The Irish standard., 1896-05-09

taCI that HOLMES WOulu w uAA6oo ".NAAs.e
the prison walls made the s.ghtseers' mis-
sion fruitless, but the celebracy OF the case,
t was believed. would attract large crowd:
Access to the prison, prior to the entrance
u those permitted to witness the execution,
was not permitted, and nothing could be
learned about Holmes condition or how he
passed the night.
The persons holding tickets of admission
to the jail began to assemble as early as
$50. and at 9 o'clock they passed within
the iron gates Lawyer Samuel P. Rotan.
who defended Holmes, was asked late last
night il there was possibility Of Holmes
committing suicide. Mr.. Rotan said de-
c:dedly: ..Not bit. ! am positive he
would not kill himself if he had the means
to do it. He has declared SO to me at least
a dozen times, and believe he means what
he says One of the reasons given Mr..
Rotan by Holmes for not wanting to die by
mis- own hand is the position in which such
an act would necessarily place the prison
authorities. "It would get them into
tro,,hle," Mr.. Rctan says Holmes declared
"and probably cause them to be charged
with neglect which might result in the
.osz of their positions"
Mr.. Rotan declined to say whether or NOT
Holmes intended to make any restitution
to Mrs. Pietzel or provision for any OF the
three women to whom he was married:
Pressed upon this point, the lawyer evaded
any reply for time, and hnaily sala ne
was not In position to make pubic what
the condemned man had directed him TO DO
in this connection II any one gets any
thing from Holmes estate it Will probably
be Miss Ida ]. Belknap, who was the second
woman the murderer married: she IS nv
ing at W:lmetta, ILL.,, a suburb of Chicago,
and has with her the six -year-old daughter,
Of wi1om Holmes is the father, This little
girl last week wrote the condemned man
hrief letter. couched IN such child.shly pa
thet:c terms that the man who is accused
Of having killed dozen people or more
burst into tears when he read it.
Although in erecting the gallows only
bolts and screws are used and little Or no
,o:se is made, Holmes acute ears made him
aware of what was being done soon after
the work started yesterday, and the knowl-
edge made him nervous and uneasy, al
though he tried to conceal it,
TO the last he was self-possessed and
cool, even to the extent Of giving a word
If advice to Assistant Superintendent
Richardson, as the latter was arranging
the final details. He died as he had liv-
ed, unconcerned and thoughtless, ap-
parently, OF the future. Even with the
recollection still wildly before him OF
the recent confession in. which he adj
snitted the killing OF score Of persons
Of both sexes and in all parts Of the
country, he refuted everything, and al
4Inost his last words were point blank
denial Of any crimes committed except
the deaths OF two women at his hands
BY malpractice. OF the murder OF sew
eral members Of tho Pietzel family he
denied all completely, particularly Of the
father, for whose death he stated he was
suffering the penalty. Then with the
prayer Of the spiritual attendants still
sounding il his ears and with a few low
spoken words to those about, the trap
swung and beyond a few incidental post
mortem details the execution, which cul-
minated one OF the worst criminals
known to criminology. was ended.