Newspaper Page Text
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Clay, in Speech on Gallows, Warns of Life of Sin and Begs in Vain to Lie Beside Wife He Slew
SPENDS HIS LAST HOURS PRAYING AND SINGING HYMNS
Slayer, as Execution
Draws Near, Admits
He Feigned Insanity
to “Save His Neck;”
Begs Forgiveness of
V ictim’s Kin.
Continued From Page One.
end 1 shot her down shot her twice
That’s all.”
“But 1 know 1 did wrong, and I'm go
ing to pay the penalty. I’m going home
to heaven to join my sweet true Jove—
my darling wife and to be again like a
little child and again lay my head In
th< lap of my <1 »*.*<• moth* r. Tv' n« v*-r
hud a home her* on earth, but I’m go
ing to have a beautiful hom<* imu a
home where the sun n<w *<-ts and the
Itn never fade, when beauty and
Io eternal ami m ign suprenn My
g »plo, I hope my death will be an
< . and that any man who has a
i < 5 is t- art for murder will go
to > pr.ijcr Had I done so, my
pre<i<'V> a:i would he alive today and
I would ha\' , t home, ami would
not h'* her- m eting smh a (hath hr
this, 1 hop" that no othc! : oul will ever
have to go into t» ..ity in uch man
ner. My prayer i- that there may be
no nor need of f*xe utions. Good-bye
to you all. ami ma;. Gon bless every
bod>
Visit of Brother
Breaks Long Silence.
t'lay's long allene. had lasted since
the moment of his .. . ■ all todav,
except I" all it a ’v. rt. nl moment a
few weeks ug". n In complain' d
that his niff, e wa .-.ld. and then re
tained into sill nee .Igain. It was the
visit of bis leotiiei. Julius Chr.. that
i aus.d him Io speii. again today. He
whs sitting < n liis bunk, his head In Ids
hands, tvhen the l.eotlu:' spoke to him
through tile liars.
"Hob, it's all over, old man," sail
Julius Cln.v. "There's no hope. Your
last chance is gone "
Robert Clay raised Ills head and
smiled faintly. Tin- color rushed back
to his pale < ileeks and bls lips opened
slowly. Then, with an effort as though
his vocal organs had partly been
paralysed by long disuse, he surprised
the attendants by speaking slowly and
distinctly.
"That's all right. I'm ready to go.
I've been ready for three months," he
laid.
He rose from his bunk and stepped
tn the grating His sister In,Saw and
another wotn.'in, with Clay's tiny ne
phew, bad come to the corridor tiienj
and the condemned man extended a
thin, white hand through the liars and
placed it tenderly on the head of the
child.
"I've made my peace with God,” lie
said, gently and without a trace of ex
citement. “I will go to him like a little
child. I am going to heaven to join
mj wife. I am contident of that. I
want t l ’ lie burled beside her "
Begs to See His
Little Boy Again.
He was silent for n moment, and
then, ns though wished to make up
for his sev< n moi ths silence, broke Into
n torrent of conversation, speaking to
.iailei.. visitors, attendants, talking as
rapidly as he could.
"Won't you bring my little boy to
see me before 1 die lie begged. I
want to see him again ”
Jailer Golden promised to send at
once and try to locate th.- child before
the hour of execution Clay contin
ued his conversation
"You were good to me, Mr Golden,”
he said. "I remember something you
did. When I was taken up to be re
sentenced a month ago I was so cold
1 thought I would freeze, and you took
off your overcoat and put it around'
my shoulders I haven't forgotten.
Sings Old Hymn
As Aged Father Calls.
Shortly afu r Clay had broken his si
lence. his old father, Johnson Clay, of
116 Piedmont uv< iiu», and his sister,
Mrs \\ IL Whitaker, culled at the
Tov. r and w < i o taken up to the cor
ridor outside the death cell, \s they
entered the hall the\ heard Clay Ring
ing loudly, his voic filled with emo
tion. The prisoner had choseh an old
h\ nin
“I’m <oing home. I’m going home.
I'm going home to die no mor,."
As the last words died away, Mrs.
Whitakei collapsed and sank to the
floor. HeF father caught her hi his
arms and comforted her, and in a few
moments she was led up to the grating
of the cell. Clay reached his hands
through the bars and <damped hers be
tween them.
Doomed Man Prays
As He Holds Sister s Hand
"Don't cry, stater." he said, tenderly.
"I’m Just going homo to mother We'll
all meet there some day."
Mrs. Whitaki r sank to h.-r knfes out
side the cell am! wept. Atpl, then,
clasping li'".' hands in i*is own, Clay
began to prav
"It is the tl st prayer I ever heard
him utter." liie si. ".er said afterword.
"May it mean the turning point in Ills i
destiny "
Then, while tin lock ticked off the
few minutes remaining of his Ute. Rob
ert Clay talked to a reporter of :.ls at
tempt to feign insanity by playing
dumb and k. • ping his head bowed on
his breast
"It was awfully iiard,” i.< said.
■Sometimes I thought I couldn't stand
it. There were times when 1 wanted to
so mu :i that 1 thoui.it I'd go real
crazy, and 1 ha.i to bite my lip- to
LAST PHOTOGRAPH OF CLAY
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D'YE'? T“-' i '
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Robert L. Clay, wife slayer, who pays the penalty for his crime on gallows in the Tower today.
keep buck the word*. And holding my
head in that one position nearly killed
mi 1 thought sometimes my neck
would crack before it reached the gal
lows. But 1 got more used to it in
lime, and decided to stick It out to the
end. But 1 never had much hope.
Then Clay spoke with evident pride
of the manner In which be had kept
t'.o e of tiie passing days without rend
ing a newspaper or conversing with
anybody or seeming to show inti rest in
the world outside
‘The big whistle of the Atlanta Mill
ing Company just outside the Tower
has been my calendar." he said. "The
whistle blows three times every day
When it does not blow 1 know it is
Sunday.
"1 began figuring by the whistle when
I first came. 1 counted four Sundays to
a month, and tilled In the other days, so
I kept truck of the dates. I knew that
I was sentenced on November 9. and 1
heard Judge Koan fix Friday, December
13. as the date of execution I made no
sign, but I had felt that this would be
the day of my death. ! had dreamed
that 1 would die on the 13th. some day.
ami 1 knew that a Friday would be
chosen by the court. My dream has
come true,
' Since that day last November my
old friend, the whistle, has told mo
every day that I was so much nearer
the grave. There were to be just so
many days before my death. The whis
tle was to blow just so many'times. 1
heard it blow once this morning—It will
biow again at noon But I will not hear
It mxt time.”
Then c; > began to speak of his wife
again.
"I loved Kate better than all the
world." he said. "My God. how I loved
her! There was never anybody who
could take her place. I hopi her people
iyill fmglve me. as God has forgiven
me. and that they will let me be burled
by her side. Good-bye. I’ve seen you
outside my cel! lots of times, and heard
you asking questions of me. Some-
THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS.FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13. 1912.
times 1 w as crazy to speak to you, but I
had to keep up my game to the last.
Good-bye."
Women’s Prayers
Fail to Move Him.
In the hope of cheering Clay and
strengthening hint for the ordeal of
today, in the event he was feigning In
sanity. three sympathetic women spent
more than an hour at the barred door
of his cell yesterday afternoon, singing
hymns and offering fervent prayers for
his soul. The women were Mrs. Min
nie Everett and Miss Christian John
son. of 342 Simpson street, and Mrs.
l.ola Medley, of 91 Newport street.
of all those who heard the songs
and prayers of the women, the doom
ed man himself appeared the least
touched. Not once did a tear moisten
his downcast eyes, and not once did
he speak. l eaning against the cell
bars, his gaze fixed on the floor, he
showed absolutely no emotion. He
merely stood as if fascinated.
When Dr. Samuel 11. Green, county
physician, called at the Tower yester
day afternoon and made his final ex
amination of the prisoner and found
him nervous and his pulse at 102, he
said this was the first evidence shown
of a breakdown. Dr. Green said this
was a sure sign that Clay was sane
and that he realized his doom was
close at hand.
Explanation First
Given by Slayer.
The first explanation of his crime
given by the slayer following his
arrest was the night of the murder,
just afteh ho had been locked in the
police station. When prisoners in the
same ward asked t’lsy why he killed
his wife, the slayer, still In a drunk
en condition, replied:
"I loved my wife, and she wouldn’t
live with me. 1 couldn't stand to be
away from her. and I killed her."
Since that time his Ups had been
sealed until today. On his trial, and even
when the death sentence was pro
nounced, he never uttered one word in
defense of his act. He successfully
defied every effort and every ruse used
to break his silence
Boy, 3, Made an
Orphan by Execution.
The execution of Clay leaves a lit
tle orphan boy, less than three years
of agy. This little fellow has been
cared for since the tragedy by rela
tives of the slain mother, and will be
educated and reared by them. They
say they intend to give him every ad
vantage possible, and to strive in every
wav to keep this dark biot from stain
ing his future.
The feeling of relatives of the slain
woman was manifested in a dramatic
manner when a sister of Mrs. Clay call
ed at the Tower with the explanation
that she "merely wished to look at
Clay."
As she gazed through the bars, the'
young woman is said to have ex
claimed:
"Bob, we’re going to break your neck
—you have but a short time to live."
History of Crime
For Which Clay Hanged.
To the jailers she expressed the firm
belief that Clay was feigning.
Clay shot and killed his wife, Mrs.
Kate Hughes Clay, on Sunday night.
May 12, in Mrs. Clay’s home, 201 Lee
street. West End.
Clay, who was living apart from his
wife, was intoxicated at the time, and
fired two bullets into her form as she
screamed and begged him piteously to
spare her life. She died In an ambu
lance on the way to Grady hospital.
Clay was arrested a short distance from
the house.
Clay and his wife separated early in
January of this year, Mrs. Clay assert
ing that Clay came home drunk and
abused and mistreated her. For this
she had him arrested, and he was ar
raigned in police court
JAP CREW OF SHIP IN
MUTINY: THREE SHOT
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 13. —Seventy-
eight Japanese, the crew’ of the steamer
India, mutinied against their offeers to
day while the bfg vessel was In the har
bor here ready to sail for Yokohama.
Three of the sailors were shot. A police
tug with officers armed with shotguns
were rushed to the scene.
The crew attacked the captain, S. J.
Parsons, and four European officers,
rushing at them with drawn knives.
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; 12TH GRANDCHILD •
: IS BORN ON 12-12-12 5
• •
• ROME, GA., Dec. 13.—“ Twelve" •
• is a significant number for Alder- •
• man W. L. Dajiiei. Yesterday was •
• the twelfth day of the twelfth •
•■ month of the twelfth year, and •
• Mr. Daniel’s twelfth grandchild •
• was born. And the day was also •
• Mr. Daniel's fifty-ninth birthday. •
SHIPPING TRUST PROBE
TO BEGINON JANUARY/
WASHINGTON, Dec. 13.—The house
committee on merchant marine announced
that the hearings for an exhaustive In
vestigation of the foreign shipping trust
would begin on Tuesday, January ?. , r
10 o'clock.
THE ATLANTA TONIGHT I
8:15
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Matinee Saturday.
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Nights, 25c to $1.50; Matinees. 25c to $1
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African Hunt
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Next Week SHEA in 3 Great Plays.
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Matinees Tues., Thurs, and Sat.
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Monday Night and Tues. Matinee.
“A MAN and his WIFE”