Country Notes [excerpt]

     On Tuesday the assassin of Mr. McKinley met the fate that ought to be meted out to the whole of his fraternity. Without in any way questioning the justice of it, however, we cannot profess to admire very greatly the new system of execution by electricity introduced into the United States. It may be granted quite freely that the act of killing is as swift and painless as could be desired; but that is true of nearly all systems of execution that have been used in civilised countries. Decapitation, for instance, if done by a skilled artist, must be as instantaneous as possible, and hanging itself involves no prolonged agony; but the gruesome preparations for what is known as electrocution must make the unfortunate victim taste the tortures of the damned some time before they are due. The particulars that have appeared in the morning papers are very horrible to read, and must have been still more so to endure.