Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1901-11-02
TRAGEDY is CLOSED.
Early Tuesday Morning czolgOsz
Died in the Electric Chair.
Unrepohtant He Went to His Doom, Refus-
ing the Consolation of His Church
Body Buried in the Prison Gem
etory at Auburn,

etory at Auburn.
Auburn, N. Y, Oct. 29.-At 7:12
O'Clock Tuesday morning, Leon Cool
gosz, murderer of President William
mckinley, paid the extreme penalty
eXacted by the law for his crime He
was shocked to death by 1,7OO volts
of electricity. He went to the chair
IN exactly the same manner as have
the majority of murderers in this
state, showing no particular sign of
FEAR, but in fact, doing what few men
have done-tall1ing to the witnesses
while he was being strapped in the
chair.
Czolgosz retired last night at ten
O'Clock and slept so soundly that
when Warden Mead went to the cell
shortly before five o'clock this morn
ing the guard inside had to shake
CzolgOsz to awaken him.
The guards brought Czolgosz his
breakfast, consisting of coffee, toast,
eggs, and bacon, and he ate with
quite good deal of relish. While he
was partaking of this, the witnesses
were gathering in the offices of War
den Mead and at 7:O8 the procession
Warden Mead gave the signal to
have the prisoner brought in and at
7;10H o'clock, Chief Keeper Turpper
swung open the big steel door leading
to the condemned cells, and as the
steel bars behind which Czolgosz had
been kept were swung aside two
guards marched the prisoner out into
thecorridor, two others following, and
the chief keeper walking in front. The
guards on either side of Czolgosz had
hold of his arms as if either to sup
port him, or to keep him from MAX
ing demonstration. AS he stepped
over the threshold he stumbled, but
they held him up and as they urged
aim forward toward the chair he
stumbled again on the little rubber
covered platform upon which the
chair rests. His head was erect and
with his gray flannel shirt turned
back at the neck, he looked quite
boyish. He was intensely pale and as
he tried to throw his head back and
carry himself erect his chin quivered
very perceptibly. AS he was being
seated he looked about at the assem-
bled witnesses with quite a steady
stare and said: 81 killed the president
because he was an enemy of the good
people-of the working people" His
voice trembled slightly at first, but
gained strength with each word, and
he spoke perfect English. 81 am not
sorry for my crime," he said loudly,
just as the guard pushed his head
back on the rubber head-rest and
drew the strap across his forehead
and chin. AS the. pressure on the
straps frightened and bound the jaw
slightly, he mumbled: 81 am awfully
sorry could not see my father
1t was just exactly 7:11 o'clock
when he crossed the threshold, but a
minute had elapsed and he had just
finished the last statement when the
strapping was completed and the
guards stepped hack. Warden Mead
raised his hand and at 7:12:30 Electri-
clan Davis turned the switch that
threw 1,7OO volts of electricity into
the living body.
The rush of the current threw the
Ody so hard against the straps that
they crealed perceptibly. The hands
clinchcd suddenly and the whole atti-
tude was one of extreme tenseness.
For As seconds the full current was
kept on and then slowly the electri-
clan threw the switch back reducing
the current volt by volt until it was
cut off entirely. Then just as it had
reached that point he threw the lever
1aclt for two or three seconds. The
body, which had collapsed as the cur
rent wa sreduced, stiffened up again
against the straps. When it was
turned off again, DIR. Macdonald
stepped to the chair and put his hand
over the heart. He said he felt no pull
sation, but suggested that the cur
rent be turned on for n few seconds
again. Once more the body became
rigid. At 7:15 the current was turned
off for good.
From the time Czolgosz had left
his cell until the full penalty was
paid, less than four minutes had
elapsed.
At eight o'clock Monday night
Czolgosz' brother, Waldeck, visited
him in his cell and urged the doomed
man to tell who got him into the
scrapc. In surly manner CzolgOsz
replied that he alone was the instiga-
tor and cxecutioner of the plot to
assassinate the president. Asked if |
he wanted the priests to visit him
he said will. vehemence: mo, d-n
them; don't send them here. And |
don't you nave any praying over me
when I'm dead. 1 don't want it. 1
don't want any of their id re-
Egion."
Monday night the brother and
brothcr-n-law of the assassin re-
questcd permission to witness the
elcctrocutiun but this was emphat- |
ically tnrned down. Waldeck Czol- |
gosz .hc. relinquished all claims, in
behalf of his family, on the body of |
the assassin.
DeatI, Cheats the Courts.