Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-08-03

communion, After mass he ate little
bread and butter and drank a glass
of water.
Had Hopes of Reprieve
He had very little to say to the
priest, only making a few remarks
about the immortality of the soul. He
appeared, said Father McCarrell, like
man who had slept soundly - his
nerves were completely calm.
According to one news agency Case
ment had high hopes of being re-
prieved until the eve of his execution.
He did not hide the fact that he ex-
pected his many powerful friends
would obtain for him a free pardon,
because many of them exercised no
little influence in political as well as
literary circles.
AS there was no sign of reprieve
last night" this account says, "the
condemned man became very morose
ana hardly spoke at all. He did
however, inquire about the Zeppelin
raids and asked If any German air.
ships had reached London. Soon aft
erwards he became resigned to his fate
and after he had done a considerab BILE
amount OF writing he retired to rest
and slept soundly."
Acted in Sane Manner
When aroused this morning Case
ment showed considerable nervous
ness, but he was quite collected and
/ thanked the wardens for the many
little kindnesses they had shown him
while he occupied the death CELL"
| Al the inuest the governor of the
| prison and the chief warden testified
that death was instantaneous. DIR.
Mander was asked by Solicitor Duffy
whether there was any truth in the
statement published that Easement
had been insane. He replied:
I saw no evidence of insanity. He
acted in sane manner to the end"
Many Petitions For Mercy
Practically to the very hour of
Roger Easements execution strenuous
efforts were made by his friends and
| sympathizers in the United States and
Ireland, and even in England. to Sc
cure a reprieve. Petitions for mercy
| poured in upon the British govern
ment and efforts were made to obtain
action by President Wilson. Repeated
attempts to pass a resolution through
the United States Senate requesting
the President to urge Great Britain
to extend mercy to Easement failed.
This agitation was finally ended on
July 81 when the Senate Committee
on Foreign Relations ordered an ad-
verse report on all resolutions pro-
posing intercession by the United
States government The only action
taken in Washington was the passage
of a resolution by the Senate asking
the President to use his good Offices
with the British authorities to obtain
clemency for Irish political offenders
in general.
Laid Plans in Berlin
Many prominent men both here and
in Great Britain interested them
selves in Easements behalf, including
George Bernard Shaw and the Irish
poet, William Butler Yeats. The hopes
of the condemned mans friends were
eXtinguished when Lord Robert Cecil,
minister of war trade, announced on
Wednesday that the British govern
ment was determined not to grant
reprieve. Lord Cecil declared that
Easement was much more malignant
and hostile" to Great Britain than
were the leaders who took an actual
part in the Sim Fein revolt and that
there was no ground which could be
brought forward in mitigation of his
offense.
Honored with knighthood-a title
since taken from him by King Georges
order-for his many years of service
for Great Britain as consul and con-
sul-general, Roger Easement assumed
leadership, at a period of his country's
crisis, in the recent Irish rebellion,
the plans for which were laid while
Easement was in Berlin, where he was
reported to have negotiated an un-
derstanding with the German I'M
perial authorities.
Arrested I'm Ireland
British naval supremacy brought an
abortive close to Easements plans.
The German tramp steamship on
which there was transported an armed
expedition from Germany nearly to
the west coast of ireland in April of
this year was blown up by its own
crew when the latter foresaw that it
was inevitable that the blockading
English warships would capture it.
The crew were made prisoners. The
tramp had been conveyed from Kiel
by a German submarine, from which
Easement and a companion landed on
Irish soil, where they were taken into
custody before their plans matured
In May, Easement was given a pre-
liminary hearing and was committed
for trial on the charge of high treason.
Late in June the trial was begun,
Easement pleading not guilty and
uttering a denial that he had worked
in Germany's interests and that he had
accepted German gold as a bribe.
The courts verdict vas guilty, and
the sentence of death by hanging was,
after appealing by his counsel con-
firmed by the Court of Criminal APP
peal, late in July.
The London press generally ap-
proved the fate legally fixed for Case
ment, but in America persistent eff
forts were made to save the noted
prisoner from death. In Washington,
a resolution was introduced in the
Senate which would have President
Wilson intercede with the British gov
ernment, and numerous petitions re-
ceived at the White House from many
sources asking that a plea for
clemency be cabled. The Senate
resolution was adopted. In England,
the Manchester Guardian and a num-
Der of other papers pleaded for mercy
and petitions asking for a reprieve
were circulated in London. Adherents
| of John Redmond forwarded to
Premier Asquith a petition signed by
/ six bishops, twenty-six members of
Parliament and fifty-one other per-
sons. including a number of edu-
Gators.
| Organized Volunteers