The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-12-16
LAWS
LAST DEBT
Murderer of Albion ].
GIennan Hanged in
Oahu Jail.

In Oahu prison at little after IL
o'clock yesterday morning Matsumoto
Moritaro paid with his life for the muir
der of Albion H. GIennan.
The man died game-or stolid. Per-
haps with Japanese of the lower class
it is much the same thing. The rain
beat down DULY upon the prison at
all events, and upon the few whom the
law had allowed to gather under the
big tree in the Jail yard to witness the
execution, although the man who was
hanged was under an improvised shelter
on the gallows. The gallows had been
erected in the jail yard, just where the
door of the main corridor opens out
into it, and the murderer and his guards
| and the clergyman who accompanied
the party of the condemned stepped di-
rectly out upon an inclined plane that
led up to the platform where the drop
was. The arrangements for the exc
cution, which had been supervised by
High Sheriff Henry, were most COM
plete. The execution itself passed off
without a single hitch and there was
as little that was unpleasant about 1t
as could possibly be upon an occasion
of this kind. The infection of the last
penalty of the law is not, at any time,
pleasant thing to see, nor to manage.
The execution of Moritaro was as lit
tie unpleasant as it is possible for an
execution TO be.
The condemned man, while those who
had been invited to witness the exc
that corridor of the jail where are con-
fined seven other men accused of muir
der. The witnesses, only officers of the
law, physicians and representatives of
the local press, had been told to be at
the prison at 1890 a. m. It was just
little before eleven when High Sher-
iff Henry, taking the death warrant in
his hand, led the way to the cell of
Moritaro. The man, pallid with that
peculiar jail pallor that shows strange
ly in men of the yellow races, stood
at the door of his cell, his hands clasp
ed together, while the High Sheriff read
the warrant to him through the bars. |
1t was rather long ordeal, but aside
from that clasping together of his hands
the japanese showed no sign of agita- |
ton.
When the Sheriff had concluded the |
reading the warrant was handed to
Chester Doyle, who translated it into /
Japanese as rapidly as he could. MORT |
taro, while this was going on, seemed |
for the first time to understand that |
his last hour had come-but he was still |
not agitated. He listened to the read |
ing. grunting occasionally after the |
manner of Asiatics who thus show !
that they understood an Interpretation. !
When the reading had been finished |
fail officer came forward with the /
straps and the cell door was thrown |
open. At once Moritaro stepped out !,
into the corridor, laughed a contented |
kind of laugh and shook hands with |
the High Sheriff.
HE is happy now" said Rev. Motto |
kawa, who has been the spiritual adj
wiser of the murderer.
The straps were adjusted quickly |
Then Moritaro, a guard supporting him |
On either side. stepped cheerfully and /
as briskly as he could with the straps |
upon him, up the short flight of stairs |
and along the corridor that led to the /
gallows. He called out as he went |
Good bye." to the men whom he had
left in the cells in his corridor It was
significant that there was no response
to this. Perhaps those he was leav-
ing, over whom like fate may be i'm
pending in the future, realized his
plight more keenly than he did
The rain was falling duly, monoton-
ously. Moritaro stood upon the gai-
lows facing toward the Jail with a
guard at either hand. as calmly as he
had stood in his cell while the death
warrant was being read. The crowd