The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-02-24

| if Peters communicated with Judge Landis through the telephone. Judge Landis said to the deputy sheriff: | II have refused to do anything in the Hoch matter. You need not de- lay the execution on my account" | Before the aps T bond was taken to the county Attorneys Mahcr and Com orford presented 1t to the court and again asked for an appeal. No Right to Appeal. | Under the circumstances I dont think you have any right to appeal said Judge Landis.
 Any citizen has the right to appe!M said Attorney Maher
 Tn view of the fact that this At- I ter was delayed until within an ~our of the execution, don't think so," re- piled the court.
 The attorneys again urged him to grant the appeal and the court direct ed them to prepare their record and bring it in Attorney Comford started l for the iaii which he searched just as | the reading was over and the oeatn march commenced.
 He asked that proceedings be further delayed but this was denied by Deputy Judge Landis.
 Jalier whitman at once went to Hoch's cell. accompanied by six guards
 Johann. your time has ccome." he said.
 Hoch had advanced to meet the party and said calmly;
 1 q am rec Sy, Mir. Whitman" As he left the room. Whitman notic- ed that he still wore his collar.
 You will have. to take that off,g said whitman. pointing. to the collar All right" replied Hoch. | He took 1t off and threw it back Into the cell. AS the death march started l he stopped several times to shake hands with the attendants saying Good bye boys"
 Drop Sprung at 1s32. l Just at l:32 o'clock Hoch stepped up- | on the drop. His face was very pale but his manner was composed and his courage unsurpassed. The Rev. J. R. Burkland, who was reciting the prayers | for the dying as the procession ap- preached the scaffold, continued them while Hoch was being prepared for -exe- cution. He had said that. he did not care to say anything on the scaffold. i but while Deputy Sheriff Peters was pinning his feet, Hoch spoke to him in I a low voice.
 Do you want to say somethingT' asked Deputy Sheriff Peters. l Yes said Hoch. 1 The Rev. MT. BurkIand was still re- citing the prayer and Jailer Whitman
 motioned with his hand to silence him. | As soon as the voice of the clergyman ceased, Hoch spoke up in strong, clear
 tones and with a pronounced German accent said:
 "Father. forgive them: they know
 not what they do. must die an inno- | cent man. Good bye" He bit off the last two words in a l crisp, concisive fashion and just as
 soon as he had uttered them the drop
 fell.
 pr. McNamara, the county, physician.
 was at Hoch's side the instant he sell, and declared that death had been in-
 stantaneous, the neck having been
 broken.
 Hoch,s marvellous physical strength
 was shown by the fact that his pulse
 continued to beat for ten minutes af-
 ter pr. McNamara had declared his neck broken.
 While the execution of Hoch was in l progress, Attorney Maher was still
 making desperate efforts to Induce | Judge Landis to sign an appeal and | grant Hoch a supersedeas until his ap-
 plication for a writ of habeas corpus could be testified by the Supreme Court. These efforts, however, were fruit less.
 Attorneys Last Appeal.
 My God, Judge" implored the attor- ney, the tears springing to his eyes, | give this man the right of appeal. We want to save his life and at 3 o'clock l W don't leave the building" | You make 1t terribly hard for us, !" | said the Judge, but as told you l cannot grant an appeal. My oath of of | flee demands that I do what consider | right. In this last hour before the ex- | ecution I am appealed to and do not | think I would be complying with my oath if delayed this execution" Has not this man the rights of every other citizens?' demanded Maher. ''Yes," replied Judge Landis. But | I say there is no appeal in such case"
 and he left the building. Attorney
 Maher waited for few moments to gather some legal authorities and then | joined by Attorney Comford who had come back from the jail they set out | to find Judge Landis, and again asked l for a delay and an appeal. They followed him to the Great | Northern Hotel and not finding hlm there went to the Union League Club. | They missed him there and as they turned away from the club house they met newspQy carrying extra editions | of the papefA announcing that Hoch had been hanged.
 Both attorneys declared that the | case would be continued and the ap- l peal made finally to the Supreme Court of the United States. If 1t is there de- | cided that Hoch at the time of his exe- | cution still possessed the right of ap- l peal, proceedings of a criminal nature, l the lawyers declared, will be instituted | against all the public officials who had | anything to do with the execution, 1t
 being their opinion that Hoch was murdered.
 The body of Hoch was given to a l local undertaken who buried 1t at his | owl expense
 Story of HOch Case.
 Hoch is believed to have come orig | inally from Horrweiler, small town in Germany, not far from Bingen-on-the-
 Rhine. His father, Jacob Schmitt is said to still reside there. A wife, sup
 posed to be the first wife of Hoch, is also living on the same place. 1 Hoch has always been reticent re- ! garding his career in this country. and 1 his first wife, married in the United | States. is believed to have been Mrs. Martha Steinbrecher, to whom he was
 married in 1895. After living with Hoch for four months, she died. the cause of death being given as nephritis. In November, 1895, he married Mary ! Rankin in this city. and left her the | day after the wedding because she re- 1 fused to give him money. Tn April, l896 Hoch married Martha Hertzfleld, | and left her in four months after Ob- | taining from her $500. His next wife | is said to have been Mary Hoch of | Wheeling, w Va. She died of nephritis | after three months Hoch has always denied this marriage, and declared that l he merely assumed the woman's name ! In the fall of 1896 Hoch married | Clara Bartell of Cincinnati, and she | died within three months of the mar riage. In January. 1897. he was mar