Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-03-17
Vo1. 80, No. 2O,522.

drop, upon which stood the condemned man.
The whole act was startiIS in its simplicity.
With the mere pulling of cord the soul OF
young man was sent back to its Maker to
answer for the good and i'll done upon this
earth.
REFUsED HIS BREAKFAST.
During the early hours of the morning
Schneider sat upon the edge Of his cot and at
intervals conversed with the guard who was sit
ting outside the door of the cell 1t the
final death watch, that had been maintained for
nearly a week without intermission. A light
repast of tea and toast was taken to
the cell, but Schneider refused to touch
il. The sentence Of the court named
the time of execution between s
O'Clock ard noon. but it was known that the
hanging would not take place within the first
two hours at any rate. Warden Burke was
determined there should be no undue haste.
He would wait until it certain that there
was no chance of a respite being granted from
the White House.
This was not looked for. however. and it was
thought that the execution would take place
about 10 so O'Clock. The decision OF the Presi-
dent last night not TO interfere was looked upon
as final and beyond all recall.
REV. MR.. PARsON RETURNS.
A little after O'Clock Rev. Mr.. Parson ar
rived at the Jail and was at once taken to
Schneider's cell. The reception he met with
was practically the same he has had on the
occasion of his other visits. BY this time the
sun was obscured by the haze once more and
the jail corridors looked gloomy in their bare
ness. Everything was neat and clean in the
extreme.
All through the morning the telephone bell
in the warden's Office kept up a constant ring
ms and the officials at the Jail were kept busy
answering questions of every description from
people who wanted to know just what hour the
execution would occur. The carriages and
cabs began to arrive up to the west door of the
jail to deposit their loads of those who had re-
ceived invitations to attend the execution.
They stood about the rotunda in the Office
waiting for the word to be given that Warden
Burke had gone to the condemned man's,'
to read the death warrant
PREVIOUS SERVICES OF THE scAFFoLD.
The scafold is that erected shortly after the
present structure was opened and the first vic
tim WAS James Madison WYATT Stone for the
murder o. his wife. 1t was then erected ont
side Of the Jail and Stones head was cut of by
the rope. Since then it has been used in tn.
execution of the following:
Edward Queenan and Babe Bedford, Nover-
ber l9, 1880; Charles Guiteau, for the assassina-
ton Of President Garfield. July 80: Charles
Shaw. June 10. 1888; John Seangster. alias Hud-
son. May Is, 1885: Louis SommerieId, April
30. 1856: Richard Dee. April 80, 1856: Antonio
Msrdel.o. alias Frank Roses. May 2S, 1886; Mel
son Colbert, May l. 1889; BENZ. Hawkins May
90, 1880.
CERTIFICATE OF THE JURORS.
The following certificate was signed by the
jurors after the body was lowered in the coffin
WARpEx's OFFICE. UNITED STATES JAN,
CITY OF WASHINGTON. March II, 1ss3.-We.
the undersigned citizens of the District Of
Columbia, hereby certify that we were present
as jurors at the said Jail on the 18th day of
March. 1898. to witness the execution o: How
ard J. Schneider, and we do further certify that
the said Howard J. Schneider was hanged by
the neck until he was dead, in our presence.
within the walls of the said jail: between the
hours Of o clock post meridian and II o'clock
meridian of the said 18th day of March. A D.
1898. As witness our hands and seals the dav and
year above written.
THE DEATH WARRANT.
While all this transpiring in the more
public part of the Jail Rev. Mr.. Parson was sit
ting with Schneider III his cell. Notwithstand-
ing the TACT that Schneider showed less feeling
than one would have expected under the cir
cums;ances the meeting was still
pathetic one. Mr.. Parson is the pastor
OF the Church Of the Reformation
which the Schneider family Intended when
thev used ,o' live on Capitol Hill and it was
f~QV I'M hat rl hoy b;o
religious training. Mr.. Parson' has taken
deeply to heart the blow that has fallen upon
the family and he was with the condemned man
until the end came today. He walked with him
TO the scafto.d and spoke prayer for the soul
of the nan who was about to come to an un-
timely end.
For several hours this morning Mr.. Parson
sat with Schneider upon the cot in the marrow
cell.
SCHNEIDER wEPr BITTERLY.
Schneider wept bitterly and showed signs Of
a complete collapse From Bible that he had
brough; 20 the Jail with him the minister read
a number of selected chapters that were ap-
p-opria:e TO the occasion add that held out o
hope of salyStion in return for repentance COM
ing even at the eleventh hour.
NJ Parson also brought with him a letter Of
farewell to Schneider iha: came from the MEM
bers OF the distressed family. 1t was not long
letter, but it Infinitely sad and had a
marked effect upon the young man. 1t was a
last word Of goodbye from mother and brothers
to the Youngest of the family, whom they were
never to see In LIFE again. There was a word of
consolation. word of hope. and vet the ones
who wrote that last note knew when they we're
writing it that the next time they saw Howard
Schneider it would be as n cold corpse.
In response to request from the family
Warden Burke ordered that no autopsy should
be held over the dead body, and that IS soon as
the doctors were sure that death had come it
should be turned over to the undertaken who
was 10 prepare it for burial
The PROCESSION TO THE scAEFoLp.
The procession to the scaffold was a small
one. Mr. Burke wen. TO Schneider's cell and
standing by the door read the death warrant.
Then he turned and Schneider was led out
from his room. They started on their
short and distressing walk. First came the
warden Of the jail Beside him walked Mr..
Strong, the guard who adjusted the rope about
SchQelI3rs