Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-02-26
SMITH is A BAPTIST
And Requests Sheriff McCandless to
Allow Him to be Immersed.
A POSER FOR THE ExECUTIONER.
Three Men Anxious to Relieve the Sheriff
of His Unpleasant Task,
PRECAUTIONS AGAINST HIS SUICIDE

Sheriff McCandless Yesterday morning
received what he calls one OF the mostnovel
requests he ever saw. It was petition
from w. H. Smith, the condemned WIFE
murderer, to be baptized by immersion.
The Sheriff appreciates the desire of the
prisoner, but is at loss how to crafty it.
One of the Jail bath-tubs might be used in
the carrying out of the idea, but the Sheriff
will certainly not allow any river INNER
sion, as the prisoner might be a good SWIM
mer, and he is not quite sure of the natatory
powers of the Jail watchman.
The warrant does not include drowning
as means of execution, SO that the Jail ia
cilities are all that can be afforded. If
"sprinkling" would suit, there are shower
baths, while the pouring" methodIof bap-
tism could be successfully adm Mustered by
the use of one of the numerous water taps in
the building.
The Sheriff is in quandary, and says
that although he would wish to crafty
every reasonable request of the prisoner,
still the best chance he can afford for i'm
mersion is in one of the jail bathtubs.
MUST BE THOUGHT OVER.
Mr.. McCandless was asked if tank could
not be constructed for the purpose, as the
case was unique one and the first on record,
but he thought when the bill would be pre-
sented to the County Commissioners and
the Controller there might be a, vigorous
kick. Altogether. the request was one
which required consideration.
This is not the only subject which at
present tends 10 puzzle the Sheriff and make
his lot, like that of the policeman, not a
happy one. His well-known repugnance,
on humanitarian principles, to act as exc
cutioner, has brought him already three
offers by mail to ':do the job" as one of his
correspondents plainly calls the functions of
hangman. He refuses to give either the
names or the substance of the letters, al
though it might be matter of general in
terest to know tine literary ability of the
men who aspire to the bad pre-eminence of
manipulating the scafold.
The Sheriff, although perfectly willing to
have the execution vigorously conducted,
is at q loss somewhat how to proceed. 1t
was suggested to him that sort of civil
service examination might be made of the
applicants for performing the last uncivil
service to Smith, but he did not take kindly
to the idea, and said if it had to be done he
would most probably perform the work him
self.
ANOTHER VOLUNTEER.
On the question of the death watch, the
Sheriff had as yet received no advice from
the legal authorities, but he has received
letter from gentleman, whom he refused to
name, recommending the services of a man
named Mccarthy to perform the duty. This
is the only application as yet filed, but the
Sheriff hopes it will be a stop watch, as he
does not know yet exactly what length of
time is legally prescribed for the official
death watch, but thinks it is so short that
the position, aside from its disagreeable
features, is an undesirable one.
Warden Berlin and Deputy Warden P. j.
Soffel last night said that the condemned
man had been visited yesterday by his
spiritual adviser, Rev. j. II. Pryor, Of the
EDenezer Baptist Church, and reported that
Smith still retained lively hopes of a COM
mutation of his sentence. The prisoner still
was pleasant and hopeful, and rejoicing in
the fact that, as he thought, the evil day
was deferred, and before the time came the
sentence would be either commuted or made
in some manner more satisfactory to the
man, who, like others, would not "feel the
halter draw with good opinions Of the law"
FEARFUL OF SUICIDE.
This hopefulness is rather encouraged by
the Jail authorities, for the reason that as
the prisoner had already attempted suicide,
it might occur to him to butt his head
against the cell walls, or by some other
means save the county some expense and the
Sheriff a very disagreeable piece of work
Deputy Warden Soffel said last night
that close watch was being kept on the
prisoner for these reasons, and that whether
a pardon, commutation of sentence, or the
letting Of the law take its course would be
the result OF the pending negotiations, he
thought the condemned man would be pro-
duced equal to any future.