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The Seaforth News, 1961-08-17, Page 6End Of The Line At Sing Sing Prison it is Thursday, the end of the world. The Prisoner has been convicted of murder In the first degree, The. Court of Appeals has confirmed the sentence: "You shall be put to death in the manner prescribed by law?' As Principal Keeper of Sing Sing I arrive at the death house early in the morning. I remove the prisoner from his cell and allow him to shake hands with the other condemned men. Then I escorthim to one of the six cells that face the ante -room of the execution chamber, At 10 am, I take him for a shave, a haircut and a bath. Later, I give him a pencil and paper. For the first time in his prison career he is allowed to compose his own menu. The pri- sonar can order anything under the sun, and he will get it, He almost always eats a hear- ty breakfast—and lunch and supper. For his last meal he prefers sirloin steak smothered in onions. Sometimes he has a bizarre re- quest. One man ordered a dozen roses. I humoured him, without asking questions. I discovered later that they were for his mo- ther. Another wanted whisky, to be given to him ten minutes be- fore the execution. His request was refused. He spends the rest of the day receiving visitors. By long-stand- ing tradition the other men give their combined visiting privi- leges to the man in the ante- room. At 9 p.m. I separate him from his hysterical mother, his tear- stained wife. It is now the chap- lain's turn to comfort him, in English, Latin or Hebrew. The radio loudspeaker is silent to -night, All the condemned man can hear are whispered prayers and the ticking of 'the clock. A special wire to the Governor's office has ,been kept open all clay, in case of a reprieve. At ten minutes to eleven the wire is switched ca. Nobody can save him now. The clock strikes eleven. I en- ter his cell, accompanied by four guards. The prisoner rises. A guard bends down, scissors in hand, and cuts the right trouser leg. I lead the prisoner out of the cell. I don't have to urge him along. He usually tries to pull ahead of me. He wants to get the last dreadful minutes over as quickly as possible. We. march through the narrow corridor, flanked by guards and led by the chaplain, his head bowed in solemn prayer, The "Last Mile" takes less than a minute, and it usually occurs without incident. There are exceptions, of course. One man insisted on wearing a clean white business shirt, An- other begged for permission to walk to the' chair on his hands.. Both requests were denied. A door opens, and we are in the execution chamber. On one side of the room sit the witness- es, the reporters and perhaps one or two officials. Invitations have been sent to the condemned man's judge, district attorney and county sheriff, but the invi- tations are rarely accepted. The prisoner is seated in the old oak chair which has administered justice since 1888. Each guard carries out his appointed task with silent deftness. One is re- sponsible for the arms, another for the ankles, another for the torso. The fouth adjusts the elee- ARRESTED PROTESTING SEGREGATION — Rabbi Martin freedman, right, and Rabbi Israel Dresner, accompanying him, are taken into cutody by Tallahassee, Fla., police. They attempt- ed to eat in the city airport restaurant as part of a protest against racial segregation there. trode to the right leg, attaching it to a spot inside the open slit. Now it is my turn to act. I walk to the rear of the chair and, standing on a rubber mat,' adjust the'hood over his head. He twists round and looks at me, pleading for a few extra seconds of life, "May I Say something?" I hold the, hood suspended over his head, allowing him time to give his last message to a world that has disowned him. Newspapermen lean forward in their seats, 'sensing' headline copy. Sometimes they are words of contempt: "You dirty scum! You like to watch people. die? O.K., I'll give you a show you'll never forget!" Sometimes they are words of bravado: "I just want you people to know that I'm not one bit scared of this contraption! Not one bit! You'll need a lot of juice to shut. me up!" Sometimes they are words of resignation: "I . I don't hold anything against anbody. I don't mind much, just as long as some- one takes care of the kids." Some like to go out with a dramatic touch worthy of Holly- wood. One particularly callous gangster asked for a dust rag. The chair had previously been occupied by a dishonourable member of his gang. He wanted to "clean it after that rat, sat in it!" Last-minute prayers are very frequent. But the most common parting remark is; "Well, here. goes another innocent man to ,the chain" I lower the hood over his head, shutting out forever the colours and shapes of the world. The electrician comes forward. He. examines the electrode, makes a final check of the mechanism and steps back to his instrument panel, ten feet to the rear of the chair. It is up to me to give the signal that will send this man hurtling into eternity. The electrician watches, his hands poised over the instrutnent panel, waiting for me to step off the rubber mat. I step away. There is a second's wait—a sec- ond that seems like hours. A spluttering drone breaks the silence. The condemned man lurches forward, as if to break his bonds. He actually feels no pain, since the current travels faster than any nerve impulse, The drone becomes louder, DROP IN AGAIN! — Ambassador Augusto Arongo, left, of Panama, smiles as he leaves a meeting with Rafael Trujillo Jr., right, in the Culdad Trulilio, Dominican Republic, Arcing*• headed a special OAS committee investigating charges of re- pression and terror following the death of Trujillo's dictator father. BIRDIE Dream of science fic- tion writers, the rocket belt, is now a reality. Recently deve- loped 'by Bell, the SRLD (Small Rocket Lift Device) will enable its wearer to fly to the top of cliffs, or steep hills. The belt is powered by a twin -jet hy- drogen peroxide propulsion system. Test engineer Harold Graham has flown over the ground at distances up to 360 feet and as `high as 30 feet. more insistent. The electrical drone 'reaches a crescendo as the. , fingers of the. condemned 'man tighten around the arms of the chair. The body sinks back, and the droning stops. A . physician steps forward, stethoscope in hand: He opens 'the shirt and listens for a few moments. He backs away from the chair, nodding. "I pronounce this man 'dead." It'sall over. This last act in the fife of a murderer took less than three minutes, Multiply that scene, as I have by 300 and you have some idea of what it meant to spend twenty-eight. years as an official of Sing Sing. —By John Sheehy in "Tit -Bits" Man -Eating Fish Kill Ten People Ten men and women have been eaten by a school of piranhas, the most aggressive fish in the world, says a report from South Am- erica, A launch in which the people were travelling sank in ?urns River, northern tributary of the Amazon, Just as they were be- ginning to swim to the safety of the banks, these man-eating fish attacked them in force. Piranhas are often not much larger than herrings and seldom grew to a length of more than two feet, but they are so fero- cious that they will often attack cattle while they are crossing streams, They attack it such numbers that the animals can be brought under and devoured,, The piranha has a heavily un- dershotjawand very sharp teeth. He will attack anything, irre- spectiveof size, One South American scientist told of a servant he had who had two fingers bitten off by piran- has while bathing In a river, It seems that these ferocious fish frequently kill for fun, The director at the aquarium at New York's Bronx zoo reports that they frequently strip their prey without ea).ing any of the flesh. An American Looks At Our Seaway Quiet waters and sunlit skies may be.the picture -book way to view the eastern approaches to the historic St, Lawrence Sea- way which starts .here at Mon- treal 1,000..miles from the ocean shores. But for an impressive in- troduction there is no better ac- companiment than intermittent rain, mist, and a cutting north- westerly wind. The water level rises a total of 602 feet from the: Atlantic • to Duluth, Minn. Sixteen locks ac- complish this feat by raising ships a total of, 550 :feet. The greatest is 362 feet by the Wel- land . Ship' Canal which bypasses Niagara Falls and the Niagara River. The seaway story is , one of statistics covering activities along the 2,300 miles of water and land which . stretch west from the Atlantic Coast to Lake Erie. What we saw of it as de- scribed by the Seaway Authority and studied by our group as the bus wove its way through morn- ing traffic (hampered by the rain) • toward Beauharnois power plant and lock was as follows: The sailing line enters the seaway channel from Montreal harbor and' sweeps to the left beneath Jacques Cartier Bridge. "Then the St. Lambert lock, the furthest downstream of the seven new locks, and Victoria Bridge are passed. The channel continues around the arc of the La Prairie basin until it 'reaches the second lock, at Cote Ste. Catherine, near the achine rapids. "The channel runs overland for some 81/2 miles, passes be- neath :the Honore Mercier and Caughnawaga Bridges and then enters Lake St. Louis. At the head of this lake the channel passe. sthe Beauharnois power- . house to the Beauharnois power canal by means of the Beau- harnois eauharnois locks . , ," • Such was the route we fol- lowed. But the commentary from a fact -filled, guide andthe visual evidence at the locks and along the seaway added much to these bare descriptive passages. From start to finish eyes were focused on the seaway for a glimpse of a vessel reacty for passage through either the COte Ste. Catherine or the Beau- harnois locks. But this was to be denied. 'True there were some vessels seen along the sea- way, but not under way. The wind had caused the pilots to be cautious. And the close contact main- tained between the s e a w ay operators and the pilots was a guarantee that safety measures would be followed. Use of the seaway is allowed to ships 715 feet long, 72 feet wide, with exceptions for 15 feet longer and 3 feet wider under special con- ditions. Speed is limited to 8 m.p.h. Thus as we crossed the Jacques Cartier Bridge from the island of Montreal (reminding at least one correspondent of the island of Manhattan) the pool of Mont- real harbor anti the beginning of the seaway channel were glimpsed. Almost immediately we were at the St. Lambert lock, but no ships ready, writes R. Stafford Derby of the Christian Science Monitor, The seaway was and is a meet- ing of nature's challenge, At the Cate St. Catherine lock one of these was seen. Whipped by the fresh wind, whitecaps crisscross- ed the historic Lachine rapids, Here was an historic, transporta- tion barrier crossed with bold hearts and strong backs by the. early explorers. Here in 1535 Jaques Cartier was the first. New they are mastered by C!a- nadian skill, The look is the an- twer. Within 10 minutes. 24,0000- 000 4,000,000 gallons of water surge in or pun out, a ship is raised or low- ered, and the 30 feet difference between La Prairie basin and Lake St. Louis is compensated for without the1dangerous rap- id -shooting or back -breaking por- Page of yesteryear., Dredged channels prov,de the route for 12 miles along Lake St. Louis. A. signpost said "Caughna- wage." A visitor asked if this were not the home of the Indian "high -steel" workers whose skills had been a considerable factor in raising the towering structures of New York and'vehese city ad- dress is "Brooklyn.' "Quite so." For in this village along the St, Lawrence live the elders. Also the youngsters. A railroad bridge.' with towers of steel crosses the water here, "These bridge towers are a con- stant challenge to the young In- dians. They are brought up with stories of the feats their sen- iors perform." And now, our 'guide remarked with a wry smile, "the boys climb over the high steel here like monkeys although the 'railroad people do their best to keep them off." Beauharnois power house and Ibeks loomed through the mist. And there was a ship near the lower lock. Our hopes 'rote..But so did the wind, No actual use of a lock was• to be seen. "In an hour? Perhops. But no guaran- tee," However, there was a visit to a control tower in the look.. Capable, experienced, and calm operators were at the controls, in touch with the ships visible and :not yet in sight. Everything was in firm hands: Everything but the weather. And that was just something to cope with. as efficiently as possible. Below us stood the gaping lock. Its working gatesholding back the water. At a signal the apparatus goes into action and the ship is serviced, Raising the level is done by opening two taintor valves in. the upstream end. "The water flows into the e3al1. culverts through openings upstream' from the gates and then pours into the lock cham- ber through 'ports.'" This is re- versed for passage to the east and the Atlantic Ocean. Statistics on the locks indicate the need for such caution as was witnessed. Their length is 766 feet (ships 715-730); width, 80 feet (ships 72-75 feet); depth over lock sills, 30 feet; andlifts varying from 1 foot to 46 feet. But itwas not the statistics which left the outstanding im- pression from our seaway trip. The, magnitude of the operation is well known and acknowledg- ed. But itis the flavor of ach- ievement that comes ' from the 'Canadian spokesmen and oper- ators. Here is a 'contribution to the world economy in which Canada most 'surely has every •right to claim a major role. Not that there was any obvi- ous boasting. But it was' the con- tinuing air of ability, competence, • and assurance that came through the misty' day and turned the negation of no -lock operation in- to nto a positive factor, For although• only a small section of the sea- way was glimpsed the abiding glow which its Canadian opera- tors feel from this city west was quietly in evidence. The preacher at the close of his sermon discovered one of his deacons asleep. To teach a little lesson, he announced, "We will now have a few minutes of pray- ers. Deacon Brown will lead." "Lead?" said Deaeen Brown, suddenly awaking, "I just dealt." Making A Portage) in Quebec I remember well the e'v'ening I made my first , portaging trip alone in the forests of Quebec, I was headed for an old swamp the beavers had' recently dam-, med. The swamp was only a mile and a halt from home =sip, but when there I felt as remote as if at the ends of the earth, My little canoe balanced well and there was something quite satisfying about its rhythmic creaking and the resilient feel of the thwart and the strain of the taut ttunpline. There was something pleasant too, about the sense of adventure, but best of all was the arrival—that first step out of the forest Into the open where' you pause and let the stern of the canoe• drop so you can see out from under and scan the shoreline; then the care- ful Ovando through the swamp grass to the water's edge; seeing the track of a moose hi the mud; stepping out on an old log that slants into the waiter; then roll- ing the canoe off your shoulders and setting it down into, the wa- ter with concentrated care,' • I remember, too, ,untying the paddles and picking one up, be- ing very ' careful not to strike the canoe, enjoying the feel of lightness after the weight had ,been ' removed, then simply standing there far a long time, looking ' and listening. • Every- where the dead -trees vrere 're- flected in the water, A. small animal left a wake far down the marsh. Otherwise nothing but the silence of the forest and a single w'hitethroat whistling. — From "Look to the 1' it dern"ss," by W. Douglas Burden, No' man is complete!), worth- less, He can always serve as a horrible example. . 'SUB HUNTER The:US. Navy's new long-range antisubmarine weapons system "DASH" (drone antisubmarine helicopter) hov- ers in free flight over the deck of the USS Hazelwood. .A horn- ing torpedo is suspended un - 'der the drone. Unmanned 'cop - ter has been in service nine months. TEEN-AGE 'SLAYERS - George Ronald York and James; Douglas Latham, self-confessed teen-age murderers who left a trail of seven dead across the country, are shown in Salt Lake City; Utah, They've been extradited to Kansas r for trial.