Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-08-08
BURIED AT MIDNIGHT.
The Last Act Attending the Execu-
tion of Kemmler Completed.
DOCTORS RADICALLY DISAGREE,
And Attack Each Other as Well as the
Electric Arrangements.
AN INTERVIEW WITH EXPERT HUNTLEY
nrEcrAL rELEeRAM TO THE DISPATCH,

rsPEcIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DIsPArcH-I
AUBURN, August 7.-Contrary to expec-
tation the body of William Kemmler, the
murderer, who was executed by electricity
yesterday, was not buried in the prison
cemetery until tonight. Every body sup
posed that what the doctors left of the body
would be buried shortly after the autopsy,
or as soon as night fell at the latest, but the
burial did not take place until shortly after
II o'clock tonight
The cause of the delay was said to be
doubt in the mind of Warden Durston as to
what the word attached" in the law regu-
lating the disposition of the body meant. 1t
orders that the body, if unclaimed by rela-
tives, shall be buried in the cemetery at
tached to the prison. The cemetery is about
a mile away from the prison itself, and is
part of Fort Lee Cemetery, which is an aris-
tocratic Gods Acre. As it was not directly
connected with the prison the Warden be-
lieved he could not bury the body there.
He had about made up his mind to bury it
under one of the fagstones in the prison
yard, when it occurred to him that the law
distin city said cemetery, and so the Warden
concluded to have legal advice on the sub
ject
AT THE MIDNIGHT HOUR.
This settled the ve1ed question, and the
grave digger at the cemetery was ordered to
dig grave and be on hand to bury the body
at 10 o'clock tonight. but the express wagon
which ratified the murderer's bones over the
stones did not reach the graveyard for more
than two hours later. The grave was within
a short distance Of one of the main streets.
The body was literally sprinkled with quick
lime, and the earth was thrown upon 1t by
the light of lantern.
The only mourners were the grave-diggers,
and they mourned because they had to work
so late. Thus ends the story of William
Kemmler, and the people here are rapidly
forgetting all about him.
There were some stories set afloat this
morning to the effect that the execution was
bungled purposely in the interests OF an
electric light company, but little attention
was paid to them. DIR. Spitzka, who was
present at the execution of William
Kemmler at Auburn prison yesterday, makes
the following statement:
The assertion attributed to physician from
Buffalo, that the undersigned ordered the cur
rents stopped or in any way directed the steps
rendered necessary at the Kemmler execution,
is utterly unfounded. No one in the execution
the voltage, nor did anyone order the current
turned OF. 1t was turned OF N accordance
with previous understanding. =
THE PROPER TIME. s--..
DR.. Carlos Mcdonald and myself between
whom and myself complete harmony existed)
on being asked by the Warden what the time
should be, agreed to Is seconds, and actually II
seconds were allowed to elapse. When Kemm-
ler's death appeared doubtful suggested
in a hurried way to the Warden to have it
instantly turned on again, and it was the
Warden who gave the order then and there.
went to Auburn solely to make the
examination of the brain, and not as an asst
ant executioner. The dynamo as judged by
the action of Kemmler's body acted very ir-
regularly The source of this 1t will be inter-
esting to ascertain as well as the animus which
dictated the gratuitous and untrue statement
of the person alluded to, if really made by him.
AS an avowed opponent, and as one known to
be SUCH of the electrical method. went to
Auburn. Under these circumstances, it were
scarcely consistent for me to volunteer as a
performer of that method. Had either my
associate, DR.. Carlos Mcdonald, or myself been
able to anticipate such misstatements beng
made, we certainly should have declined to act
in the medical capacity which we alone held |
My sole suggestion. conceded with by all
present-the turning on of these currents
was dictated by humanity in view Of doubts as
TO complete destruction Of life.
Respectfully,
q