Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-06-03
OFF GOES THE HEAD
BY the Use of the Deadly Gull
iotine Of France.
IT HAS BEEN USED A CENTURY
II Was Invented by DR.. Louis and No,
the Man From Whom II 0ess
Its Name


A very interesting centenary fell on
April 20 last. Little WAS said about IT
add there Was no public rejoicing. Yet
the thing that might have been hoa-
ored In some way Was . creditable in
yention, although il mas dlsefeditable
history. IL is the guiliotine. ON April
25s 1872. the Highwaymsn PeIletier
Was executed on the Place de Greve, n
Paris, and the Humanitarian Invention
OF DR.. Louis was put IN use Tor the nrst
time.
It Is Q common and natural impress
aon that this instrument MAS designed
by Or. GuiIlotlu, whose mans IT bears
But IL is now pretty we'll established
that that u not 80. Or. Louis, the per-
nlanent secretary Of the academy OF
medicine, Was the inventor OF it. There
Was a general deslre for . more merci-
full way OF lntiicting the death penalty.
DIR. Louis was flled with this desire as
much IS anyone, and designed the
first model of the guilloune after
. rougher Italian Continuance. II
was made by one Schmidt, manufac-
turer OF musical instruments to Queen
Marie Anto,nette. Two years after
ward the guillotine made from his
model was used TO cut of the heads OF
his royal patroness and her husband.
Marie Antolnette was Interested IN the
condition of prisoners and WAS also IN
favor OF reforming the methods OF
capital punishment. Mobiles were
usually decapltated with the Ak aud
common persons In various other ways.
DR.. Guillotine wrote . pamphlet
urging the adoption of the invention OF
his friend, DIR. Louis. He was elected
member OF the national assembly In
consequence of the attention he drew
to himself through his advocacy Of this
instrument. 1t was at first called the
Loulson or Louisette, but the name OF
It's warmest advocate WAS soon given to
IL. DIR. Guillotln always protested
against the use Of his name. He did
not die by the guillotine, Is has been
frequently stated. He rassed away in
1914 at good old age.
IL Replaced the Brutal wheel.
At the time of the introduction and
adoption of the guillotIne the wheel
was still used IN some Of the southern
provinces. Twenty years before DAM
lens had been broken on the wheel,
with many horrible details of torture,
for his attempt on the life Of Louis XIV.
The invention was, therefore, entirely
| due TO humane motives. The fact
| that noble persons were decapitated
and others hanged by the neck was also
repugnant to growing democratic sen-
| tlnient.
During debate on law introduced
by DIR. Guillotin, the Able Maury
| opposed decapitation on the ground
| that it would make the people familiar
| with the sight OF blood and would have
q degrading effect on them. DIR. Gull
| iotin's law contained some very curious
| clauses. One was to the effect that the
| execution OF . criminal should cast no
discredit on the criminals family, and
| another was that the executloner
should not be summed by society.
This law was not passed at the time.
| Pelictier, not the man who first de-
| monstrated the value of the guillotine,
| but the editor of a royalist journal
called Les Actes des Apotres. made DR..
| Guillotin and his godchild the subject
| of song. This, the New York World
thinks, is what probably fixed the un-
| fortunate doctors name on the instru-
ment.
The Machine Worked Well.
| On January "a DR.. Pelletier was con.
denned to death by the provisional
tribunal of Paris for robbery with
| violence IN the streets. There was
some uncertainty a. to whether the new
| instrument should be used. Before
the execution of Pelletier several ex-
periments were made on dead bodies.
The assembly finally ordered that
he should die by the guillotine,
and his execution took place April %,
1892 The machine worked well. Ii
was operated by Samson, IN whose fam.
| lily the Office of executioner in Paris had
been hereditary for many years. The
| people were very much horror.struc
by this execution, according to many
accounts, although some of them must
have witnessed tho brutslities inflicted
on the victims OF the wheel.
On July u. 1892, there Was . mishap
with the guillotine. The wooden
grooves had got cut OF shape and the
knife failed to fall promptly. After
ward metal work was substituted, and
from that time there has never been
any buugling with the guillotine. Its
history Is one OF entire and great sue
cess.
Within . few months Of PeIletier's
l tAtCubtbu we Euisotlue ut9hu It's WOYk
IN assisting the political movements Of
the time. In August it was taken to
the Place du Caroussel. In August the
con OF the executiouer, Samson, fell of
the scaffold and was killed. On one
occasion IL was removed for one day to
the Place de Grevs for the execution OF
some emlgres and then back t. the
Place de Ia Revolution for that of two
robbers The Place de Greve was IN
the center of what 10 now the Place de
la Concorde. IL Was there thas Louis
XVI and Marie Antoiuette, Nine. Elz-
abeth ard Nine. Roland and other
famous persons were put 10 death. I,
~ estimated by historians that between
August 10. 1902, and the 9th "Ther.
midor," 1924, AZ, 900 persons were killed
by the invention OF the ingenious DR..
LOUIS
The Face Bsushed
The execution of Charlotte Cordsy
for the assassination of Msrst gave rice
to an interesting discussion. When the
executioner held up her severed head
be struck IL with bis fist, and hundred.
OF persons we're willing to swear 70 the
fses that the face biushed
There u story 20 the effect that Or
Gniilotin WAS put ia prison for refusing
To make q triple machine, but this i
uncertain. II does not appear that q
triple machine WAS made. The single
one worked quickly enough 70 cut OF