St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-07-07

Wood.
This Is the Order
in which, it is expected, they will be
executed at short intervals apart. There
seems very little doubt that all four
will 90 in one day. The chair in which
the condemned men will suffer the
death penalty is substantial, as well
as comfortable looking piece of
wood workers mechanism, and with
the connections with the dynamo was
designed by Capt. Hubert, the prison
machinist, under whose supervision it
was built. 1t is constructed in a very
workmanlike manner, and differs very
materially from the chair used in the
execution of Kemmler at Auburn
prison. The chair is located in room
just south of that occupied by the cells
of the condemned men, which is en-
tered by door opening from the pas
sage which runs in front of their
cells. The room is fifty feet
long by twenty-eight wide, and is per-
fectlv bare except for the muslin-cur-
tanned windows through which light in
abundance enters. 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 OPP
poSite end. This article of furni-
ture, which is an object of ter
ror to the four men, is very solid.
The seat is broad, and the back, on
which heavy head rest is constructed,
has a slight curve. Above the rest, and
fastened to the back by long strip, is a
figure ~, " which is intended to rest on
the head of the occupant. 1t is through
Il, h AI,,A NI,n
Besides this, there are number of straps
used to secure the prisoner in position
after he has taken his seat in the chair.
The chair faces the east, and directly
behind it is
n Low Cabinet
for the use of the man who turns on the
current, who is thus out of sight of
everybody. Its sides. however, do not
reach the ceiling, so the operator can
have plenty of ventilation. Directly
back of the cabinet. against which the
cabinet stands, is door leading directly
to the dynamo room. On the side of
the cabinet is sliding door,
which, on being opened, reveals
the switch board by which the sig
stands in the cabinet and turns on the
fatal current. The first object which
meets the eye is card of printed "di-
rectiOns," which is framed, and read
as follows: Five bells. get ready; one
bell, turn on current; two bells, turn Oh
more current; three bells, less current;
four bells. shut off current; six bells,
all through. Underneath the directions
is little electric bell button, which is
pressed to give the signal to the Oper-
atOr.
Next to the placard is the test switch.
This switch turns Oh the current into a
dozen or more incandescent lights at
the top of the switch and also into the
ammeter and the voltmeter, which are
on the side with the resistance box. All
these are arranged to
Test the Strength
of the current before it is put in oper-
alton on the condemned man. There is
another switch by which the current can
be directly connected with the wires
leading to the chair. The man at the
switchboard, however, cannot turn the
current through the occupant of the
chair, this being entirely the province
of the man who stands behind the cab
met and operates the switch located
there, which is connected directly with
the occupant of the chair. Capt. Hill
l.
of its completeness, and especially of
the code of signals. The failure of
these in the kemmler case was one
of the things that made that electrocu-
ton such horrible affair. The captain,
in speaking of his devise, 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 that of the Kem-
mler case. 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. Under the new law
there will be no story given out by the
prison authorities telling how the MUIR
derers spent their last night on earth.
nor will the world ever know just what
they had for breakfast.
Real Dead Line.
That Warden Brown is determined to
obey the law, which says that nothing
but simple notice that an execution
has taken place shall be published. can
be seen from the precautions which he
has taken to keep all out
these was the establishing of
guard about the prison. That guard
formed 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 upon one to halt. The
line was established about the prison,
and Just what sort of men were on that
picket duty was learned by a reporter
who attempted to cross the line.
Guard IHgerSOll was ON duty at the
trestle work just south of the prison.
The reporter and a telegraph lineman
were about to step upOu the treStle
when they were sharply commanded to
halt. They did not heed the command.
There was sharp click, the form
of a man loomed up out of the
darkness and the muZzle of a
44-caliber repeating rife stared the
couple in the face. They stopped. An
other move forward after that demand
had been given and the finger of dead
shot would have pressed the trigger.
All the guards up here have reputa-
tionS as expert marksmen. The moul-
dered remains of many of convict who
has attempted to escape testify to their
accuracy CT aim.
The Grimes
for which the four are to be executed
are as follows:
Harris A. Smiler was at one time
Salvation Army captain. He was
printer by trade and had de-
veloped a rare faculty for
getting married. At the time
the crime was committed, there were
three women living 10 whom he had
been married, and none of them had
been divorced. The last one to go
through the ceremony with him, Maggie
Drainey, was his victim. He had been
living with her at 2S4 Seventh ave-
nue., but, on account of his brutality
she had determined to leave him. He
came home partly drunk on the night of
April 5, 1889, and when she refused to
promise to remain with him he shot her
to death. He was originally condemned
to die in the week beginning Aug. IA,
1890. but the appeals taken had saved
his life thus far.
James J. Slocum lived at z Cherry
street, and had been base ball player
and common laborer. He had long
been a wife-beater, but commonly
rOnndQ1 his xUifa vrifb hic fcfc onA