The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-07-07
SING SINGS DEATH CHAIR
THE QUADRUPLE ELECTROCUTION
NEAR AT HAND.

blOn W OulQ 0CCuT
1t VIII Probab Y Occur To-day.
SING SING. n. Y, July 6.-The objective
point of interest in this place yesterday was
tins state prison. Although it was generally
understood that no one would be allowed
inside the prison, hundreds of persons visited
the Prison hill and gazed at the blank walls
Of the building as if they would read what
was transpiring inside. Even after MIDI
night people visited the spot, but were or
dered off by armed guards placed
on all the approaches to the
prison. No one was allowed to pass
this guard. During the whole night the
village was agitated as to whether the four
condemned men would suffer the penalty
Of their crime during the hours between
midnight and dawn. Most conflicting and
absurd reports were spread. Standing on
the hill overlooking the prison it was seen
that there was much activity in the prison.
The building itself was Illuminated, and the
frequent rumble of wheels announced the
arrival of visitors.
Carriages continued to arrive until long
after midnight and the opinion was that
their occupants were the jury aud the
doctors who were to be the witnesses Of the
tragedy,
EVERYONE CLOSE MoUTHED.
That Warden Brown is determined to
obey the law, which says that nothing but
a simple notice that an execution has taken
place shall be given. eau be seen from the
precautions which he has taken to keep all
outsiders at a distance. One of these was the
establishment of guard about the prison.
That guard formed a dead line not in name
only but In reality. 1t would have been
certain death to have crossed the line after
the guard had called a halt. The warden
and his deputies are close mouthed and
nothing caH be learned from them. The
warden, however, promised that if any
legal stay Of the executions occurred he
would promptly notify the newspaper men,
camped by the roadside. Beyond this
nothing was promised.
THE CHAIR OF DEATH.
The chair in which the condemned men
will suffer the death penalty is a substantial,
as well as a comfortable looking piece of
mechanism, and, with its connections with
the dynamo, was designed by Capt. Hilbert,
the prison machinist, under whose super
vision it was built. 1t was constructed In q
very workmanllke manner, and differs very
materially from the chair used in the execu-
tion of Kemmler at Auburn prison.
The chair is located in a room
just south of that occupied by the
cells of the condemned men which Is
entered bYR door opening from the passa ge
which runs in front of their cells. The
room is 80 feet long by 2S wide aud is per-
feotly bare. The addition in which the
death chamber is located is the last one
built, and is a one-story frame structure.
As the visitor enters the room of execution
he faces the chair, which is placed at the
opposite end. The seat is broad and the
back, on which heavy head-rest is con-
strlcted, has slight curve.
WHERE THE CURRENT COMES.
Above the rest and fastened to the back
by long strip is a figure "4n which is in
tended to rest on the head of the occupant.
1t is through wire III this that the current
passes. Besides this there are a number Of
straps used to secure the prisoner in position
after be has taken his seat in the chair. The
chair faces east. and directly behind it is a
low cabinet for the use Of the man who turns
on the current, who is thus out of
sight Of everybody. Directly back Of the
cabinet and against which the cabinet
stands is door leading directly to the
dynamo room. On the side of the cabinet
is a sliding door, which, on being opened,
reveals the switchboard by which the sig
mails are given to the operator, who stands
in the cabinet and turns on the fatal cur
rent.
A CARD OF DIRECTIONS.
The first object which meets the eye is a
card of printed directions, which are framed,
and read as follows:
Five bells, get ready; one BELL turn on
the current; two bells, turn on more cur
rent; three bells, less current; four bells,
shut off the current; six bells, ali through.
Underneath the directions is a little cleo
trio bell button, which is pressed to give the
signal to the operator. Next to the placard
is! test switch. This switch turns
Ar. 49,
candescent lights at the top of the switch
board, and also into the ammeter and
voltmeter which are inside with the resist
auce box. All these are arranged to test
the strength of the current before il is put
in operation on condemned man.
ANOTHER SWITCH.
There is another switch by which the cur
rent can be directly connected with wires
leading to the chair. The man at the
switchboard, however, cannot turn the cur~
rent through the occupant of the chair,
this being entirely the province of the
man VINO stands behind the cabinet. Capt.
Hilbert, the designer of the chair, is proud
of its completeness, and especially
of the code sk~sof signals. The
Failure of these in the Kmmler case was one
of the things that made the electrocution
such a horrible affair. The captain in
speaking of his device asserts that it is able
to kill twenty-five men an hour. He
has made an improvement on the
arrangement of the electrodes, which differs
materially from the Kemmer affair. In
the latter the current was passed directly
through the body and heart. The inventor
of the Sing Sing chair has a new plan for
applying the electricity to the wrists or to
one wrist and an ankle.
soMETHING COMING.
SING SING, July z, l A. M.-At 12 o'clock
the warden said: The men are all awake
| was just down to see them. They are
very quiet, but they evidently know that
something is coming" Mr.. Brown said that
no papers had been served on him in the
Wood case. He said he had the opinion Of
the attorney general on the appeal put for
ward by Woods lawyer as a claim for q
stay of execution. He would not say
what it was, but he said: "If
no other papers are served on
me before the hour set for
the execution, you can say all four men will
be executed Father Creeden aud Father
| Lynch were in the prison at midnight, as
was Mr.. Edgerton, the prison chaplain.
| They will Join the condemned men at an
early hour, some time before the hour set for
| the execution.
THE PROBABLE HOUR.
It is not improbable that 10 o'clock will
| be the hour, though the general expectation
| is that It will be nearer sunrise.
| r. j. Hair, attorney for Wood, and
George Z. Hooper, attorney for Slooum,
| arrived in Sing Sing at 10 o'clock and drove
| Immediately to the prison. Hair had in his
pockets a certified copy Of the petition