Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-05-04
Preparations Complete for the Event
Tomorrow at District Jail.
STRATHER and WINSTON fOBE HANGED
Both Twice Convicted of the Crime
of Murder.
STRATHER STA TEMENT

| Jail for the double execution which is to
| take place tomorrow. when William NJ.
| Strather and Charles Winston will pay the
| penalty of their crimes SO far as outward
| appearances are concerned, the condemned
| men in better frame of mind than are
| most of the other prisoners in the big
| brown-stone prison. Their spiritual advisers
| are with them most of the time, and when
| they are absent the men pass the hours
| reading religious books and praying.
Strather and Winston have both been
well-behaved prisoners and have given the
| Jail officials no trouble whatever. The for
mer has been particularly friendly with the
| guards and others, and today he thanked
! several of them for past kndneSses. He
also desired to express his gratitude to
his many friends for what they had done
for him, and said he desired to do so
through The Star. Strather has had many
visitors during the entire time of his con-
finement in Jail, but more especially during
recent weeks. Most of them have been fe-
male relatives. They have been endeavor-
ing to collect funds enough to defray the
expenses of a decent burial. In the event
of their being successful the body will be
turned over to them after the execution by
the undertaken employed by the govern
ment to prepare the bodies for burial.
Winston's Father Visits Him.
The aged father of Winston called yes
terday afternoon to bid him farewell. He
was admitted to the cell, in which his son
is confined, but upon the first greeting
broke down completely. The condemned
man did the best he could to comfort him.
The father, however, was so overcome that
he could not talk, and remained in the cell
but a few minutes.
Monday afternoon, just before the prison
doors were locked for the day the bell
and the guard the door admitted
woman who handed in her card, on which
was printed:
Eliza Rider Wheaton,
Prison Evangelist.
mo home but heaven
She had with her number of tracts
which she distributed to some of the pris-
oners. Her religious work is all done in
prisons, and she makes a specially of la
boring with condemned men. She stated to
the guards that she had Travelled about
1000 miles to see those in Jail here before
their execution. The warden admitted her
to the cells. She had Winston and Strather
join her in prayer and song in the latter's
cell, and the men seemed greatly to appre-
ciate her hours visit. She next saw Ed
ward Smith, who is to die on the scaffold
next week. He, too, appeared to enjoy her
call, although he said to the guards what
he has said so often, that he needed no
spiritual advisers.
Request for burial Suit.
Smith called Deputy Warden to his cell
ySStSitdS anu dSheu IL lie ulu Ibl nave an
old suit of clothes at home He wanted
them, he said, to- be buried in. The deputy
warden told him he would be given a new
suit for this purpose, and this seemed to
give him great satisfaction.
In addition to having many friends to
call on him, Strather has received the
largest mail of any prisoner in the jail.
ToGay's early morning mail brought him
four letters, and this has been his daily
average.
There was stiffness about the prison
today that indicated some unusual happen
ing. Prisoners tiptoed about the rotunda
and through the corridors as if they We're
in a death chamber, and many of them
spoke in whispers The big black curtain
that always covers cell windows in the
northeast corridor of the building near the
scatfold had been drawn, and a view was
had of the ropes to be used tomorrow,
which dangled from the crossbeam of the
scaffold. 1t is the opinion of the Jail Off
Gals that the ropes are the best they have
ever had for this purpose.
They are not closely twisted and are
soft and pliahle, rendering I=capitation al
most impossible. These ropes have already
been tested and this afternoon the sand
bag test was applied.
MinisterinG to Their Comfort
Warden Harris is doing everything to
make the men comfortable during the re-
naming hours they have to live. In con-
sideration Of their good conduct he has not
put on what is known as the death
watch, seeing no reason to anticipate an
attempt at setf-dcstruction on the part of
either of them. Officials who have been
connected with the prison for many years
say this innovation has produced good re
suits. Neither man has shown the slightest
signs of nervousness, and they appreciate
the confidence the warden has in them.
There will not be the usual big crowd of
spectators at tomorrows execution, as
Warden Harris Will endeavOr to comply
CT h lou
the crowd usually numbered something like
300, and was made up of men of all classes
and conditions. In almost every such
crowd BEETLES of whisky Were carried by
number Of the spectators and considerable
treating was INDUCED in. 1t is believed
that by reason Of the small number to be
in attendance tomorrow repetition of such
conduct will be impossible.
Both the condemned men are Colored and
their crimes were perpetrated during the
fail Of 1897. Justice Cole. in passing SEN
tencc, directed that the men be executed
between the hours of II O'Clock noon and =
o'clock pm. The understanding is, how
ever that the drop will fan shortly after
l. o'clock. Those who witness the hanging
will consist of the jury required by law,
the physicians, clergymen and but few
others.
strRther Makes Statement.
This afternoon Strather sent for Star
reporter and gave him a copy of the fol-
| lowing statement winch ne ndu written IN
his cell earlier in the day:
mo one regrets the past more than l.
rot because am in prison, for my coming
here blessing in disguise as it caused
me to see the error of my ways and to ac-
cept Christ as my Savior. Nor am l re-
gretful simply because l have to die, for
death has no terrors for me. But l regret
the sorrow / have caused others, and that
l have wasted much valuable time. AL
though convicted, L must say, | was never
the virulent being l have been pa!n.ed
Never was 1t the desire of my heart to do
any one an injustice bodily harm. The
homicide for which | was convicted was as
much a surprise to me as to the public, as
l bore the deceased no malice.
THE sad affair occurred at an uneXpect-
ed moment, under circumstances over which
L had no control. ! was not the despoiler
of the unfortunate woman's home. This
was accomplished before we became friends
and no one sympathzed with her in her
misfortune more than l. l am DESTROYS of
doing good, and if my destruction would
do the least good L would gladly lend a
helping hand
hoy, 40