The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-09
GALLONS HALTS VIDRLNEDS TALE
 OF MURDERS
Price Of Dinner Ample Excuse For Killing,
 Says Book

VILE PLATTE, La, Aug. s.--The latch that sprung the trap under the feet of Euzebe Vidrine in the jail yard here Friday, and sent him hurl- ing to retribution at the end of rope, also released for posthumoos publication the candid autobiography of casual but habitual murderer.
 Vildrine went to the gallows for murdering Robert L. Wigsins, a young man whose father formerly was sher- if of Evanseline parish. As he waited in jail for the day of execution, no longer hopeful that his sentence would be commuted, Vidrine's restless spirit was agitated by the literary urge which spares neither housemaid, tennis cham pion nor motion picture star. He had message" for the world, and so, in style that was rather more rugged than elegant, but expressive neverthe- less the condemned man whiled away the trudging hours by tracing the course of his midemeanors from his first theft, a watermelon, to his fifth and ultimate murder.
 Story Not Complete
 Nidrine did not have quite enough time to complete the story aS he wished. He still had the concluding chapters to do as dawn broke and the carpen- ter hammered home the last nails in the structure of the gallows. The sound warned him that he must Hurry, so he had to abandon the delights of leisurely composition and scribble in pace with the excited rat-tatting of the hammer. Consequently the tale has a roughdry ending.
 As he went to the scaffold, Vidrine turned over the manuscript with the release until the trap was sprung. Thereafter he wished that it be pub. lished lon the front pages"
 T am anxious to pay the penalty" he said then, and walked unafraid to the dangling rope which was to end lis life after 20 years, most of which had been spent in misdoing.
 In one chapter of the book, Vildrine claimed the murder of Lee Duke, a jitney driver, of Orange, Tex, as one of his accomplishments. He said that Frank Smith, who is serving a 15. J tiary at Huntsville for the crime, would be adjusted.
 Vidrine's first murder was that of Pierre Vidrine, neighbor, but no kin of his, whom he shot from ambush with a shotgun. Pierre had talked too much, the condemned author wrote. Euzebe was suspected of the inErder and was even indicted and tried, but he convinced the jury that he was innocent.
 Eight months later, in December, 1921, Vidrine needed money. He hired Charlie Garbo, taxi driver, to take him to a remote town and when they had reached the open country, shot him in the back. The change in Garbo's pockets was an affront to Vidrine in view of the effort he mad expanded to get it. He Szdecided he must kill mother taxi man in order to eke out of the meagre stake. This victim was John Roy, negro. It was an off night for Vidrine's luck, however, for he got only nickel from the colored mans clothes.
 Tries Luck Again
 Finding himself in strengthened cir cumstances again a few weeks later while trying his luck in the oil fields around Orange. Tex, Vidrine hired Lee Duke Co drive him to some oil property and killed him for T5 cents, cheap watch and pistol.
 Wiggins also died so that Vidrine might have the price of supper. That happened on the night of last May 19. This time, however,, Vidrine was caught red-handed and condemned to die.
 Vidrine's story was most interest ing in the action chapters, in which he told of his murders and of his thefts of a pig or a watermelon. He be- came preachy toward the end and -counselled the world against strong zion. These, he said, were the causes drink and deplored the decline of reli- of his downfall.