y
Most Barbarous Que.
Horrible, horrible" was the exclama.
ton of City Electrician Barrett, of Chi
cago, when he had finished reading the &C.
count of Kemmler's execution.
do you think the man ives uncon-
s%cious2" was asked.
INC, I do not"
He must have suffered, theni
Suffered? Why, that man must have
suffered the tortures of the damned. 1t
was the most barbarious thing I ever
heard Of"
What reason have you for thinking he
was conscious?"
The best reason in the world. know
how it is from experience. If all the med
ical ext is in the world we're TO tell me
that that man did not suffer, I would not
believe it. had occasion at n time to
close IL line that was opened BY lightning.
In attempting to do SO l received a severe
shock. In an instant all power of motion
was taken away from me. was as belp-'
less as a corpse, and remained so for an
hour till help came. Now, whl.e 1 was I'M
able to move a muscle, I was as conscious
as l am right now"
DO you think it possible to make exc
cution by electricity a SUGGEST"
Certainly. so far as the killing goes.
While l think it an outrage to use it for.
that purpose. Ii of the greatest elements
for human good God has given us, still it
is possible to make it successful. In this
case those who bad it in charge made a
horrible botch of the whole business.
What they ought to have done is this:
Measured his resistance, so they could
have told just how much it would take to
kill him."
rs it possible to do that with any degree
If accuracy"
at is. and had they understood their
business that is what would have been
done."
The report says that the volt meter
varied between 500 aud ], 300 VOLTS"
Don't you beliav it. That would have
been sufficient to have killed 700 men ant
to have burned him to a crisp. There
must have been some disarrangement Of
the wire."
What effect do you think it will have
on the adoption or rejection of this mode
of execution?"
Il think the law will ultimately be re-
pealed. There is not an electrician in the
! country who is not opposed to it. Then
there are too many ways of taking life to
run the chances Of causing such q horrible
and barbarous spectacle of butchery."
Dr. Southwick.s Opinion.
DR.. Southwick, father of the electrical
execution law, said in an interview: Il feel
just as l have always felt in this matter.
There is nothing against this system, and
the fact is there has been a great deal OF
senseless sensational talk about the execu-
ton. In fact a party of ladies could sit in
the room where an execution of this kind
was going on and not see anything repul-
sive whatever. If the mistake of ordering
OF the current SO quickly had not been
made, there would have been none of
this talk. l think kemmler's nerve af-
fected those there about as much as any
thing. 1t looked to me, though, as an evil
dence of mental incapucity. He seemed to
be without fear and helped to adjust the
straps in Q way that was simply astonish-
ing. No. sir, l do not consider that this
will be the last execution by electricity.
There will be lots of them. 1t has proven
that the idea is correct, and l think the
law is q good one. The execution was u
success. Kemmler never knew what hap.
pened to him and died absolutely without
pain"
Statement From Warden Durston.
Warden Durston stated this afternoon
that the remains of kemmler will lie in the
room in the prison where the autopsy was
held yesterday. He has not decided where
the remains will be finally buried. The
subject which continues to excite
the greatest interest in Connection
with the execution is the record
voltage of the shock which killed
him. 1t is generally supposed that the
first shock was 1900 volts and the second
between 1900 and 1000. Electrician
Barnes, who was in the dynamo room, said
to n of the physicians in attendance yes.
terday that at no time was the voltage more
than l,100, and that it frequently dropped
a. OOH