Semi-weekly herald., 1914-04-23
MOVEMENT TO ABOLISH
AXE IN GERMAN EMPIRE

AXE IN GERMAN EMPIRE
BERLIN, April 21.-Agitation has
been started in Germany to abolish
the axe and the block. OF all civiliz-
ed and cultured peoples, Germany is
the only country in the world today
which has retained and still clings to
this ancient form of executing the
death sentence Of the law. Even Rus
sia, so often characterized as benight-
ed, has adopted hanging. France. oft
en- termed the most enlightened ma
ton, also still clings to its tradition
ally gruesome beheadings in prefer
ence to the less spectacular and more
refined form of hanging, adopted by
the greater portion of the civilized
world, and to electrocution in vogue
in the United States. But France
makes some claim for refinement in
the tragedy of human life by the fact
that it executes the laws sentence
with machine, the mechanical guillo-
tine, merely set in motion by human
agency. The machine does the rest.
In Germany society still rids itself
of undesirables by the simple though
primitive operation of severing the
head from the body with an axe
swung by brawny arms, just as was
done in England in the days of Mary,
Queen of Scots, Queen Elizabeth and
Henry VIII. The human butcher
block has long been abolished in Eng
land. In Germany the idea has been
and still is to large extent, that in
order to make human execution .
check upon crime and to prove deter
rent to murder, it should be surround
ed with as much terror as possible.
Advocates claim that the glistening
axe and the blackrobed block are q
greater symbol Of that terror of the
final act of the law, than the hang
mans moose.
In Germany the law provides that
the sentence Of death must be ex-
ecuted through decapitation or be-
heading. 1t leaves to the different
states the choice between the guile
tine and the headsman with his axe
and block. Many Of the German
states have selected the guillotine as
the less brutalizing and the less Of
two evils. The axe and block have
played no such part in German his
tory that they have in England. Per-
haps therein lies one of the reasons
that there has not been popular re-
vulsion against their use. For CEN
turies beheading by an axe in the
hands of the public executioner" has
been the legal means of putting con-
demned humans to death in Germany.
Yet today it is safe to say that not
one person in rs if asked, could give
the name Of the public executicner.
The same could hardly be said IN
France, where "Deibler" is national
character.
Prussians Of the aggressive ruth
less type who made Prussia the main
factor in the empire, oppose the abol-
ishment of ancient forms Of Prussia
executions. They claim that the Ger
man axe and block method is no more
inhuman that the form of executions
in other countries. 1t is contended
by some that the axe is more humane
than the rope. In German beheadings
the condemned man has little oppor-
tunity to see anything of his execu-
tioner or Of the means employed. In
Berlin the executions take place IL
the courtyard Of the Plootzensee peni
tentiary.
A large flat flagstons on which the
headsman stands in order to have q
Arm footing marks the spot. When
the hour arrives, warders enter the
cell Of the condemned man and quick
ly cut away the collar Of his shirt
in order to leave the neck bare. He
is led outside. As he enters the court
yard through 4 small door, he is
quickly wheeled about SO that his
back is towsrd the fatal spot and he
faces two officials who read to him
that the sentence Of law is about to
be executed.
He Is seized by two strong warders
who half carry. half drag him back
wards 70 the block. This latter, ct
least In Berlin, differs from the old
EnElish hsadsman block. Instead Of
being forced to knssl down In front
Of It, The condemned man Il thrown