The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-07-24

REPUBLIC SPECIAL
Lexington. Ky, July 23.-Earl Whitney
and Claude o Brien, who will be hanged to-
morrow morning for the murder Of Addison
Is. Chinn. are probably the most COM
posed youths who ever faced the gallows In
Kentucky. They seem tonight perfectly
Indifferent to their fate
The death warrant was read to them this
afternoon by Deputy Sheriff Kit Wilkerson.
The Deputy. accompanied by two other
officers and reporter. entered the cell
where Whitney and O'Brlen and their death
watch were. The Deputy was so nervous
when he read the paper he had to clutch
1t with both hands so that he could see the
writing.
Whitney and OBrien, who were smoking
cigarettes, smiled and looked about several
times while he was reading the document
and when he had finished, OBrien said:
You are nervous. You had better change
your brand"
They laughed and declared they We're
ready to go. but that they believed the
Governor would pardon them They re-
ceived the priests tonight and will be &C
companied to the gallows by them.
The gallows has been erected and every
thing Is in readiness. Sheriff Wilkerson
will pull the lever which will drop both men
at one time to their death.
Tonight the Jail is crowded with visitors
and many will not leave the place at ALL
desiring to retain good positions for the
execution, which will be at o'clock in the
morning. The hanging will be in an In
closure in the jail yard. just large enough
to hold go persons and every ticket has
been given out. Owing to the location of
the scaffold. hundreds Of persons can wit
ness the hanging from the tops OF nearby
! buildings.
STORY OF THE CRIME.
The crime was the worst. probably. in the
history of Lexington, excepting the murder
of Bette Shea by Tom O'Brien in 1859. The
boys, who were we'll on the road to the
| point Of professionals as burglars, had en-
tered the residence of Addison B. Chinn, In
Maxwell street, in quest Of money. Chinn
was prosperous merchant being the senior
member of the firm Of Chinn & Todd, the
| largest dry goods house in Lexington.
Residing with him were his mother-in-law
Mrs. Runyon and her son. bachelor broth
| er of Mrs. Chinn. and his son. Asa Chinn
| The young man had just returned. about 2
o'clock. from a german at Merrick Lodge.
| 1t was the morning of October IL and he
| had not gone to sleep when he heard his
mother cry out "Murder!'
| Taking his revolver. he ran to the door Of
| the bedchamber of his parents. He saw
| the flash of 4 revolver and the burglars
] start for the door when he approached. He
| began shooting and soon found himself
| wounded and lying on the floor in a pool of
| blood. His uncle came downstairs and
! found the father lying in the doorway of
his bedroom, dead, and the son lying mid
| way Of the hall, unconscious. The elder
Chinn had been shot through the chest and
| Asa had several wounds.
| The alarm was sounded and 1t was found
that the burglars had escaped the way they
| came in, through the room of Mrs. Runyon
| who was 81 years old and slept with the
windows down at the top for fresh air. Asa
| was able to tell Of the battle he had with
the men. but could give no description of
them. He said he thought he had wounded
| one Of them. but was not certain. The
elder Chinn had been shot as he sat on
the side Of the bed pleading for his life and
| telling them to search the house. The
| widow was grief stricken and could give no
| accurate description excepting to say that
| they wore masks, were Of medium height
| and boyish looking.
] WORKING ON CLEwS.
Taking these clues the detectives began
| working on the case. The town was SO
! full Of tramps that it was difficult under
| taking Policeman Foster found several
tramps in the yards Of the Cincinnati
Southern and brought them in. They were
examined and ordered released when 1t was
noticed that one of them limped slightly.
This one who gave his name as Thompson,
| and his partner. were called back When
| questioned he said he had been hurt in a
fight with a negro at Williamstown en- route
| here from Cincinnati. on a freight train