The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-04-17
FLANK B. HOWE, Editor and Publisher
THE MARY ROGERS HANGING.


printed and reprinted the story of the
hanging of Mary Rogers that we hate
to rehash it again but as the Bellows
Falls Times seems to desire it We
comply
There is just enough truth in the
story as told by the Times and re-
printed in this issue so that it can
not be said to be all false though it
is combined with so much error that
It is wholly misleading in, its general
effect.
The main facts of the case will be
readily recalled. Vermont officials
connected with the case were so
bounded, caricatured, lied about and
abused by outside yellow journals pre-
vious to the date of the execution that
they were naturally disguised with
all newspapers and if the officials in
charge of the execution had had their
way no newspaper representative
would have been admitted. Governor
Bell, however, insisted that at least
some representatives of the Vermont
press be present and after consulta-
ton with Supt. W. S. Lowell of the
state prison who agreed with the gov
ernor that some reporters should be
present the three men mentioned by
the Times were selectd. Mr., Greene
was named because of his high stand
ing in the newspaper profession, Mr..
Howe, because he was from Benning-
ton where the crime was committed
and Mr. Clark because he was the
Windsor representative of the Assoc
lated Press.
None of the three were seekers af-
ter the job. The most that they had
done was to call the attention of the
governor to the fact that the public
had the right to learn the details
through the usual channels. They
made no agreement either to suppress
any details or to enlarge on any.
They did agree to write one account
of the affair and all sign it and send
it to all the Vermont papers and to
give it to the associated press and
other press associations so that there
could be no charge of fayoritism. The
st. Adams Messenger and Bennington
Banner got not a word more or differ
ent from that given the other papers.
1t was not a 80 word statement but one
of some 400 words and covered the es-
sential details of the execution. The
execution was not completed until
1880 in the afternoon and the reports
had to reach the afternoon papers to
be of any use to them inside an hour
There wasn't time to discuss all sides
and all details. The best that could
be given was a concise statement of
facts.
There was no kick from any Yer
mont paper save one on the plan or
the way it was carried out, but there
was a tremendous howl from the rep
resentatives of the city yellow jour
nails who were excluded. There were
about a score of these reporters at
Windsor. With them it was the last
chance for sensation from the Mary
Rogers case and at the same time
they had worked themselves into a
rage against the state of Vermont and
vowed they would paint a picture that
would blacken the name of the state
and her governor. Any basis, no mat
ter how trivial, was all they wanted
to build on.
The execution furnished that slight
basis. When the trap was sprung and
Mary Rogers fell her feet did not
touch the floor and as she hung after
the drop her feet cleared the floor by
several inches. She hung there like
this for some minutes with two score
or more of men around the gallows.
Had her feet been touching the floor
surely somebody would have noticed
it.
After a wait that seemed long but
was probably not more than six or
seven minutes, the doctors examined
her and found her heart still beating
and the onlookers stood back for an
other wait. Possibly two or three
minutes interviewed, when those watch
ing the doomed woman saw a change
in appearance. There was a general
relaxation and her whole body seemed
to give. The writer has always sup
posed that then was when death came,
but of course that is only personal
opinion.
AS the body relaxed and heightened
however, the toes of her shoes touch
ed the floor--not to bear any weight
but enough to scrape slightly as the
body swayed. The sound was plainly
audible in the hush of the death cham
Der and had it occurred earlier it
uQlt1d of oo,pco