The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-07-31


 terday when all that was earthly of the man she loved was brought back to her from the death house at Sing Sing.
 1 When first the coffin was carried into her little parIor she said not a word. Her lips quivered, that was all. Then, supported by her brother, John Lynch. she moved forward as the black cloth covering. was drawn away. Still she did not speak, but all the bright color left her cheeks. She took two more steps forward.
 Poor Charley! Poor charley!'' she whispered.
 Then suddenly all her pent up an- guish seemed to rush over her uncon- trolIably, as if notwithstanding that had heard from Gov. Whitman him. self a little less than twenty-four her husbands last chance, her own last hope, she had not quite realized what it meant.
 Charley, Charley she cried, throw ing her arms about the body, still GOV cred with a gray, s1lroudlike cloth. eoh, Charley" She kissed the dead lips again and again, her arms cling ing yet more tightly.
 For a moment nobody moved nor spoke while the stricken womanfs voice went on speaking to her dead. Then her brother stepped forward and gen y
 Innocent, She Says
 .eI don't care what they say, [ say he's innocent Mrs. Becker cried as she entered her bedroom in the rear of the apartment, where she sat si- lently in her black dress while the un- dertakers went about what they had come to do.
 It was a few minutes after o'clock when the automobile hearse of William F. Struve, whose undertaking estab- Iishment is at 2 West Fordham road, The Bronx, a few blocks from the Becker apartment at 2,291 University avenue, drew up before the door. Mrs. Becker had awaited it's coming anx- iously, wondering at the delay.
 A little after noon, however, came a message, saying that the hearse, which started from New York shortly after o'clock in the morning, had just reached Ossining. Mr.: struve, who went with the hearse, said he had to stop five times because of tire trouble, but expected to be in New York again by ,2s30 D. m.l On the re- turn trip, however, the engine went wrong in< front of s3 Lyndhurst, Mrs. Finley j. Shepard's home, and. de- very nervous when finally the hearse stopped before the apartment house, more than an hour late.
 Already her brother and her sister, Susan Lynch, were worried about her, fearing lest the. strain and the her return from Ossining might cause her to break down. She refused all day to see any callers except close friends.
 A crowd of perhaps 100 persons gathered about the door as the hearse ward had not mounted sergeant and two patroImen kept them far from the entrance. After a moments delaythe plain box with it's black cloth cover ing was lifted out.
 Crowd Presses Forward.
 The crowd pressed forward, looking from the load the undertaker's men were lifting to the shaded windows of Mrs. Becker's apartment on the third floor. They could just hear wo- mans muffled sobs from behind them, plotted out immediately as some. one in another apartment struck the first notes of a song on a piano. Sudden ly the piano stopped; the Ssobs went on.
 Slowly the back box was carried through the door and up the stairs, the four bearers stooping a little. The leader of the strong arm squad was a powerful man, one remembered. For a moment, as the body was taken into the apartment the front window shade was raised-then quickly lowered.
 While he was at Sing Sing MT. Struve prepared the body, doing his best to make invisible the burns on the forehead made by the electrodes. So well did he succeed that Mrs. Becker was saved the pain of seeing the brands.
 The coffin was placed in the parlor, at it's head a nine branched brass can dIesticki supported on a. heavy brass standard Already some flowers had arrived, and soon after the hearse came a. great floral cross was brought in. None of the. family would say from whom the flowers came. In- stead of the usual black crepe there l was hung on the door a garland of palm leaves, white lilies and white 1 and purple aSterS
 It was not until evening that any of the family consented to see reporters. | John Lynch, Mrs. Beckers brother. apartment and said that she was in far too serious a condition to talk or make a statement.
 Very Brave, Says Brother.
 .tShe has been very brave.s he said, l "a wonderful woman, but this has been more than even she could stand. l Thank heaven she didn't see the burns | on his forehead.''
 MT. Lynch was told of staten ents l in evening papers that Mrs. Becker had said just before her husband was executed that she would never rest un- til she had exposed the methods used | by Governor Whitman and some oth- CTS when he was district attorney in prosecuting Becker, methods she con sidered unjust and that she had as- serted at a family conference that | she wanted MT. Whitman and these | same aids sued for $1oO,00O.
 sEWiII Mrs Becker say if that is | true. or can you tell us whether it is 1 or not?'' he was asked.
 f'I do not want to discuss it myself | he answered and Mrs. Becker cannot see amy one.''
 Thus far the funeral plans are not complete. Mrs. Becker is in no | condition to discuss them much. We laa 1