Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1914-04-16

I-eIty Louie, the iast 10 uie anu
accordingly the keenest sufferer by
reason of the interval of waiting. en-
tered the chamber at 6:0l. The Jew
ish prayer book which he grasped, he
to Rabbi kopfstein before the
guard strapped him in the chair. Like
he a prayer in He
brew. The theory that the strongest
shall die Lefty" bore by his I'M
resistance to the current. The
first contact was given at sos. AT
6:1i he was pronounced dead.
Only Few Present.
The only relatives Of he gunner
who were in the prison at tlme OF
the execution were "Dago Franks
mother. sister and brothers., Whitley
Lewis brothers.. Mrs. Cirofici was
borne to her carriage in collapse, an
hour after the electrocution.
All the bodies of the gunner will be
claimed by relatives.
This Easter Sunday and the night
that followed was almost n contlnu-
Il prayer for the condemned. IheH
We're on their knees nearly all the time
that they Were not talking to relatives.
A prisoner in a distant cell blew from
a battered cornet the ~quavering notes
of Nearer, My God, to Thee and IN
the lighthouse Il monograph played
sacred music. On the walk in front of
the prison the curious t~ownspeople
passed to and fro. whispering, ana
every now and then a party of dusty
a~utomobilists swung down from their
car to urVey the building.
Of the scenes in the lighthouse cor
ridors Sunday that which stood out
boldest concerns the visit OF two nuns.
AS Father Cashin, the Roman Cathol2
prison chaplain, led the four gunner IN
prayer, two Italian Franciscan sisters
who had come from New York to see
''Dago Frank" whom they had taught
in his boyhood. knelt outside his cell.
Raised curtains. showing the cells pare
and Immaculate after Saturdays clean
sing, disclosed the four gunner also
kneeling. Suddenly he spirit of de-
votion spread to the whole death cham
Der. Every one of the 16 con-
demned, among them Hans Schmidt,
slayer of Anna Aumuller, joined in the
Lords prayer, which concluded the
services.
Messages to the Boys.
To the boys of the east side in New
York the Jewish trio of the gunner
sent u final message through Rabbi
Jacob Goldstein. Whitley Lewis
wrote:
There are many boys who are we'll
brought up and have good parents who
do not look out for the company they
| get into. Bad company is the cause OF
their fall.
Keep away from bad company is
the best message | can send.
Lefty Louie said:
What l said the other day about
bad company: A fellow who honestly
earns Sc a week is better off than he
| who gets $1,000 a week if he does not
get it straight.
wv are supposed to have as many
friends as any fellow that was on the
east side, but when it came to a show
down it was only the school (syna-
gogue) that stood by us. outside of u
parents. Stick to the school and to
your parents. If L had life to live over
again l would surely follow this ad-
vice"
"Gyp the Blood said he had nothing
to add to what had been said.
Wives Pay Last Call.
Mrs. Rosenberg. Lefty Louie's"
young wife. and the wife of "Gyp the
Blood; Mr.. and Mrs. John Cirofici and
Paul Cirofici, relatives of "Dage
Frank; Morris and Joseph Seiden-
sinner brothers of Whitley Lewis all
spent the early part of the afternoon
in a last visit to the death chamber.
The women walled aloud as they Went
out of the prison. On the way to the
station they said hat the men about
to die a never maintained their in
nocence SO strongly as in this last re-
monstrance. They We're calm and re-
signed, ana III was the gunner who
played the part Of CONSIDERS.
II must die sometime" Lefty Louie
told his wife; 'if it pleases Goo that
1 die now l am ready"
Whitley Lewis" asked his brothers
to tell their mother that she was not
the mother of a murderer. 81 have
never been more than a little wild ;"
he said.
Near the railroad station a photo
grapher who tried to take a picture of
the weeping wives of "Gyp' and Lief
ty Louis was set upon by the Seiden-
sinner brothers, Morris and Joe. He
was Knocked down. The prisoners
We're not left alone for a single instant
during the day or night.
All Pleas in Vain.
The last avenue of hope for the four
gunner was closed six days before
their execution, when Governor Glynn
refused to grant a stay, pending the
second trial of Lieut.. Charles Becker.
who was convicted in the lower courts
of having plotted the murder of Her
man Rosenthal to prevent him from
making graft revelations to District
Attorney Whitman. The court of APP
peals, in reversing the decision for
Becker, declared itself unconvinced
that he had directed the murder. but
upheld the judgment of the lower
court that the four gunner had been
tHe instruments. MOtlOnS for a new
trial on the ground of new evidence,
made by their attorney, were denied.
and they We're sentenced to die during
the week beginning April Is.
-Four days before their execution a
delegation of New York rabbits visited
Governor Glynn II pleaded in vain
with him to POSTPONE the execution
until after the second trial of Becker.
The governor remained fixed in the
opinion that he had already expressed
that Becker's guilt or innocence
could in no way affect the guilt OF
the gunner, who had been judged
guilty by two courts.
The real names OF the men who
have been known as "Gyp the Blood
Lefty Louie" "Daso Frank and
Whitley Lewis" were Harry Horo-
witz, Louis Rosenberg, Frank Giro
fci and Frank S~eidenshue. The
youngest. Lefty Louie was 81; the
Oldest, "Dago Frank q. All were
Jews except "Dago Frank" AS the
nickname implies. he was an Italian.
tGyp the Blo.d" and Lefty Louie
We're married. Their young widows
survive them.
All Cleared "Dago Frank"
Not only during the trial, but in
statements given out at Sing Sing,
three of the gunner persisted in the
declaration that "Dago Frank" had not
been present at the time of the muir
Il I 49, ---l