The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1890-08-07
BUNGllNG.

riveted the attention of the civilized
world yesterday by an event that was
altogether unique i'm the worlds his
tory. IL was an event of interest alike
to scientists and sociologists; and its
actual occurrence was equally disap-
pointing TO both.
In tolerating capital punishment
modern civilization has come TO insist
upon three things, painlessness. in
stantaneousness and immunity from
m~utilation. Any execution of a human
erata is deservedly characterized as
cruel, inhuman and revolving. 1t has
been far more difficult to satisfy the
demands of civilization upon these
points than might be imagined. For
many years hanging has been regarded
as the closest approximation to ideal
capital punishment known to the law.
That IL sometimes failed TO accomplish
painless and instantaneous death was
admitted, but 1t certainly was an i'm
provement upon disqualification, since
decapitatiOn violated one of the three
principles outright. II was argued that
hanging was the best process of in
flicting death yet at hand and must re-
main until a better should he dis
covered.
The legislature of New York in 1889
felt satisfied that a better process had
mt last been found in the application
of electricity. That legislature was
made To believe that capital punish
ment by electricity would be re-
duced to an exact science. All
possibilities of laundering would
be eliminated. All danger of
mistakes through inexperience, con-
fusion or timidity on the part of the
officers would be avoided. Not only
would the death of the victim be alb
solutely instantaneous and painless,
but the corpse would show not so much
as the slightest mark or discol0ratiOn.
How far the first infection of the
death penalty by electricity fell short
of these promises n has but to read
yesterdays dispatches from Auburn to
note. Seldom has an execution been
more brutal and brutalizing. Alto
gether II was q revolving, sickening,
demoralizing affair. for which it will
he hard to find a satisfactory excuse.
or course there will be profuse and
abundant explanations. The world
will be told that the electricians from
the very nature of the case Mad no
opportunities for making a practical
experiment In advance: that now that
an actual trial has been made they
have learned wherein their apparatus
and their system" were defective.
that they will profit by this experience
and know precisely how to dispatch
the next victim without hitch or flaw.
AS a matter of fact the electricians
were equally positive that they could
kill the nan Kemmler without hitch
or flaw. They have had more than a
year in which to perfect their machin-
cry, and they have had every facility
for practicing upon dumb brutes dur
ing all this time. Man and beast live
and die according TO the same funda-
mental principles. The same agencies
that kill n will kill the other. II
may require a harder blow TO slay an
OK than a man; il may take
o force to kill a man than
a dog or a rabbit. But science
should be able at least to approximate
these things. The electricians them
selves claimed more for science than
mere approximation; they claimed alb
solute precision and certainty.
The case of Kemmler is a very re-
markable n from beginning TO end.
A long and vigorous war was waged
against the law by IN electric company
which failed TO get the contract TO en-
force IL. While the law triumphed i'm
its battle, science or at least the scien.
lists have been beaten in theirs. IL
may be that the rival electric company
continued its fight into the walls of
Auburn prison. At any rate something
was wrong yesterday radically wrong.