Evening journal., 1911-11-24
Goes TO Death Chair Calm
Iy in Richmond Prison
andis Pronounced Dead
at 7.23O'cIo Brother
Douglass Claims the
Corpse
BY The United Press.

by me United Press.
RICHMOND Va, Nov. 24.-Calmly,
smilingly, almost indifferently, Henry
Clay Beattie, Jr, today paid his life
for the life of his murdered wife. There
was no indication of physical or men
tai weakness in the youthful figure
that strobe into the death chamber and
seated itself in the grim seat of death.
Following the custom of the penl-
tentiary, Beattie was sent to his
death without any breakfast.
He was the calmest man in the
death chamber when the execution
took place. The witnesses sat with
clenched hands and teeth rigidly set.
The prison guards were nervous. The
clergymen trembled, but not Beattie.
His nerve completely recovered, Beat
tie went to his death with as much
sangfroid as he displayed during the
trial The breakdown of two days
ago could not have been inferred from
his manner this morning.
The body of the young man in the
chair did not look less natural after
death than many mans who has
passed into the great beyond through
natural cause. But II was a terrible
tense two minutes which passed in
the windowless death chamber in
which all lights were cut off ercept a
reflector light above the chair
Beattie had not yet been blindfold-
ed First of all Beattie saw the
| chair. He tried not to change ex-
preston. Then shifting the range
of his vision, he saw dimly the Wit
| nesses sitting at tie other end of the
room. Beattie's eyes swept the
twelve jurors. His lips curved into
smile He seated himself in the
+ chair and in one minute everything
had been adjusted.
Five prison attendants each with
| certain things to do acted with dis
patch One man strapped a broad
leather band over the chest. another
\ buckled one arm and another the
other arm and a third the legs a
fourth put on the leather helmet OF
cap which contained the head cleo
trode, and a fif,h snapped the ankle
electrode into place Then all five
stepped back.
At the switchboard at the rear Of
the room a hand was seen to move
into the circle OF light cast by a
small electric bulb there. This hand
pulled down little ebony lever and
the current leaped into the body of
the man in the chair The hand was
seen to throw back this little lever 20
manipulate another and then the first
| Cne again. Lights were now thrown
on in The room and DR.. w. T. Oppen-
heimer stepped forward accompanied
by his brother DR. St. Julien Open
heimer. Dead" they said in laconic
\ duet and the guards began unstrap-
NH kla q I. -. FIT1.
nesses rose and filed out The body
\ was carried into a chamber nearby
to await the claim of the family upon
it,
No Autopsy ON the Body.
No autopsy will be performed on the
body of the young man but one would
undoubtedly show simply that he died
of paralysis Of the respiratory centers
and the heart. The temperature Of
the body had been greatly increased
by the electrocution. DR.. Oppenheimer
\ found it had reached 115 degrees.
Rigor mortis began as always after
electrocution unusually early. On this
account the body was prepared for
burial at once after it had been car
ried from the death chamber.
Formal claim of the body was made
4 by Douglass Beattie. The brothers
face showed more emotion today than
ever before. His is not a countenance
which easily reflects the feelings with
i'm but his grief today was too great
+ for even immobile and unexpressive
features to mask completely The
brother hurried into the superinten-
|, dents office speaking to no one as he
went up the steps Of the penitentiary
He remained inside a long time, but
i he did not go to look at the body, now
CONTINUED on Second Page.)