The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-11-09
DR.. Gibbons EXPERIMENTS
He Asserts That Electricity Docs Not
Always Kill the Victim.
WOULD PRACTICE ON WILSON
Theories Upon Rabbits Desires An
Opportunity TO Resuscitate
Criminal After Elcctrocution.
Special to the Scranton Tribune.

| Special to the Scranton Tribune.
Plttston. Nov s.
The many friends Of DR.. Z. j. Glib
bons, formerly Of this place, now resi-
| dent Of Syracuse n. Y, will no doubt
be pleased to learn Of the success he Is
meeting in that city. The doctor since
his residence In that city has spent
much time in studying the subject Of
electrocution, and has been so success
ful from recent experiments that he has
no hesitancy in saying that those who
have been shocked to apparent death
| by electricity have really been in
state Of suspended animation. His con-
tention is that by artificial respiration
their lives might have been saved. In
the interests OF science Governor
| Fower, of New York, has been asked
the privilege of testing his invention on
the body of Charles F. Wilson, now in
Auburn prison under sentence of death.
The convict, Wilson, has been APP
preached upon the subject of submit
ting his body for experimental purposes
after he has suffered the penalty of the
law in the electric chair, and he is quite
willing that DR.. Gibbons should at
tempt to bring him back to life. At
first he demurred to the treatment, on
the plea that he would not care TO
eXpiate his crime second time in the
event of the Doctors complete success.
He has been assured that under those
circumstances the governor would be
strongly appealed to for clemency to a
man who has suffered 50 much and has
been passively instrumental in proving
fact so valuable to the interests OF
science and the welfare Of all workers
in electricity.
If the governor will consent to this
trial of the Doctors skill, Wilson will
be given the fullest extent OF the dyna-
mos, and after being pronounced dead
by the attending physicians DR.. Glib
bons will be on hand with his instru-
ments and apparatus ready to test his
belief that life Is not actually extinct.
II the appeal now lying with Governor
Flower receives favorable considera-
ton 1t Is possible that q new epoch in
the history of electricity Is at hand. The
mighty power has been harnessed for
mans uses; it has become to some ex-
tent his servant, but it's deadly nature
has brought terrible disaster at times
1t remains to be seen If the Syracuse
scientist has found the means to rob
1t Of Its sting.
The New York World Of Sunday con-
tained a three-column article upon the
invention. Among other things regard
Ing the extraordinary discovery it re-
lates an interview had with DR.. Glib
bons, which is as follows:
The Doctors Theory.
Respecting my invention, or rather
my theory" said the physician, II
suppose you have lately had many re-
ports of French ideas on the same sub
ject; but believe l am right in claim
ing priority to anything that has
been discovered. l am most decidedly
Of the opinion that a large percentage
of cases in which supposed death has
been caused by electricity have really
been nothing more than suspended ami
nation, and that II they had been
properly operated upon without delay,
life might easily have been brought
back.
Since the first electrical execution,
the case of Kemmler, l have been inves-
tigating the subject, and have lately
made several successful experiments
with animals. In my life-restoring pro-
cess drugs and chemicals ore often used
1t is also sometimes necessary to inject
a solution into the arteries, such as has
been tried upon people who have bled
to death.
my experiments with rabbits, for in
stance, have shown that they can be
apparently killed with voltage of from
800 to $500 and still be restored to per-
feet life and health. Now, it may be
assumed that rabbit Is more easily
killed than human being. But 1 have
used on one of these little animals 1000
more volts than has ever been used in
an electrical execution, and successfully
brought the rabbit back to life
"A rabbit under these circumstances
should be more difficult to revive than
a man. If rabbit can be restored, why