The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-08-28
MAY ABOLISH
THE EGU|LLOT|NE
Powerful Socialist Party i'm
France Demands That the
Fatal Knife Go.
THIS MEANS CAPITAL
PUNISHMENT ALSO
Heridetary EXecutiOner Has Be-
headed but Four Persons
in Ten Years.
BY PAUL VILLIERS.
.iaI GA able IN Tho Trjbune


I Special Gable to The Tribune.
PARIS, Aug. 27.-"The guillotine
must go.' That is, it must go if the
bring it about, Tor the same class that
in 1893 sent to "The Widow the best
blood In France is now claniorlng for
the abolition of the fatal knife, and
back of them Is the powerful Socialist
party, which generally gets what it goes
after So it is not at all unlikely that
the gulllotlne Will go and with ii cap.
ital punishment in France. For ten
years up to a year and a half ago, the
workshop. The hereditary eXecutioner
retained his office. He still received his
nominal salary of $1,000 and possibly
drew the additional allowance of $4,000
for keeping his tools IN order. But
during that period his extra fee Of $40
for each execution was lacking. No
heads were ordered off anybody's shoul-
ders. 1t was believed that France, like
Italy, was done with capital punish
ment. But it was during that period
that the apache curse in Paris germi
mated and grew more fruitful year by
year. At length, In January, 1909, the
capture and conviction of four members
of the Polet band. against whom many
murders of peculiar savagery were
proved, resulted in a popular demand
for M. Deibler to bring forth his dusty
guillotine and cut off those four despic
able heads, The whole of northern
Francois well as the Parisians and the
people of Belgium, where several Of the
crimes were ommitted-demanded the
restoration of the guillotine. "Death
to the assassins! Long live Deiblerl"
was the popular cry, Now it looks as
though not only the guillotine, but
Deibler's hereditory occupation would
soon become thing of the past.
Official Title Of Executioner.
The official title of this functionary
is Monsieur de Paris.n Even during
the revolution, when the guillotine went
on It's travels through many provinces,
1t was always "Monsieur de Paris"
who escorted "Tbe Widow and direct
ed her grisly operations. Since about
the year 1870 the office of public ex-
eccutioner has remained in the Deibler
family. For almost 200 ycars-from
1854 10 lS47-the dynasty had but one
name-Sanson. During the interreg-
bum between the last Samson and the |
hrst Delbler there were two headsmcn. |
each without family and without fame. |
lhey. were mere stopgaps. named re-
spectively Heindrich and Roche.
In all there were six Sansons. who
continued the succession unbroken, from |
father to son, as did the kings of feudal |
tunes. The Samson headsman dynasty |
owed its foundation to the circum. |
stance of the first Sanson-an ardent !
young artisan-falling in love with the |
daughter of the herdsman of Rouen.
lie was wont to say he married himself |
20 the scaffod, He was summoned to
Paris He left a diary in which he
confessed that his job filled him with
terror. he had horrible dreams, and
was AFRAID to be alone at night. But |
ne died full of years leaving a son,
Charles Samson H., who. being crecu,
tioner by, hereditary, suffered from no
such qualms.
Broken on the Wheel.
1t was Samson III. who executed the
celebrated French thief, Cartouche.
This was no stroke Of the axe, either,
FOR Cartoucbe was broken on tho wheel.
and so powerful was his frame that
eleven blows were required. This in
strument was invented by Dr. emilio.
tin, an ardent Republican, who fore
saw that no one arm otherwise could
lop off the heads that were soon due
10 fall. He guaranteed that the ma
chine would do its work neatly at a
single stroke. II was tested on mur.
derer with such success that 1t imme-
diately supplantcd the old fashioned
axe.
Samson V. was the great Samson of
the Red Terror. He took of more
heads than all the other Sansons put
together. At times the work was so
heavy, when the mob was demanding
the heads of all aristocrats as we'll as
hose Of the royal and noble families.
that he had to call two of his unclea
TO his assistance. 1t was he that ex
ecuted Nine. Roland, Charlotte Corday
Danton and Robespierrc