davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New Britain herald., 1915-07-30
he Great Mistake
 By Etheled Elkins

the only pint thet's cropped out in yore favor yft, and it ain't no pint at all. Butte and Anaconda has set the precedent thet it's legal for cot to pray for a hoss thief who can't pray and there ain't on parson by. This cot ain't completely up on Scripture, 'cepting a few remarks made by Mat thew, Mark, Luke. and John, and it will remark as pussonal axiom thet cot comes mighty nigh stultifyln' it's judicial conscience when it prays for a hoss thief. However. it's got to be did, and so-"
 Now hold on, sQuire." again inter- posed Farmer Joe. You kain't pray. You know you kaint. Wait for the parson and Si-"
 "Thet air fact. Joe. Thet air a fact" murmured the squire. "But hits got to be did. Prisoner. may the Lord help your onery soul through the gates of hell. Go on. MT. Sheriff; go on with the hanging
 Struggling to free his hands from the thongs which bound them, the un- happy lad felt the moose settle coldly sinuously. embraciugly about his throat
 Meus uc CIleQ lQ q BLr1ckeu, ap- pealing voice. gimme chanctl Don't hang me like dog! Wait for S: Bill kins. I didn't steal thet hoss. swear I didn't!"
 His voice died away in a sob, and the squire arose amidst profound, inn posing silence. Towering tall and ma jestic above the throng. he swept 1t with a penetrating glance. Approval and expectancy met his eyes, and turn ing to Big Ike, he was about to give the signal. when from the outer edge of the throng there arose shrill, hoarse cry.
 Here's Old Gal Bilkins. Make way for the Old aGl."
 The squire ssat down. A murmur surged through the throng; it parted. and through the opening little wiz- ened, dried-up woman appeared, lead ing two tow-headed boys.
 "Oh. mai" cried the eldest. "Lookee! Dads hoss."
 The frown vanished from the squire's brow. Smiles radiated from his face, and he called the lad to him with a paternal air.
 "Is thet Si Bilkins' hoss."
New Britain herald., 1915-07-30

stole #. do you onderstand, and by the eternal---"
 .Now hold on, squire" cried Farmer Joe. This hoss ain't been swore to yit."
 The squire glared at the interrupter. It hainf?" he cried. ~Aint the hull crowd proved it!
 aBut si ain't swore to 1t. and the prisoner says it's his'n says 'taint Sis hoss at all
 "Si Bilkins! Whar,s Si Bilkins ?" roared the squire.
 @Si ain't got in yit," called a voice from the outskirts. "He's with the yuther party gone towards Silver City"
 The squire leaned disgustedly back against the trunk of the tree. know it's Sis hoss,'' he asserted. The hull crowd knows it-and you know 1t. too. Joe. Now, don't you 2"
 Farmer Joe hesitated Tt looks like his'n," he admitted. But squire. this yere prisoners boy. Wait for Si, or leastwise send for Old Gal Bilkins and let her swear to the hoss!"
 "Yes, why don't you wait for Si Bill kins" called the boy. "It's because you are locoed--a long-whiskered maverick run wild--a lean-jawed, snappin' coyote. You're wusser'n a playhouse dog bayin' at the moon. You wait, tell you!"
 With painful effort at self-control the squire turned gravely to Dad Tup- per. MT. Prosecutor" he asked. hev this case been proved?"
 It hev," Dad solemnly answered.
 The squire heaved a sigh of relief. and slanting his eye upon the waning sun he pondered. He knit his brows and brought his eyes grimly to level with the prisoners face. His manner was portentous Like swift, invisi- bIe current branding it's meaning upon the brain, the terrible purpose in his mind flashed through the audience, and fnstinctiveIy it. knew what his next words would be. and they hung with bated breath upon them. tcusely waiting. The squire lIfted an impress sive hand
 It air the jedgment of this cot he announced, that you be hanged by the neck until you air dead. dead, dead
 A sigh thrilled the throng. futter Git the rope. Mir. Sheriffl"
New Britain herald., 1915-07-30


 At the railroad station day my daughter aIiGhtcd train with q suitcase thnf uI ton. A ton 10 some wei9ht f1 or my girth- A young faIlou| up to my Emily and wanfs6| her home.
 What did Emily dor u. him down, with the b1< looming up like a mounfnin ' him down. and let me cnrrr f1| And the young fellow wx< out for it, tool It was inst she took. and he wns a mi. young .manfs
 T should say be waef~ rr1< "f he reached for fhsf Fiji n young man would have lef ry the grip while he foof f<7 woman home just the sane q
 T haven't given you the < ucuihrs yet the morbid det1 sumed McBiry. "I,ct me <- home the young man Eai6 daughter. Let me take fh| case
 "Just as I was bsg1nninr with relief Emily said: ~oh n< you; papa will take IT,
 Papa will take iti' Whn{ think of that?"
 Tt was pretty rough On x<
 Indeed 1t was.r
 You should have trained < ter than that" said DnfT>~ should have held on to f6c man until that suitcase home. and then she could have him just as we'll if she waDfr,
 Certainly. But it is a con know that she prefers the so< her dear old father even if sl have baggage to be dragged s
 Perhaps it was out of cor ton for the young man th, didn't let him accompany her Duffer. "Perh2 2r> figured that after he had lukr grip seven blocks he would h}
 "No. he had an automobile wouldn't have minded going h the car If he had only taken and her suitcase in his machl
 Some young men are cap takl1E the girl In the machl le<<{ux her father run behind tho suitcase." remarked Dune that didn't happen |
New Britain herald., 1915-07-30

You didn't, hey?" The squire's eyes roved over the crowd. Now you l1s- ten" he continued. You been a. stealth bosses in this valley for more than month You stole one from Dad Tupper, and one from Big Ike. and my team of blacks"the squire last night you run on with Si Bilkins' roan-thet there hoss you are a-sittin' tied to right now. l want you to understand thet this cot has Judicial as we'll as a pussOnal conscience. and bein' as you air boy, If you air willing to confess the cot will hang you for only one hoss and let you of for the others. What hev you got to say to thet?'
 The boy's face grew dark with wrath. T didn't steal no hoss!" he exclaimed. This is my hoss. l bought it.'
 Uh-huh! You bought 1t, hey?" A shrewd gleam gathered in the suuire's eyes. The cot knows thet hoss." he said. Hit knows it's Sis hoss. but being as this is legal proceeding. I'll just ax the crowd. Men. is that Si Bilkins' hoss?''
 Hit is, chOruse volume of voices,
 IndI, prisoner! You are cOtcled in a lie to begin with.''
 I aint!" cried the boy. "I ain,t told no lie. bought this hoss from Poker Pete, so's he could get the money to go to Albuquerque. That's why I can't find him to prove fl"
 The squire glanced meaningIy at the men. a laugh ensued, whispers filtered through the crowd. and as if by com mon consent all eyes were turned up on the boy--contemptuo They knew that was Si Bilkins' horse, that he was lying, and upon the tensity o1 their silent repudiation of his denial fell an ominous, pervading silence broken at length by a coarse laugt from the outskirts. Tho squire leaned forward animated. judicious, and grave. His eyes flashed and his voice rang stern.
 Prisoner" he said, you air a liar
 a onmftigated. low-doWn, hoss-thiev- Ing liar. This cot ain't much on poet " and eddication and heavenly attain ments, but it's ace-high on facts and jurisprudence, and every fact backed by Blackstone and Tom O'COnnor goes to prove you did steal that hoss. You
New Britain herald., 1915-07-30


 ity no less imperious because of their isolated source, and Dad Tupper knew quite well that a horse thief could as easily pass through the eye of needle as evade the squire's astute penetra- gtion-
 And horse thief had just been cap tured He was brought in by part of the posse sent in search of him, and sat tied upon a roam horse beneath the spreading branches of tree which had acquired renoWn as the Tribunal Tree. He was a clean-faced, weather tanned lad to whom the wide sOmbrero and the red bandana lent corrobora- tive appearance of the West amply emphasized by his self-contained man. ner. Dads eyes strayed from his boy tsh face to the horse.
 "It's Sls hoss,v he remarked
 "Hit shore is,'. affirmed Big Ike. Hey the squire been sent for. ,"
 He hev." Farmer Joe informed him -Thar's the squire now.
 The motley throng swayed, parted, md through the path that was opened the squire gravely passed on and up tu the platform circling the Tribunal Tree and sat himself upon soap box placed there for that purpose. In stantly pervasive silence ensued. The men edged closer and formed q semi circle, and the squire laid down his hat as he mopped his brow with 2 r Enu1ti-colored handkerchief. $ If the cot please" announced Dad Tupper, we've got him.
 The squire put away his handker- chief and Ieisuresy turned his keen eyes upon the boy. He scrutinized him intently, and then as his face grew harder and sterner his gray eyes flashed with a1ertness.
 What made you steal thet hoss. he asked. with judicial calm. didn't steal him.. the boy an euered with slightly defiance air.
New Britain herald., 1915-07-30
By Ethelred Elkins

broke the silence, and the prisoner sat as ono stunned. his air of bravado gone.
 Air you really goin' to hang mel" he asked, In an awed voice.
 We air, snapped the squire. sWe air goin' to hang you because you are wusser'n .pizen--a low-down, no count disreputab1e hoss thief. Throw it over thet air limb, Ike"
 tSwish-h-sh-sh!" hisSed the rope and then-it tangled with it's yawning moose not ten feet away from the pris- oner. His face paled. and he turned beseeching. pathetic eyes upon the squire.
 asholy you ain't, is you:" he gasped.
 We is"
 The squire's voice rang sharp with decision. "And now," he continued, "I want to ask you question. Air you gotn' to send your warped and : twisted soul to hell with lie stainin' it? Air you goin' to the beautiful land of Kingdom Come a-smellin' of hoss- Si Bilkins' hoss? Air your
 The boy shuddered. He glanced frantically about him as though hop ing for sympathy somewhere. But tragedy was in the atmosphere. and naught but hardened faces met his eyes.
 T didn't steal this hoss!" he cried, in voice of panic. T tell you didn't. This is my hoss. It never was yourn. Please won't you wait for Si Bilkins?"
 "Or send for Old Gal Bilkins,- sup plemented Farmer Joe.
 The squire was adamant. With un- abated sterness he asked the prisoner If he could pray. Tt air ag'in the law" he said, Ito hang a man what hain't prayed or been prayed for
 The boy lowered his eyes. "No." he answered in a whisper. T can't pray, dunno how"
 "Then I'll call Parson Bob." said the squire. "Parson Bob! Oh. Parson Bob!A
 Parson Bob's with the yuther party. too," informed Sandy McDowell.
 What" gasped Dad Tucker. "The parson ain't yere nuther.'
 The audience thrilled. The situa- tion was serious. Tragedy was like to be averted. But the squire came to the rescue.
 "Prisonax," hs dAo1AaA6, "thet air
New Britain herald., 1915-07-30
GREAT GRANDSON HERE.
Fourth Living Generation Arrived
 Yesterday.

MT. and Mrs.. Lawrence M. Stanley of 121 Maple street are rejoicing at the birth of a ten pound son. born yesterday. Both mother and child are doing we'll.
 Baby Stanley is unusually we'll sup piled with relatives on his fathers side, three great grandparents 5oin- ing with the parents in rejoicing at the birth. MT. and Mrs. w. H. Stan ley of II Pearl street are great grandparents and Mrs. Louis Mc- Louth of CordaIlis, Oregon, is also a great grandmother w. H. Stanley was the first vice president and secre- tary of the Stanley, Rule 6 Level Co, MT. and Mrs. Theodore A. Stanley of Cedar Hill farm are grandparents.
New Britain herald., 1915-07-30
MORE I|VD
 IN EASTLA
tcontinusd from

in June, 1914. just afE from Cleveland. where for several years Al <I knew no members of the q pany except Geo. T. president. . He waS a pei quaintance. The boat w Benton harbor, Michigan. tor C. c. Eckliff and l inI June 10, 1914. At that { the general condition of and her life saving appH| I gave her a capacity Of
 "In determining her e] considered the life savin1 and did not take into c1 the deck space, though 4 general practice to do so. had deck space for thre| persons.
 Inspector Reid said ti}a eral rule in determining space as a basis for est<r| passenger capacity of a bd divide the number of sQ11 deck space by either six. q or nine.
 Steamship Officials A|
 When Eckliff and I fzi pacity of the boat. | George T. Arnold. preeid St. Joseph Chicago Steam pany; William Hull. viGo and Walter C. Steele, seer aboard"
 The witness said that law. J. M. Erickson. had the position of chief enz1| Eastland at the rcquesf and that MT. Hull had x1 ter to the Grand Haven Board asking about Brick fications.
 Erickson was later appt engineer Inspector Reid one time he had anEercd refusing to grant a certtI spection to the steamer Hart.
 T have had my chara<| more than once. "said t because I refused to cer1 Inspector Redfield decIa owner had ever tried to I1 in making inspections of Y told of amending the E$ pacity certificate July g. ing her to carry z.b00 The new permits. he said on the addition of four life saving equipment.
New Britain herald., 1915-07-30
ALLIES LOSE HEAVILY
 IN DARDANELLES
Oficer of U. 6. Cruiser North Caro- lima Says Australian and Irish De- :.
 tachment Almost Annihilated.

lima Says Australian and Irish De- [.
 tachment Almost AnnihiIated.
 Berlin, July 3o-( By wireless to Sayville.)-A despatch from Athens. Greece, to the Overseas News Agency says:
 "The American cruiser North Caro- lima returned recently to Greece from an extended trip in the war zone An officer of the ship told an acquaint- ance that the real losses of the entente allies in the Dardanelles surpassed everything heretofore reported. The Australian and Irish dstachments were almost annihilated.
 "The attempts to storm the rocky steep heights on the Asiatic side oi the straits were termed by these offi' cers as simply insanity. Turkish ma, chine guns directed by German ofn' cers moved down the storming ranks | The Turks. lead by the Germans fought with great fury.
 'eWounded English officers at Alex. andria spoke with the highest admir- ation of their antagonrsts. The Aus tralian troops of 1.5o0 men returned from a charge 67 strong. These were wounded. Their comrades were dead
New Britain herald., 1915-07-30


 lxnos q k6 ths public This man suc- eded sfltate Electrician Davis and III saida he would not take the job uMleas fffa name was kept secret. He i lives In a little town upstate and I went about his work briskly.
 Becker Died Instantly. I Becker's executioner said that in ] his opinion the man had died instant Ny at the first contact.
 I-s-An autopsy on the body of Becker l was performed according to law im- mediately after the execution. After l Becker1s body had been removd from l the electric chair Samuel Haynes, a negro was brought into the execu- l tion room and eIectrocuted. One of Becker's last requests to Warden Os- borne was that he be put to death before the negro Haynes. RosenthaI Murdered in 1912. Herman Rosenthal, the gambler for whose murder Charles Becker was sentenced to die in the electric chair. was shot to death by hired gun men in the early morning of July 16, 1912, in front of the Hotel Metro pole on Forty third street, few
 
 was the swift continuation of sensa- tiona1 charges made a few days be- fore Rosenthal against Becker in which Rosenthal asserted that Beck CT, then head of the Strong Arm Squad of detectives freely sold po- lice protection and had accumulated thousands of dollars of graft money.
 RosenthaI went further than that. He swore that Becker was his silent partner in gambling enterprise that failed and that Becker angered by losses where he had expected large profits, raided the Rosenthal esfab- Iishn1ent and drove RosenthaI out of business by stationing uniformed po- Iicemen on his premisesa day and night.
 Whitman Began Investigation.
 These charges were published and District Attorney whitman began an investigation of them. He sum- moned Hosenthal to the Criminal Courts building and listened to his story. An appointment was made with Rosenthal for the next day. Be- fore the time came, Rosenthal was murdered.
 When the assassiris had done their work, they ran across the street, jumped into grey automobile which was waiting at the curb and whir1ed away uptown. A bystander caught the license number of the car
 District Attorney Whitman, noti- fled by telephone of the murder, reached the police station where Ro- senthars body lay before dawn He aroused his detectives from their sleep and spread a dragnet over the city for the murder Car. It was found before night. It's driver, Louis Sha- piro, and Louis Libbey, part owner, were arrested and MT. Whitman as- serted openly in an emphatic state- ment that the police had abetted the murder.
 Becked Openly Suspected.
 New York City. already interested In the charges of police corruptfon responded to the news of the murder as If to a call to arms. Becker who had been the chief target Of Rosen- thars accusations, was openly sus- pected He was relieved of his com mand of the Strong Arm Squad and transferred to the Bronx. Jack Rose. his graft collector, walked in to the Criminal Courts building the day after the murder and surrender ed to the District Attorney, declar- ing he had nothing to fear. Harry va1lon and Bridgie Webber. gamblers
New Britain herald., 1915-07-30

and friends of Rose and Becker. were arrested as witnesses. The Grand Jury began it's Investigations
 Rose lay in prison twelve days without word from Becker, and, be- Iieving his chiefAhad deserted him, confessed. va1orassand aiNNebber cor roborated his story. He told of his long association with Becker, of po- lice corruption which existed as Ro- seminal had charged, of thousands collected by Becker for police pro- lection and, finally, of his commits sion by Becker to arrange to have Rosenthal killed by gunnen-a com mission he executed.
 Has Becker Indicted. That night, July 29. 1912. District Attorney Whitman summoned the Grand Jury by telephone and tele- graph, laid his evidence Before it and within two hours obtained the indictment of Becker on a charge of murder.
 Four East Side gangsters were in- dicted as the actual murderers. Rose had testified that these men were as- signed by Big Jack zelig, gang leader who had been arrested by Becker's men on a umped-up charge to do the murder. They were to re- ceive $1,000 and ZeIig was to be re- leased. ZeIig's orders had been is- sued from the Tombs to the gunmen.
 Gunmen Rounded Up. These gunmeT-known in the streets of the East Side as .Gyp the Blood'' Horowitz, Lefty Louie. Rosenberg, "Dago Frank" Cirofici and ..Whitey'' Lewiswere rounded up one by one The last two were ar rested, "Gyp the Blood" and Lefty Luiea were not found till September, hiding in Brooklyn flat. With them were found their young wives who, to divert suspicion, had died their light hair black.
 To give standing to the testimony of Becker's three accomp1ics who had turned fnformers-Rose, Webber and ya1Ion-7a corroboratfng witness who was not implicated, was needed. Sam Echepps, a dapper little gambler. who had fled the city, was the man who could do this. He was found at Hot Springs, Ark. brought back to New York and the peoples case against Charles Becker was complete It went to trial on October T. 1912.
 Verdict of Guilty.
 A verdict of guilty of first degree murder was returned at midnight C'rtober 24, 1912, after the jury had deliberated seven hours and fifty seven minutes Becker was sentenced six days later to die in the electric chair during the week or December 9, 1912. Within less than month the four gunmen were placed on trial as the actual slayers, found guilty and sent to the death house.
 More than a year later, on February 24. 1914, the court of appeals decided that Becker should have a new trial The gunmen's conviction was upheld end they paid the penalty with their lives on April 14. 1914 One Of the number. Dago Frank confessed the guilt of his three associates but main tained his own innocence. His comics sion. made on the eve of the execu- ton, became known the day they were put to death.
 Second Trial in 1914.
 Becker was brought back to the Tomks His second trial was begun May :. 1914, and ended May 22, with n verdict of guilty. He was sentenced to die during the week of July 6, 1914. An appeal was filed, but the conviction was upheld by the higher court in decision handed down May 25, last,
 at
New Britain herald., 1915-07-30
BF[KER DIE EUR
 R0SENIHAM MURDER
tcontinued from First Page. )

Der mat and again the electric cur rent pulsed through the body. The shock lasted seven seconds and the current then was turned off. After hasty organization Dr. Farr asked that a third shock be given.
 This lasted five seconds. An ex- animation that took several minutes followed. Three physicians among the witnesses then made an examina- ton and Dr. Farr at 5:55 o'clock -auietly announced: 1T pronounce this man dead.''
 His Dying Declaration.
 During the night Becker pencilled on piece of paper what he captioned "rny dying declaration" It was taken to the wardenss office, where the two copies were typeWritten, which Becker signed with his fountain pen. sin a bold hand. The Deputy War den Johnson, who had charge of the execution in place of Warden Thomas Mott Osborne who does not believe in the death penalty, the one-time Police Lieutenatn presented with his fountain pen with these words:
 Tt is the last thing that I have to give away and I want you to have 1t. want you to give this state-
 
 n1ent to the newspaper men.
 Proud or Wife.
 Becker's message, given out just before he went to his death read: sGentlemen: stand before you in my full senses, knowing that no power on earth can save me from the grave that is to receive me. Tn the face Of that, in the teeth of those who condemned me and in the presence Of my God and your God, proclaim my absolute innocence of the foul crime for which I must die. You are now about to witness my destruc- tion by the state which is organized to protect the lives Of the innocent. May Almighty God pardon every one who has contributed in any degree to my untimely death. And now on the brink of my grave I declare to the world that am proud to have been the husband of the purest, nob- lest woman that ever lived, Helen Becker. This acknowledgement is the only legacy [ can leave her. bid you all good byes Father I am ready to go. Amen.
 (Sign4d) CHARLES BECKER z
 Wife's Photograph On Shirt.
 After his wife had said farewell shortly after midnight Becker main taiued a casual conversation with Deputy Warden Johnson. who sat be- side the screen in front of his cell. Sometimes he smoked cigars. after which he would let his head fall upon his hand and sage refectfvely at the concrete floor for minutes at q time Dawn found him seated bn the edge Of his cot carefully pinning photo graph of his wife on his white shirt just over his heart. Then as if he desired to have her all to himself Becker put on thin black alpaca. coat which he tightly buttoned. The photograph was not seen by the wit- nesses until the prison physicfan opened his coat as he sat in the death chair: x
 Becker was put to death by the State executioner, whose name is unr
New Britain herald., 1915-07-30
Personal

Mrs. Dudley T. Holmes and daueh~ ter, Miss Fannie have gone to, Atta-. wan Beach for the month of August.
 Dr. J. J. Andzulaitis and family left today for the Adirondacks.
 George Reilly and David Swanson will spend the next two weeks at old Orchard, Maine.
 Miss Eleanor Bissonette of Stafford Springs, is the guest of Miss Margaret Quinlivan of Stanley street. Miss Ruth Moore of snlalley street has returned from trip to New 1 Haven.
 Miss Rena Dorsey of Elm street will spend the first two weeks in Au- gust at Indian Neck Helen Roche of Union street will sojourn at Indian Neck. Theron H. Camp and family of Russell street. will leave tomorrow on a ten days auto trip to Saratoga, N. Y.
 Grace Reilly stenographer in the office of the board of public works will spend the coming two weeks at the shore MT. and Mrs George H. Booth of
 Camp street are at Short Teach.