The herald and news. (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, October 30, 1903, Page 2, Image 2
THh MAN WHO ELECTROCUTES.
Silent Executioner Who Regards His Cal
ing in Purely Business Way-Holds
Patents on Apparatus.
New York Sun.
When ihe killed the Van Worm
boys in the State prison at Dann(
inora last week State 1.lectricia
lEdward E. Davis finished his 74t
execution by electricity. Of theF
71 occurred in this State, -two i
Massachusetts and one in Ohio.
This nian who inventecI the ele(
tric chair, owns the patents on
and is the only man , ho can abst
lutely be depended upon to condu<
an execution without a hitch, is r<
markable in other respects. Tho
wherever he goes he flocks by hin
self. He rarely speaks to anybod
unless he is spoken to first, an
then he is found to be a most af
ble person, mtore than anxious t
talk about himself and his work.
He will cheerfully answer an
question put to him, no matter ho'
personal it may be. About hi
work he is absoltely cold blooded
He looks upon an execution as
matter of business, nothing elsE
In this lie reminds one very nic
of little Joe Atkinson, the cAd Tomb
hangman, who was as cheerful a
executioner as one would care t
meet.
''My dear sir, I do not kill thes
men,'' said Mr. Davis just after th
Van Wormer execution to an in
quirer. "The people of the Stat
of New York, acting through
judge and jury, kill them.
"I am simply the instrument o
the law. I work the machinery b:
which the State of New York take
the lives of iiurdelers.''
Davis is a little gray haired nina
of 6o. Ask a New York politiciai
who is the hardest ian to find i1
th,! city and lie will tell you Tin
Sullivan. Ask a State official a
Albany, especially Supeiintenden
of Prisons Collins, who is the hard
est ian in the State to find and i
will tell you it is Davi.i.
Davis is a living mystery. H
slips from place to place, neve
maintaining residence in a givei
locality for any length of time an<
rarely letting any one know wher
lie is.
Every once in a while he appear;
suddenly in Albany, maps out hi!
work tor the next lew inontlis, an<
then goes away again, whither no
body knows. He can be absol tell
depended upon01, however, to p)ut ii
an appearance at a State prisol
whlere there is to be an executioi
several (lays before it is to tak'
p)lace.
I Ie goes right to the dheath chama
ber and gets everything in readi
ness, and after the execntion h,
goes away as silently and as miys
teriously as lhe came.
'Thie State pays' D)avis $150 fo
each man lie kills. It has tried re
peatedly to buy his patients, but hi
will not sell. If lie should dhi
there are p)rob)ably p)lenty of min
who wvould be able to work his a~
paratus, but it would be more o
less of an experiment, even if a:
electrician willing to do the wvorl
could he found,
D)avis' mysterious movements ar
attributed by soime to a fear of as
sassination. D)avis was asked abou
this recently and laughled heartil3
lie receives mnaniy threatening let
ters, lie said; but pays no attentioi
to them.
The niighit before an executioi
Davis goes to bed very early ani
leaves wvord that every precautioi
is to be taken not to have any nois,
around his room. He sleeps like:
top) and wakes up bright and( early'
His work in the death chamber
outside of preparing the apparatus
is very slight. HIe looks on whili
the keepers strap) thme man in, thi
puts his hand on the switch and a
a signial turns on the current. H<I
never 'eaves the switch after th
first shock until the man in the
chair is officially declared dead.
Very naturally, some people have
an aversion to Davis because he is
the State executioner. Far from
being annoyed by this. Davis is
r rather amused.
At a receut execution Davis took
n dinner at a hotel near the prison.
h Several regular boarders at the
e hotel refused to.sit at the table with
n him, preferring to wait until he was
through.
Davis clamly ate his dinner, read
it ing his paper tho while, and then
smoked two cigars while the hun
gry boarders waited for him to get
away.
Davis has no assistant. He does
his work alone, and, unpleasant as
y the work may seem, he certainly
d does it well.
0 Rheumatism Secondhand.
"Well," exclaimed Mr. Queer
Y case, "you can talk as you like
s about physical affliction, but the
largest that ever struck me was
when I had the rheuinatism in my
brother."
L"Rheumatism in your brbther!"
exclaimed his auditors in concert.
s
"What are you telling us?"
"I'm just giving yon a case of
'stalwart affliction that ought to
bring your sympathy out by the
roots," was the reply.
"The kind of rheumatism that
he had was the kind that hangs u
over the edges and threads on the
adjacent martyrs. Why, the way
he'd yell and keep me awake at I
night and have tie tying on hand
ages and rubbing joints and smell
ing all sorts of lotions, and the way
lie would kick me out of bed wien
his other leg hurt him too inuchi,
was energizing. Primary rheuma
ties is bad enough, but to have to
t take it in a secondary form is petri
ti
Woman's Home Companion.
The November Woman's Hiome
Companion containssixty four pages
r of seasonable matter. The chief
I feature is the first instalment of a
inovel prize-contest story eutitled
"The Trilenima of Albertine," in
which the reader is asked to help [
solve a woman's choice in love.
1 Other features are ''The Progres
sive Work of the Jews in the United
States," by Rabbi de Sola Mendce;
" 'My Recollections of Abahramn Liii
coin," by his Law Clerk; " The Sad
Love Story of Buchanai,"( "Old
IHome Week,'' " The Adventures L
of a Puritan Maid. etc. Thie fic
tion element is unusually good, andV
there are sev'eral illustrated pa,res
of interesting fashion notes by~
Grace Margaret Gonld. T1he Na
tuhre Study Club, which formls such
a strong feature of this mnagazitne, is
r unusually interesting. Published
by The Crowell1 Publishing Com
pany, Springfield, Ohio; one dollarr
Sa yeai ; teni cents a copy.t
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Over 3000 testimonials of cures by 1B.
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,Do you want one of tihe prettiest and
mos4t stylish Hats in town this s4eason? '
'If '4o yo must hlave it made by the
Our prices are the lowest and( our1
styles the newest that can be found in
-tDontB
TO
BL
FALL!
DEJ1~SGNERS
(or
rH~
Sudden C
n American weather mak
ou will get up some mor
emperature cold enough1
YOU'LL WISH
irocrastinated. Better at
ig the present week. It )
ites to step into our storE
nd handsomely fitted, -
riean an actual saving t
uits are $5.00, $8.50, $
very Garment bears the
re next to good Clothes,
he line that sp2eaks for it
~ill be no trouble to ''ell y<
"lorsheim & Stetson at
(ieith's Konqueror at $3,
>n earth for the money.
rents we carry the bigge
nake a mistake if you do
>efore buying. 500 pal
Vomnen and Children's SH
low-the $1.15 kind, now 2~
NEW AND SNAPPY LINE 01
HA TS JUS
SnipleteStockUnderv
All we ask is an inspecti
ill find the goods New ai
~rices Right
FHEB AI'l
bly
0 LONG
IYING YOUR
HATJ
AND SHOES.
hanges
e it quite probable that
fning soon and find the
for thicker apparel, then
YOU HADN'T
tend to this raatter dur
vont require many min
and get yourself snugly
ind at prices that will
o you. Prices of these
10, $15.00 and $18.50.
Union Label.
4IOES
and we certainly carry
self. Try a pair and it
>u the second pair. The
$5 can't be excelled.
$3.50 and $4, the best
For boys and the little
St line in town. You'll
not look at these shoes
rs good heavy weight
LOes thrown in our win
S5c.
MEN'S
[ RECEVED A T $1 TO $5.
ear and Furnishings
on of our Stock. You
ad Up-to-Date and the
-PIPERBCO