THE WORKJAN SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1928 PAGE THREE EXECUTIONS IN ELECTRIC CHAIR.
Companies, Declared Form Ot Torture by French Protesser.
The Prosperity Tailor CLEANER DYER No. 6, 19th Street Central Avenue PANAMA CITY Telephone 695 DYEING, CLEANING PRESSING OF THE HIGHEST ORDER Work Done While You Wait TRY US AND YOU LL BE SATISFIED Alter tions and Repairs at reasonable Prices Ladies Garments carefully handled REID Propietor SILVER SAYS ITS MOST INHUMAN METHOD DEVISED BY MINO OF MAN PARIS, Jan. 16. Professor Rota, the expert on tellurie, or earth currents, has described the manner in which Mrs. Ruth Synder and Judd Gray (murderers of Mrs. Syn.
der husband) were sent to their deaths in the electric chair at Sing Eing Prison as a form of torture. He said. Diseussion has gone on for several years as to whether or net the electric chair should be abolished, and speaking from what think may say, without immodesty, is a profound knowledge of electricity and its physiological ffects. have no hesitation in proncuncing the electrie chair as the most inhuman form of execution conceived by the mind of men. Professor Rota went 01: Post mortem examinations are always carried out on the bodies of electrocuted criminals, and as long ago as January 28, 1895, the New York State authorities appointe two distinguished doctors to report on the care of a negra named David Hampton, whe was executed in Sing Sing Pe.
son. Alternating current of 102 periods per second was employed, and the generator gave 1, 740 volts.
Doctors View Disputed The current was switched on at 11 hrs. 20min. 13sec.
fr he had been quickly str.
ped to the electric chair and the electrodes had been placu in position with pads dipped in sait water so as to give a good contact the ampere metor showed an almost constant intensity of eight aniperes.
After four seconds the in tensity was reduced progressively to amperes. At 11hr.
20mins. 42 sec. the current was put on amperes and Tinally at 11hrs. 21rain. 10sec.
it was switched off.
The post mortem examination revealed that most of the blood had been forced into the upper part of the thorax and the neck and the cranium. The doctors concluded that death had been instantaneous, but they were absolutely wrong.
In every case of electrocutiou, in the way in which Ruth Snyder and Judd Gray were exe.
cuted (they are reported to have been subjected to 2, 200 volts. death inevitably super.
venes, but it may be very long.
and above all, excruciatingly painful.
People have asked why, If she were not dead and if she were suffering moet frightful torture, Mrs. Synder did not utter a scream or give some sign of the suffering she was undergoing. The brutal fact is that the contortion of the nerves and vocal cords is such that she could not do so.
It was impossible for her even to moan or give the slighest signal of the torture she was enduring. And she may have been still alive and even conscious.
Still Alive and Conscicus The space of time before death supervenes varies according to the subject. Some have a greater physiological resistance than others. do not believe, that anyone killed by electrocution dies instantly, no matter how weak the subject may be. In certain cases, death will not have come about even though the point of contact of the electrode The British Livery with the body shows distinct burns.
Thus, in particular cases, the condemned person may be alive and even cons. By Joseph Martin)
cious for several minutes with One of the quainteat and out it being possible for a doe most picturesque of English tor to say whether the victim customs, and one which must is dead or not.
often have impressed foreign During my scientific re visitors all the more forcibly searches once received a because of its element of inshock of ordinary industrial congruity, is the Lord Mayor current, with a small conden Show, the pageant which acsing apparatus by my side, companies the annual election was knocked out for 40 of the Lord Mayor of London.
minutes but although those Though undoubtedly much around me were unaware of less splendid than of yore, the the fact that felt any pain procession is an impressive was suffering agony. Yet and often amusing spectacle, was unable to move or utterat strange variance with the a sound.
usual matter of fact atmosli electrocution is to be con phere of that solemnly busy tinued as a way of executing part of London the City. Probcriminals, a method should be ably not many of the spectadevised of measuring before tors realise when they see the hand the physiological condi gay and gaudy sections of the tion of each particular case pageant made up of the Lon.
and the current should he apdon Livery Companies, that plied accordingly by an elec these guilds, once so powerful trical scientist and not by a that they are ciaimed to have doctor: laid the foundations of the The accident in 1915 which political and social system of nearly cost me my life opened Western Curope, still exercise up to me a hitherto unexplor a great influence on the life ed, field of electrical research of the British nation. frankly prefer the guillotine The Guilds, many of which or hanging to the electric can trace their origin back to chair.
pre Norman times, came into being as societies formed by certain trades to protect their common interests. They em braced practically every as pect of life, and embodied the functions of the modern Trade Union, Insurance Society, and Social Club, reinforced by a strong religious spirit. The body of Governors chosen to rule their specific trade was invested with great power, They settled all matters pertaining to technical detail, decided the number of apprentices to be admitted to the trade, and fixed the period they must serve before attaining to mastershin. It was also among their duties to see that the goods of their trade conformed with a good standard, and to punish vendors of defective wares. In this fact we find the origin of the wellknown Lnglish expression hall marked. The Gold smiths Company decided that no vessel of gold must be sold until it had been tested at the Goldsmiths Hall and marked with their sign of approval.
This rule was later on extended to embrace also other goldsmiths wares, and to this day genuine articles of precious metal are provided with the hall mark.
As the Guilds rose in power and importance their menbers began to wear distinctive garments or liveries, consisting of a long fur trimined cloak and hood of bright colours and costly material, and gradually the Guilds became known under the name of Livery Companies. And a brava show they must have made when the Mayor and Aldermen and many of the Liverymen sailed up the river in their decorated boats or set out in a long procession to pay homage to their sovereign.
The Companies entertained on a lavish scale whenever oecasion arose, and the more important among them built or acquired Halls of their own which vied in magnificence with the homes of the great feudal Lords. They contributed large sums to the upkeep of the King army, and responded generously when ap pealed to for charitable and publie purposes. Perhaps the most significant of their activities was the great interest they showed for public education. They founded schools in various parts of the country.
and many of the well known front der pacco SPRAY soves PILSENER the IS GOOD DRINK FOR EVERYBODY CAMAROW HT, ateros