The times., 1899-03-20
THE FLEcTRocUTIoN.
Painful Routine Through Which the
Condemned VIII Pass.


Sing Sing, y. Y, March 19.-Martha
Place today passed her last Sunday on
earth Early on Tuesday forenoon, in all
probability possibly tomorrow, she will
meet her doom in the electrical chair. On
the day that she is to die she will be in
formed at sunrise that the time is near and
that before the noon hour is at hand her
spirit will have taken its flight from the
world wherein she has of late been one OF
its most unhappy mortals.
Guards will enter her room and tell her
TO rise They will ask her to take their
arms She may have strength enough TO
walk alone She wants to have. 1t is prob
able that she will have.
She will go down dark corridors, and if
ever she glances up at a human face 1t
will have an eye of plying farewell. She
will catch a glimpse of long corridor,
where hundreds of tiny tombs daily encase
the bodies of living men; and many man
will sigh as she goes to her death and
envy her.
The old woman will pass into the Dead
House The law shows an irony of mercy
by allowing a gradual entrance into the
presence of death She will pause in an
outer room. She will hear the sound OF
voices in the next room
In this ante-room OF death she will
see curtains in one end of the room. She
will not know what they screen. But there
are condemned men there, who will not be
permitted TO see one who leads where they
will shortly follow.
The iron doors leading to the place
whence she has heard voices will open
slowly and then she will catch glimpse
OF the thing which is to slay her. once
within she will look upon box, in front of
which is a three-legged chair, with strange
wires. clasps. and straps dangling from 1t.
She knows it is there she must sit and be
killed.
The wretched old woman will behold
ranged along the walls OF the room, n
| small company of men; one OF them NAV
be the judge who condemned her to death
one may be the solicitor whose relentless
reasoning exposed her guilt TO the world
| and brought her where she stands; she
will see gray-haired men with glasses
| they are physicians and men of science:
! she will see seven ruddy, bulky men, in
uniform. They are the deputies to the
| warden.
Then there will be a miscellany whose
business she cannot guess. There Are the
citizens which the law requires TO be
present as witnesses.
There will be something very unusual in
this affair. Two women will stand in the
| Chamber of Death. One will be physi-
clan who has been selected by the warden;
| the other will be woman attendant.
1t is impossible to give the names of
these women. The warden has said that
he knows both the women have the requi-
site nerve for the ordeal. But woman at
an electric execution is an uncertain guam
tity. They may be borne out fainting.
But on the other hand-such is woman
they may be the bravest and calmest per-
sons there.
Those who had been in the room before
Mrs. Place came into the door observed a
sign on the wall back of the chair. which
said:
Visitors must not touch the straps OF
| the chair
Nobody ever has: and it is safe to say
nobody ever Will.
Warden Sage will have already been in
the room He will have called the atten-
ton Of the spectators to test of the ma
chinery. This consists in passing the cur
! rent through twenty incandescent lights
If these lights glow brightly. then th'
current is strong enough to kill the OLE
woman. And the men of science, as they
see the lights glow will ponder on tn,
miraculous versatility of electricity-whicl
carries the capacity of death along with it!
mysterious blessing.
These men and the two women will set
the doors open upon which Mrs. Place.
eyes had been fixed slowly. silently swini
ajar and the procession enter. Rev. DIR
Cole. an elderly and venerable looking
man, will have Joined the old woman. ant
he will be reading from the Bible.
The old woman will be pushed quickl!
In the chair. Once with the awful instru
ment before her. she will be quickly hur
ried TO her end.
She viii sit in the chair. looking straigh
ahead. The motions and postures OF th'
attendants will be quick and noiseless
The woman will kneel at the old woman
feet with contriyance of steel. leather
and sponge in her hand. She will thrus
the black skirt aside and fix the thing OF
the right leg OF the gray-haired convict
While she is doing that a man will deftl,
untwist her hair TO find spot on TIM
crown of her head already made bare b.
the scissors, and he will fix another instru
ment there like the one which was in thu
hands of the woman.
On the arms OF the chair are two heav!