The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1912-07-18

New York, July 11.-Few Of the
living dead in the Sing Sing prison
death house have shared those cramp-
ed uncanny quarters and all their
horrors with 3s condemned prison
ers, have seen II men marched past
him to the death chair and then
been brought out of the gloom of
the place to tell about it. Maurice
M. Lustig is one who has and he
yearns to forget his experiences.
He shuddered at the thought OF
them yesterday as he related them
to a reporter. He doesn't like to
think of them at all. Lustig is the
young pharmacy clerk who went to
the death house on June 80, 1910,
after he had been convicted of kill
ing his wife Rhoda, with arsenic. The
court of appeals has granted him a
new trial and he was brought back
to the Tombs yesterday to await it.
Few of his friends would have rec
ognized him. He was gaunt, pale
faced and hollow checked. - Keepers
of the Tombs who saw him daily
when he was there before said he
was completely changed.
Yesterday morning when he emer-
ged from the prison handcuffed to
Sheriff Jacob Schmiedigner, Lustlg
saw daylight for the first time in
over two years. Moreover, he was
badly in need of exercise. AS soon
as he arrived at the Tombs he was
turned into the yard with a keeper
and was still pacing in the hot sun
when the reporter called. A keeper
assured the visitor that those few
hSurs had worked wonders with the
prisoner. But there was still great
room for improvement.
81 hate to think of it ALL said Lus-
tig to the reporter, much less talk
about it. I saw IT men go to the
5 chair. Three went away only yes
terday and though had already been
granted a new trial I was compelled
to stay there and witness the death
march, to say nothing of the agonles
of their last night on earth.
~ s'Let's see; I think can give you
the names of the II in the order OF
their going away There were two
triple and two double executions
Carl Lutz and Joe Carnetti went of
together. Then Sam Osnek. Then
Robert Wood. The next were Frank
{ Schemmerhorn, Bart Brown and Ped
TO Foletti, who died together. Then
Phil Meganno, Joseph Zemacko
Charley Swinton and Albert Waters
went. Thomas Barnes and Fritz
Gebhart were led out at the same
time and yesterday Santa Zangara
Giuseppe Garielli and George Will,
Iiams. That makes 16, doesn't 1t?
Let me see l can't think of the
18th, but I am sure there were that
many. All of the boys kept record
of the names on the wall of thei-
cells with pencils and I did know
the names on the wall when l Left
there. If 1 could only forget the
others I'd be very glad.
"You couldn't imagine what I've
been through in those two years to
save your life. was in cell No. 4
which faces the only door to the
place through which the II doomed
fellows were marched for the last
time.
A. ''The night before the going
away as we called the executions up
there, there was living wake The
living would sit up with the living
soon to die. None of the prisoners
would be allowed out of the cells, OF
course, but all hands did all they
could to make the going easy. The
spiritual advisers were the only ones
allowed in the death house that night
besides the death watch of three
men.
Everybody stayed up all night.
The watch would pass Bibles around
from cell to cell and the boys would
each read chapter. Then we would
all sing hymns, and then read an
other chapter. We didn't lose any
time on the job either. Once in a
while some poor fellows groans could
be heard as the end drew near. Then
to comfort the poor fellow we'd start
up another hymn and stick to 1t
until the groaning was over.
"It was my lot to see the bunch
come in with straps and other para
phernalia to prepare for the death
march. I've seen old prison pals
with arms strapped behind them led
out of cells opposite mine. I've seen