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So long as the death penalty is regarded by the law as a necessity, so long will electrocution be the most humane method of executing it. This statement is made only after the most careful observation, extending some years over this inquiry, and after having witnessed the execution of William Kemmler and Joseph L. Tice at Auburn, N. Y. The term "humane" in this connection has a wider application than is generally considered. In the execution of the death penalty, the carrying out of the saddest mandate the law requires of its officers, the sense of duty has nerved them to their work. Even should they feel that the law may be overstepping its bounds in taking human life, it must be conceded that for the good of the greatest number its behests must be carried out. It should be remembered that the ends of legal justice are usually reached