Evening journal., 1896-09-16
NEWGATE HANGINGS.
SOME OF THE CURIOUS FEATURES
THAT GO WITH THEM.

Nufst use 20 WNlcn you can put man, |
Those who have known certain grades Of
mankind In many countries may doubt the
truth OF this, with the other philosopher,
who, when put ashore on an unknown
land, knew he had arrived in q civilized
country because he saw some one hanging
from gibrot BE that as IL may. tho
murderer in England, once ho IS caught
has "a very short road to travel and u sharp |
drop at the end of it. He cannot buy him
self immunity if he Is rich, and there Is
no such delay as Is common in the state OF /
New York for instance, where a man has \
been known 10 spend comfortable years be- /
tween the time he was sentenced and exc |
ecuted The trial Of London murderer |
usually occupies ono whole day, and that |
ends It, There 80 no appeal except to the |
homo secretary, who very rarely interferes, |
and about three weeks from the time the /
judge puts on the black cap the murderer |
drops into the brick cell underneath the |
scaffold in Newgnte
1t Is q curious thing that hanging at
Newgate always collects a great crowd,
the refuse of the population who stand for
hours merely TO see "a black flag run up TO
the top of the pole There Is no question
at all that the public at large seem to hnyc
u very vivid interest in hangings. The
evening newspapers of London, when they
wish to brag about their circulation, give
u certified detail Of what Is known as
hanging editions" Tho circulation of
the cent evening papers in London dou-
bles and trebles and quadruples when a
hanging is on
Technically the press is not allowed to
send reporter to any hanging that takes
place in Newgate Jail Most of the shcrifs
in England refuse TO allow reporters to at
tend any Of the hangings under their
charge, and thus the accounts given in tho
papers might be looked upon ns fictitious
were 10 not known that a newspaper IN
England incurs tho risk of heavy penalties
If il prints false news Indeed, II even a
newsboy cries false news in shouting for
his paper, he is promptly fined or put in
jail if a customer complains. IL MAJ,
therefore, be wondered why the papers Of
London dare TO print an account of "A hang
ing when every ono knows TINT no news
paper man is allowed to be present at the
execution.
/ happened to be intimately acquainted
with q man, recently dead who was pres
ent at every hanging that has taken place
IN Newgate for 20 years, and he was a
member Of the staff OF one of the leading
weekly papers In England things may
be divided into two classes unofficial and
official Nothing happens as long as a
thing Is not officially known, which serves
to explain the joke In "Pinafore" where
| Captain Corcoran tells Sir Joseph Porter
that If he officially informs Josephine of
his affections for her there will be no fur
ther difficulty
The sheriff of London has no official
knowledge that newspaper man is pres
emf during an execution-in fact, ho has
official knoredge that no newspaper man
Is at tho hanging. This particular news
paper mnn of whom 1 speak was made {
deputy sheriff for the sole purpose of going
in officially as a deputy sheriff and unofil
cially as q newspaper man. His account
of the execution was invariably duplicated
on thin paper known as "nimsy" ant
handed round to every newspaper I'm Lon
don and to the news agencies.
| j suppose that If somebody had taken Il
upon himself officially 10 inform the sheriff
that some unofficial newspaper man was
in the habit Of being present at executions
the sheriff would have boon much aston
ished and would have officially informed
the newspaper man that he must betako
himself elsewhere.
The scaifole at Newgato has comfortable
accommodation for the hangingof six men
at one time, and / don't know that It's ca.
pabilities have ever been put'to fun test
but the other week they hanged three with
one jerk OF the lever. Hanging is done In
tho early morning And what strikes me as
tho most grewsOme thing about the func
tion is that the moment the lever is pulled
and tho men dropped into eternity th,
sheriff, deputy shcriiis and other ofllciGll
at once descend from the scaiiold and oa'
a first class, splondidly cooked breakfast
which at that moment is ready for them il
tho jail My deputy sheriff newspaper
friend informed me that he rarely enioye,
a breakfast like the hanging breakfast, be
cause on these mornings he had to get ul
early and journey in "a cab In the dim ligh
and keen air from his suburban home &,
the place of execution. After breakfast il
over the bodies arc taken down, an i'm
quest is held, and they ere flung into
vault and covered at once with quicklime
cit is such a stutfy DEATH said Yum
Yum, referring To being buried alive
Official hanging may be called cut an,
dried death, for everything in NcwTat
moves with the regularity of clockwork
Ono Of the disagrceable features connccte,
with an execution 70 the principal victim
thereof, to which 1t seems to me 1 shoul,
object very strongly, is the tolling of tn
bell, which adds an unnecessary touch O
cruelty to the whole proceeding. The biz
bell OF ST. Sepulchre's church, near New
gate, begins 70 toll before tho wretched vic
tim is even rinioncd, and the sound of il
measured beat must beextremoly disquiet
ing ST. Sepulchres church, with its grin
and suggestive name, is the nearest sacrel
ediiice to the ancient prison, and an ex
traordinary person named Robert Dove il
1908 left s25O TO the church on the condi
ton that whenever a man was hanged tn
bell should be tolled. Indeed Robert wen
farther than this. Ho arranged that th
clerk of St Sepulchrc should take a smal
handbcll and promenade before Newgat
during the night previous 70 an execution
and ring his handboll, reciting "a lot o
verses beginning
All you that in the condemned hold do lie,
Prepare you, for tomorrow you shall die.
This amazing species Of torture was stop
ped long ago, but the sexton still rings th
big bell i'm the church and receives for do
ing so el is. sd. d.-Detroit Free Press
his Theory All Right.
Hovco.-f i-ur,. how 10 govern my wife