The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1893-07-28

AuHUhNI NJ 4'I July si'-A HHNsNy
tragedy, the sequel OF another one,
hasbesa enacted In tho prison here to-
day. Murderer william G. Taylor who
cut the throat OF a fellow convict was
placed In the electric chair to-day to
expiate with his own lie the crime he
had done, lie received q ahook Of
1850 volts, but tho contact was not
sufficiently prolonged, aud when it was
sought to turn on tho current again the
dynamo would not do its work. The
man slowly came back toward con-
seriousness, to prevent which morphine
was administered, while preparations
wore being made to GET electric supply
from the cIty's dynamo plant
1t was twenty minutes to l o'clock
when Warden Stout invited the Wit.
nesses to follow him to the death
chamber. State Electrician Davis was
at tho electric cabinet and his preitm.
mary tests with the bank OF incan-
descents were entirely satisfactory.
The two prlests, three Keepers and the
condemned soon came In from the ad.
joining room and Taylor was imme.
diately hustled into the chair and.
tightly %pinioned. His face wore a look
Of sol determination and with lips
tightly compressed, He carried o cru
cifx In his right hand,
He was dressed Ia black and wore o
now pair Of prison-made shoes.
When all was ready the signal waa
| given and the current was turned on.
Taylors powerful franc shot back upon
the chair until the straps creaked, and
simultaneously there was a crash unlike
anything ever before heard under like
circumstances. Tho strain upon tile
foot rest had broken and the undor
pinning Of tho chair gave way. Tho
body sank to a reclining posture with
the victims fee. resting on the floor.
The spectators were startled, but did
not move. Everybody supposed the
victim was dead from the frst shock,
when u strange noise was heard. He
had begun TO grasp for breath and
saliva was seen TO exude from bis mouth,
Turn on the current" was the com,
n1and OF tho warden, and Electrician
Davis tried to obey, but was dumb.
founded to End no response to the turn.
ing Of thu lever. The dynamo had
broken ID In. Tho labored breathing
OF the victim continued aud his chest
rose and fell conyutsivety. Davis hast.
ened outside to the dynamo TO ascertain
the trouble and found the armature had
burned out,
The victim. who was now RaHping and
gfoanlng aloud, was unbound and was
placed upon q cot aud carried into the
adjoining room. Hispulse grew stronger
and he e~ndeapored several times 10 rise
from the cot
Physiclars eald he was unconscious,
precisely in Tho condition Of a man
stricken with apoplexy. He would no.
cover, they thought, and tho only way
to carry out the sentence OF the law
waste again place him in the chat.
Linemen quickly connected the pris.
on apparatus with the electric light
plant and in an hour all was ready for
the second electrocution. Taylor contin.
ued to grow stronger and was given on
injection OF morphia. A email dose Of
chloroform was also administered. He
was then carried bodily TO the chair,
which had been repaired, and was then
strapped into o sitting posture. The
current was then turned on, the body
Strengthened up. and for half q minute
1920 volts eoarsed through Taylor's IN.
conscious form and he was pronounced
dead. Tho stethoscope was applied to
the heart to make sure and doctors de-.
clared there was no pulsation.
The witnesses had not been allowed
to leave the prison and were invited 10
luncheon by the warden, after which
they signed death certificates and all
was over.
The 1rst e~leCtrocution took place at
l2:40 and the second at 1:65.
The story Of the murder which VIM.
G. Taylor expiated with his lito to-day
is neither romantic nor sensational. 1t
was simply o case Of murder, pure and
simple, without any interesting onVir.
onmeRts. TIE motive was neither rob.
berry, revenge nor jealousy, No woman's
name figures in the case. Suicide might
be ascribed as tho motive, for according
to the murderer's story he was tired Of
prison life and yearned for the electric
chair, although upon trial an effort was
made to prove that Taylor had been
nursing o grudge against his victim for
informing on him long before the trag.
edy. Taylor and HE victim, Solomon
Johnson, wore second term men and
were shop mates In the broom industry
Of Auburn prison. Taylor was 81 years
old, and was in for ten years for burg.
larry.
The murder wal perpetrated on the
afternoon Of September 20, 1902. There
was no eye witness 10 tho deed and fact
that o murder had been committed
was not known until II was announced
by tho murderer himself at Keepers
hall. He gave the information to the
hail keeper through the grated window
In these words: "ff you follows will 10
over and look under the broom chop
you will find o carcass there.
lie carried In bis hand a keen edged
knife, still reeking with his victim'e
life blood, which he surrendered. The
keepers looked for the body Of tho vic.
tim at the s~potindlcated. II was easily
found, and proved 10 DO that OF Solo.
mon johnson, why was convicted Of an
assault In Caypga' county. There was
an ugly CASH In the throat which OK.
tended from oar 10 car. The man was
stone dead, ahd bile head was nearly
severed from his body. Principal Keep.
or Shaw swore that when no asked
Taylor why he did II no rcpiicdt M'vo
got tired Of this thing staying in prison
all tho time, aud ia rather take a dose