Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1915-07-24
0NLY TWO DAYS BETWEEN BECKER
 AND DEATH CHAIR
Reprieve Granted by Gov ernor Whitman Expires
 Monday.

annroach of the, date fixed for the
 Becker execution, all New York s
 awaiting with intense interest for any
 new developments in the celebrated
 ease. Will the condemned man be
 saved from the, electric chair at elev-
 enth hour by some twist of tho law
 discovered and employed in his behalf
 bv the able counsel in charge of his
 case? Or, what appears more inn
 probable, will a personal appeal to
 Governor Whitman by Mrs. Becker,
 secure another reprieve?
 By peculiar coincidence the week
 in which the Becker case reaches it's
 climax marks the third anniversary of
 tic arrest of police lieutenant on e,
 charge of instigating the murder of
 the gambler, Herman Rosenthal. For
 the murder four men have already
 paid the death penalty, while fifth
 is in the death house awaiting the
 march to the electric chair. For three years the successive trials, the exc eution of the four gunmen, and the persistent efforts to save the life of Becker have drawn up to the surface, l out of the hideous muck Of :. New l II uIluCl W0llu, SuCI lCNtlI- l tions of crime, of graft and police l protection, of the operations of the
 "gangsters" as have fairly entitled l the Rosenthal murder to be termed
 "the crime of the century"
 The now famous case obtained it's i first publicity on July 12, 1912, when morning newspaper published an l affidavit by Rosenthal accusing 1 Becker, then police lieuten2nt in l charge of the "strong-arm" squad with accepting protection money from l gamblers. According to the statements of Rosenthal, Becker had been his silent partner" in the operation of ! several gambling houses until differ ences arose between them over a division of the profits.
 Two days later it was announced that District Attorney Whitman would consider Rosenthal's charges. July 16 was the day fixed for the gambler to lay his evidence against Becker before the district attorney. l At 1:57 a. m. on that date Rosenthal was called from the bar of the Hotel Metropole and shot to death on the sidewalk by four "gunmen" who made their escape in a motor car.
 The next day Shapiro and Libby. owners of motor car, were arrested They declared that Jack Rose, we'll known member of the gambling fra- ternity had bIed the car. One day later Rose surrendered to the police and was held for murder. His state- ments led to the arrest of "Bridgie" Weber and Harry Vallon. Simultane. ously the district attorney named the four "gunmen" as the actual killers. The four "gunmen were F'rank Clroflci CDago Frank; Harry Horo- witz, (Gyp tf.s Blood); Louis Rosen- berg CLefty Louie) and Jacob Seiden- sinner, CWhitey Lewis) All four were young in years, but old in crime. 'Dago Frank" and "Whitey Lewis" were found within a few days, but it was not until the following Septem- per that "Gyp the Blood" and Lefty Loule" were located and arrested. Tn the meantime Rose, Weber and Vallon had turned states evidence and accused Lieutenant Becker of having instigated the murder, which they procured. Becker was arrested
 just before midnight on July 29.
 october "A Becker was found guilty Of murder in the first degree and sentenced to death the week begin
 hing December g. The conviction
 was based on the theory that he had
 Deen silent partner of Rosenthal in
 a- gambling-house, had extorted
 money from Rosenthal.. end, finally,
 mad lnstlgated murder, when Rosen-
 thaI was to appear before the grand
 Jury. The motives for the murder
 were said by the state to be fear Of
 exposure and hope of revenge.
 becker's first conviction was set
 aslde and new trial ordered by the
 nigher courts on February 24, 1915.
 ine second trial began May and
 likewise resulted in conviction and
 sentence to death. On May 25 last
 tne second conviction was upheld bv
 .ne court of appeals. On June IS the
 sa"e tribunal denied the application
 VI counsel for Becker for a reargu-
 nlent Of the case, and the condemned
 ,nah n was resentenced to die on July
 l1, on July l Governor Whitman
 sranted a reprieve until July 26.
 nh ahe meantime the four "gunmen''
 ndo been put to death in the electric
 S' ualr' the date of their execution
 peihg April 1S, 1915. The "informers," :"
 rose Weber and Vallon, were given
 tnelr freedom after Becker's convic-
 TOT more than two years, with the
 haieeptlon of the interval caused by
 aas second trial, Becker has been
 SSnnlned in the death house at gsing
 S.ns. During that period he has seen
 welve or more men go from cells
 tsar Ills to their deaths, yet he is said
 t nave controlled his eotions at all
 osS Iss s,. anq to have faced his fate with