The Washington herald., 1908-03-08

New Jerseys veteran hangman. James
Van Hise. has for the last time knotted
q moose around mans neck. For the
electric chair has come to stay.
Savario di Giovanni was the first TO sit
in the chair for his death shock. On his
heels have come two trembling negroes,
who died within fifteen minutes of each
other
Van Hise hanged his last man. Frank
Bannisik. on February Z, 1907
80 TSn Hise-he is seventy-two years
old and has been hanging men and wom-
en- for half n century-sits back in mis-
little carpenter shop IN Newark. and
harks back to the good old days when
he alone had the job of decreasing the
population Of the State at $3.50 per per-
son. says the New York World
He has put To- death just seventy-nine
persons. of whom two were women. He
boasts that this record has never been
equaled
Glad It's Over.
I'm glad it's over now" he will tell
you, not without a note Of pride in his
tones. I've been tired OF the job of
hanging for a long while now. not only
for my own sake, but because OF my fam
fly, who are dearer to me than anything
else in the world. Let somebody else do
the work now: / don't want to bother
with any Of this new-fangled electrical
business-the rope was good enough for
me"
To hear the old man talk so calmly and
IN so matter-of-fact way. no one would
dream that for fifty years he had made
business OF killing people for "A price
He looks just what his official occupa-
ton is-a carpenter.
He is a stOutish. rather short old man.
with grizzled red hair and mustache.
wrinNled face, and knOtted. horny hands
the hands Of a man who has worked
hard all his life As for nerves. he has
none
Cool Hand at Business.
Once when he had to execute two mur-
derers with a fifteen-minute interval be-
tween he balanced a brimming glass OF
water on the back of his hanG, just 20
show that he wasn't shaking a bit, while
he awaited his second subject
Another time he had four condemned
men 70 put to death He did it all with
IN the space OF an hour. and then went
home and ate a hearty breakfast. Others
bare their heads in the presence Of death.
but Van Hise always keeps his hat on and
chews a toothpick while he goes ex-
peditiOusly about his business. And sell
dom did he fail to make a good job
Of it."
But the electric chair has deprived
him Of his chief source OF income. The
old brown-painted gaIlows lies in fun
view on a shelf in his shop dusty and
covered with cobwebs The disused
coils of rope tell more plainly than words
the end of execution by hanging in Jcr-
sey.
Given to Retrospect.
With his occupation gone and life be-
hind him, Van Hise likes TO muse over
bySone days when judges used to say:
1T IS the sentence of the court that
you be hanged by the neck until you are
dead. and may the Lord have mercy on
your soul."
That was Van Hise's signal 70 get 10
work, He made It his business to see at
once the sheriff of the county in which
the execution was to take place and Of
fer fat rate of $3.50 for the execution,
agreeing to furnish the scaffold. rope.
weight. and such labor as might be
needed. lie gave bargain rates for two
executions and still further cut the price
Tor three or moro.
How did I begin?' mused the old man.
rs he lay back in his chair one hand
Iondly resting on the Scaffold whose days
OF usefulness are gone forever
''Well, you see, before the civil war my
. H-H
Bridget Dorgan. MiddIesex County
sentenced to be hanged. The sheriff of
MiddleseX wanted to get out Of the job,
and as the county had no gallows my
father was hired to build one Then the
sheriff got me and the old man 20 do the
job, and good one it was. too.
Liked the Work.
Il sort of fell naturally into the work;
liked it, and so kept right at it until
they stopped hanging altogether here just
the other day.
Van Hise patted his old scaffold low
ingIy-
Now" ne continued. 'it takes an ex-
pert to hang man properly. I'll show
you"
Van Hise unlocked chest ard dived
deep down among his treasures and me
lnentoes of other days
This gallows." he said, taking out n
short, heavy piece OF wood, with an ar
rangement of iron clamp and lever. is
my own idea 1 used 10 have a stout
hemp I9De attached 10 this lever. At
the end OF the rope were four or five iron
weights Of 120 pounds each. cord
reached T. the ground from the lever and
when 1 pulled this cord the lever re-
leased the rope with the weights and the
manor the woman-didn't know what
had happened, so quickly was he jerked
into the air."
Rope that Never Breaks.
The aged hangman reached down again
into the chest and pulled out a bundle.
He tenderly opened it and disclosed half
a dozen nocses made Of light-coiored
rope the thickness Of mans little finger.
That rope" he said proudly, cost me
$.So d pound. II never broke Each
moose cost me - cents. and il could swing
OFF the heaviest man in the world"
Even then the nOoses were ready for
service, though their day was done.
All | had 20 do was 90 stand the mur-
derer IN a chalked square under the glib
be-, hook the eye-splice in the sister
hooks, put il over the fellows neck, and