The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-08-14

THIS is SIGNIFICANT.


ihis 10 sidNiflCANr'
AUBURN, Aug. 1T is reported on
good authority that the second man IN
Iao,o tlo ,,r;so,, ,,os.o,,o,, e., A. 1..,,
w Pi-S0" '''' "iVoi 'io Aiii-
ing OF hemmler was one OF the electri-
clihs VINO had Deen handllng the appara-
Gus' lt Is said Chat ne went Immediately
10 C.le Ceieeraph ONCE ana sent the 1ol-
rowing aisPatch 10 the electric llght com
pahy Wnlch mas Deeh carrying on all the
loppositloll 10 electrlcal executions, pc
cause IL was lts dyhamos tlat were being
use1'
execution was an aWiul Dotcn;
hemihier was liCeraliy roasted 10 death. .
ING sOory ls very sl6lllcanI IN view OF
the delectS III the Dynamo ana apparatus,
winch were III themselves ehIireiy or
larSely respohsloie Ior the horrors OF the
eAGSution;
EiecLrlclan r. ~. Davis Oh new YORK
haH cnalBe oI IiIe machinery wmch
kLiicu hL heiiililier. s mn tS mas especiaily IN
chaTSe Oh Ghe sWiCchDoaIu' Dut ne dld
hoC ioose Ihe latal current -. d. barnes
vi hocnesteI @ PIeslueI III Che dynamo
rooli' anu EleVIiloltil ~ tsnC'ey vi Dulialo
sii,nIPly Pl"yeu Cno P%i. VI sPooC@SoI'
ine L!e 'ii"ctLheIS lh milton Jso seh' he'lnller
W ms ueavh m"o ,r, ueiooSiNe III SrSaC
lIlaily rGspeuts. ne zoo oapnciY oh tne
uyIallo Is gl'ei 40 l;'vo V"I,s, vuI ! III was
loC run up W tills PoIHC "I any ,iile uur-
my tne execution NO Iecoru oI tne
shoWihg VI Ihe NoiS lneIer can Ie oD.
I'iheu. lee Vne mivnesees aie aliiosC ii
UNANIMOUS III Ilieir sCateiiehC !liaC they
Merc CUlu o1ioIo leasilS one PTisoh W ti,aC aaC
IilG VoiESSe .au i"'iSou iionI ~ 20 ~ t,1oo
Sol'o' hlooui Ni'''l eaiu 't.'u sn ViIo
n3ait,, L,t ba ,vo;,Id NOT Stato ybat tLo
voltage was. This low voltage was ap-
parently the prime feature of the bun
cling throughout the execution. While
( advocates of electrical execution have
always claimed that 1. 200 volts Would
cause instantaneous death. most of them
have agreed that it would be much better
to use 500 volts, and this opinion has
been generally expressed by such of the
medical men of the State as have favored,
or at least been willing to advocate. a
trial of the law.
This fact is but one of the many things
that the officials who conducted this exc
cution will have to answer for-why
dynamo was used that according to the
opinion of an electrician, was running at
its full capacity and at the same time
was sending out voltage that was
wabbling anywhere from 100 to 1900.
Its lowest current was 800 volts lower
than the most enthusiastic and sanguine
advocates of electrical execution have
claimed was sufficient to kill instantan-
eOuslv and its highest voltage was 500
volts lower than more leyel-headed peo-
ple who did not object to trial of the
| -. -. A. L.
use.
| op,v,ox or px,rprs
|
NEW ORR aug; i'-lne necessity OF
| applying 1he electTlc current Twice pc
lore tne c0nuemheu muruerer hemmler
ceaseu W ilVo Is cilllneu ny tne oppUh-
ehtS Oh elec1rocuIi0h 10 prove that Ine
methou as terminated 9y harolG L.
bT0wn Is not success MI, browm y, NM
sen lS out Oh Town. An an oi lll-coh- on,
cealeu triumph was apparent at tne
o1nces OF tne Westinghouse company,
ana while the olncers 40 not come OUT
lat-iOoted ana say So tney are !uollaht
over the failure OF Browns machine.
Inc details OF tne eiectrocution were
eagerly deVoured IN an parts OF the clty:
In spite oil the recently passed enactment
torDiddlng the newspapers to publish
details OF executions, whole pages were
devoted 10 the horrible Tragedy at Au-
burn: PresS reporter called on Assis-
tant District Attorney Bedford TO learn
what actiod the District Attorney once
would take over TINS plaln vlolatlon OF
the law; MI Bedford SAID that IN case
a complaint was made the District At
torneys ofhce would be compelled TO
bring the matter 10 the attention OF tne
grand jury. otherwise no action would
Dc taken against tne newspapers: ,.,
MI. Bedford further sad that he ana
not believe in any attempt to muzzle the
press, and that he thought the law was
unconstitutional: In MIR. Bedford
opinion the quickest and best way to de-
, eide the matter is for the newspapers to
have a test case made. He also ex-
: pressed the opinion that II 1t could be
: shown that the legalized and the ap
proved method OF executing. by elec'
: tricity was ineffective and painful, the
: enactment authorizing 1t would DC
: promptly repealed by the next Leglsla-
ture.
ii. e. Townsend, the electrical expert
land attorney Tor the thomson Houston
: Electric Co., OF Lynn, Mass, was seer
! at his Office in Temple Court yesterday
and said: "lf the electrodes were per
fectly adjusted to the body when thu
current of l,6OO volts was turned on. ant
e remained so for II seconds, second ap
4 plication would not have been necessary
y No human body can stand such pres
e sure that length of time and survive
: From the accounts l have read of it,
y think that is the point where the buglinI
was done. There is no doubt but tina
the current was correctly measured, TO
the Cardew meter is one of the mos
reliable now in use.
: "His hair may not have been cut shor
n enough, and If he was not properl,
!, strapped he could bend his spine clear o
the attachment Electricity as a capita
punishment for crime is no means fail
G ure If properly applied. The State SHOULD
: have an electrical expert to carry out tn,
7 plans Of execution. But the difficult,
y which will eventually doom electrOcu
o ton is this: ANY ordinary mechani
can build scaffold and hang man, bu
8 where will you find man of the posi-
:, ton which an electrical expert command
to take charge of such objectionabl