The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-06-02
EAST SIDE HAS A THRILLER.
HANGING OF GERSHON MARX
DONE INTO VAUDEVILLE.
Connecticut Farmer Who Killed MS Hired
Men Glorined and the Audience. babies
Not Excepted. Gets . Real Shudder
States Witness the chief villain.

wen SIOTl1eu ana TIC Aut1ItuCe, bAOlco
Not Excepted. Gets . Real Shudder
States Witness the Chief villain.
Gershon Marx, the Connecticut murderer,
wss hanged on May 10 and his body lies
moldering in the grave, but his soul goes
marching on. Every night since last Mon
day the lower East Side has jammed into
the Clinton Street Vaudeville House to
witness what the bills describe AZ "A Tale
Of Triumphant Revenge; Concluding with
the Realistic Execution Scene. Faithful
Duplicate Designed by an Eyewitness Of
the Gruesome Spectacle When Gershon
Marx Died. Most Horrible Scene Ever
Presented on Any Stage"
All the East Side il talking about it.
Morries says to Rosie in the school yard:
Il seen it,
Il aindt,' says Rosie, sadly, 1but my
uncle seen it. Undt he said de gurgles
was choost fine!"
And Rebecca and Isador and Esther
know that If they're good all the week
mama Is going to take them all in the gal
lery to see Gershon Marx hanged. In the
school yards the Myra Kelly kid amuses
himself at recess by hanging Gershon Marx.
II is a regular emotional jag.
Gershon Marx is the old Hebrew farmer
of New Britain who used to employ farm
hands, work them until they got rude about
asking for their pay, and then economic
by killing them and burying them in his
cellar. They caught him at it last summer,
followed him to New York and arrested
him at Broome and Norfolk streets.
The East Side, led by the Yiddish papers,
was all for Marx; and in the play, "The
ha 10 ba horn
Levine, who appeared as chief witness for
the State against him, is the black and
successful villain who is not foiled.
The Clinton Street Vaudeville House
is under a tenement-at 80 Clinton street.
1t has painted gallery which seems ready
any minute to tumble on the pit wonder
full scheme OF red decorations embellished
with landscapes and with an equestrian
portrait of George Washington. Its stage
is at least fourteen feet wide.
After the regular vaudeville performance,
In which the great hit was a Yiddish song
with English chorus entitled Free OF
Charge" the company united in present.
ing "Gershon Marx" This happened at
about II o'clock and at that hour
the house was suddenly packed to
the do ors. Mothers brought their fami-
lies including the babies. BY actual count
there were thirty-one unsanitary babies
in the house when the curtain rose. dis
closing "a room in the farmhouse"
Lerine the villain, was talking to the
farmland, afterward murdered. The
farmland was kicking because he hadn't
been paid his wages. Levine, whose vii
lainy showed in his red whiskers, got the
farmland to admit that he had 500 sewed
in his stocking; Levine threw horrible
Enter Gershon Mara, to tremendous APP
plause Dave Baratz, who plays the part.
had studied MARI from portraits and lie,
and his makeup was Photographic. lhere
shon MARI, Mrs. Gershon MARI and young
Gtrshon MARI. The air was rent with an
awful crash of boxes and barrels outside.
Gershon Mara hurried out and rushed back
What is the matter?' cried Mrs; MARI.
The farmland is dropped into my
cellar, murdered!' cried MARI, as he tainted
and the curtain fell.
The next scene was a room at Broome
and Norfolk streets. New York. Gershon
had run away. fearing arrest: He had
even the walls. Iavine, finding him there
after he had wept himself to sleep, Skinned
down the fire escape and brought back the
police with him, thus winning 81 900 re-
ward. which was paid him in stage money
on the spot.
Gershon Mari, shaky in the legs and
rolling his eyes, was led away to prison
and the gallows. His wife and son fol-
lowed. wailing at the top of their voices.
Right here the audience began to cry
Handkerchiefs came out all over the house:
Those who didn' t have handkerchiefs used
skirts. Little girls buried their faces in
their mothers laps. little boys wiped tears
with their knuckle-. and even the babies
caught it and woke up and walled. The
audience was not itself again until the
actors. re=ponding to thunderous applause
era wled from behind the curtain one by
one and walked across the stage to be
cheered or hooted.
The next and last act was the triumph
If Mr.. Kuperschmidt, playwright OF the
house. who built the show to order. A
ga,Ize screen, painted with bars to repre-
sent prison bars. shut up the rear OF the
stage, on which was a ga lows. with. the
rope and moose in, plain sight,.a gallows
draped in funeral Grape. Before 1t. In
plain sight, was the coffin.
Gershon MARI sat weeping on box in
the CELL and the audience wept with him.
The warden entered, read the death war
rant and expressed the opinion that Ger.
with young Gershon chanted the Hebrew
prayers for the dead. Then the warden
said in English:
Ger shon MARI. prepare TO die.
That was a great touch OF realism on the
part Of Mr.. Kuperschmidt. All the other
characters spoke Yiddish
Those who read the full accounts Of
hangings will remember that Gershon
Nnrr went to pieces badly at the supreme
moment. These Yiddish actors missed
20 tricks there 1t would be unproft-
able and not altogether pleasant to describe
the walls and tremors and creepy horror
which Dave Baratz put into the part in
the two minutes that it took the keeper
10 get him on the gallows.
The black cap was adjusted and the
warden had his rope ready when Gershon
Nnrr fell over in faint just as the real
tieshon did. The curtain fell just then
10 the disappointment Of the little boys
and the shuddering relief of the women.
The audience felt for hats and hatpins,
gave their eyes last wipe and rose to 60,
but the ushers yelled sit down. and the
curtain rose again.
There was the coffin propped up on the
gallows with Gershon Mari lying in state,
while the rabbi stood by his side pointing
to heaven.
1t was kind OF cold house tonight,
complained Mr.. Kuperschmidt, the play
wright. -Only three women tainted. Last
night there were seven, and one Of EN- had
MYSTERIES and just raised hell.
4Yubechu," said Mr.. Agid the manager.
'Yiddish people has de feeling hearts,
AMMUNITION FOR PHILIPPINES