Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1892-06-04
On the 25th Of april Last it Had Been
Used One Hundred
Years.
The Last Execution Was that of
Lieut.. Anastay ON April
9th Last.

in some way was creditabe invention,
although 1t has discreditable history
1t is the guillotine. On April Is, 1892
the higlwaymSn Pelletier was executed
| on the Place de Greve, In Paris and the
| humanitarian invention of DR.. Louis was
| put in use for the first time.
| l5 Is a common and natural impression
that this instrument was designed by Dr.
| Guiilotin, whose name il bears. But it is
| now pretty well established that that is not
so. DR.. Louis, the permanent secretary
! Of the Academy of Medicine, was the in
ventor of it. There was a general desire
for more mercitul way of in6icting the
death penalty. Dr.. Louis was filed with
| this desire as much as any enc and de-
! signed the first model Of the guillotiue
/ after a rough Italian contrigance. 1t was
made by one Schmidt, manufacturer Of
musical instruments to @ ieen Marie An
/ tolnette. Two Years aflecward the guillo-
| tine made from this model was used to cut
eff the heads Of his royal pacroness and
! her husband. Marie AntoiEette was inter-
ested in the condition of prisoners and
was also in favor of reforming the meth
DDS of capital punishment. Mobiles were
usually decapitated with the axe and com.
mon persons In various other WAYS.
DR.. Gullloun wrote pamphete urging
| the adoption of the invention of his
| friend, DR.. Louis. He was elected men,
| Der OF the national assembly in conse
! quence OF the attention he drew to himself
through his advocacy of this instrument.
lt was at FIRST called the Louison or Louis.
cite, but the name of its warmest adyo-
caate was soon given to it. DR.. GuiIlotin
| always protested against this use of his
name. He did not die on the g1ilotine,
as has been frequently stated He passed
away In 1914 at good dage.
| At the time of the introduction and
adoption of the guillotiue the wheel wae
/ still used in some OF the southern prov
inces, Twenty years before Dlmiens had
| been broken on the wheel, with many hor-
rlble details of torture, for his attempt on
the life OF Louis XIV. The invention was,
| therefor, entirely due to humane motives.
| The fact that noble persons we're decapi-
tated and Others hanged by the neck was
also repugnant to growing democratic sen,
( timept.
During a debate on law intoduced by DR..
GullOtln, the Able Maury opposed decap
itation on the ground that il would make
| the people familiar With the sigt Of blood
and would have a degrading ,ffsat on
| them. Perhaps the Able was right. DR..
Guillotin's law contained some very curl
Gus clauses OIe was to the effect that
the execution of a criminal should cast no
dlscl edit on the criminals family, and
another was that the ex4cutioner should
not be summed by society This law was
not passed at the time.
PelIeter, not the man who frst demoa-
st rQt hA rs ~ 4
editor of q royalist journel called Les Actes
aes Apotres made DR.. Gullotin and his
godchild the subject of a song. This is
what probably fixed the unfortunate doc
tors name on the instrument,
On Jan. "A PeIletier was condemned to
death 10y the provisional tribunal of Paris
for robbery and violence in the streets.
There was some uncertainty as to whether
the new instrument should be used. The
question was referred to the minister of
justice, NJ. Duport de Terre, who replied
that he should have to refer the matter to
the national asse nbIy In his letter he
said 81 approach this subject with hor-
ror. for feel tbat am myself doomed to
suffer some day under this new law" As
a matter of fact be was put to death on
Nov. 20, 1898, by the tribunal.
The assembly consulted DR.. Louis, and
he made this interesting report 10 obey
| strictly the law the execution should be
/ performed in a single moment and by enc
blow. All experience proves how hard to
| accomplish this is. Remember he execu-
| ton of N Lllly. lie was on his knees
and his eyes were covered When the
| executi0uer struck him on the back of the
neck his head was not severed; he fell on
\ bis face, and while he lay In That position
/ the executioner, by repeated blows,
! hacked his head off. People were
very Justly Mortified at such hackerie.
/ In Germany the victim is tied to a chair,
and even though theeyecutioneIs there are
expert because they lave experience in ex-
ecutIug women who, of all ranks, suffer
| the penalty ia this fashion. accidents are
/ frt queut. In Denmark the condemned are
placed in two positions, ard two different
| Instruments are used TIE more honor.
able method is by the sword, the victim
/ kneelipg, with eyes covered and hands
/ free. Thu other mode carries with it grea-
| ter infamy. The victim Is bound, laid
upon bis face, and his head hacked asun-
/ der with a hatchet. For a successful re.
4 suit there is no certainly but an invarisb'e
mechanism o. which the force and Fl let
can be regulated and directed This the
mode adopted in England The body Of
the criminal is laid upon Its stomach be-
/ tween to posts connected at the top bv
cross beam, whence a convex Ratchet Is
made to fall suddenly on the patient by
the removal Of q peg. The back Of the
| Ratchet should be strong and heavy enough
10 perform the object, Ike the weight with
| which piles are driven The force, Of
COURSE, will be IN propor.icl to the height
| from which it may fall. Il would be bet
ter to experiment FIRST upon dead bodies
| or upon q living she p. hon see # the
victim s neck should IS c-u60t1 in semi
circle just where ii j1ius tie hu der baue
Of tie SKULL This addition could secure.
! N fastened between tie upright posts 81
/ the machine, and would scarcely be pef-
lctiya5'e, Louis Perpetual Secretary
! Academy of Surgery. G ven in cansults.-
/ ton a. Paris this z Of 81 arch, 1882
| On March "a 1892, the national assem-
| big passed a resolution recommending the
adoption Of the guulesins throughout the
country.