Death in an Octagon

A wooden scaffold, a bag of sand, a black mask and a short length of rope with a running noose might have been good enough for our grandfathers. But a hanging is no longer the fashionable thing it was once; a few U. S. States-- Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, Missouri, Wyoming, North Carolina and California-- even kill their murderers with gas instead of electricity. Five of the country's lethal chambers have been made by the Eaton Metal Products Co. of Denver, which has a ghastly set of patents. Last week the fifth was sent off to San Quentin prison in California.

It is a new and improved model--an octagonal two-man job of corrosion-resisting steel, with one blank wall which the subjects face and seven bullet-proof windows for people with a scientific interest. It was designed by an enthusiastic artist named Earl C. Liston. It costs $5,000, about $1,000 more than an ordinary chamber, but it is worth it. With its hydrocyanic gas, it can kill two humans at a time, quickly, efficiently, without any mess. Says Earl Liston, with a craftsman's pride: "Our calculations show that this new chamber should snuff out the life in about 15 seconds."

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