AWAITING EXECUTION

NZ Truth, Issue 915, 9 June 1923, Page 5

AWAITING EXECUTION

DANIEL COOPERS LAST DAYS Incidents In A Criminal Career MAKING EASE USE Of THE BIBLE

In a few days Daniel Richard Cooper, the convicted baby-farmer and alleged abortionist, will pay the penalty at the Terrace Gaol Wellington. When his lawyer, Mr. C. A. Treadwell, acquainted him with the news that the appeal had been unsuccessful, the condemned man wanted to appeal again on other grounds and he was quite angry when told that it was impossible. He seems now resigned to the inevitable and spends most of his time reading, the Bible and chatting on its passages with the warders whose special duty it is to watch over him. Cooper was formerly a follower of the Seventh Day Adventieta, but some years ago he was EJECTED FROM THAT BODY on account of some of his doings not meeting with the approbation of that sect. • However, he has been visited daily by the Pastor of the church and seems to have derived much consolation from the visits. That Cooper was guilty there' is no doubt, byt he still maintain? his innocence and m his talks with the gaoled -and his warders he protests that he was oonvioted on perjured evlderoce. send that his Creator is a witness and wW produce the children at the right time, H« poses as a martyr on . occasions, but there is no doubt that he js; A SANCTIMONIOUS IMPOSTOR ! of the worst order. At one stage of i hia chequered career the 'Waa canvassing for the sale of Bibles m the Taranaki district, but it is, believed that he always used this cloak to further hjs abortion- practioe. ; He was well up m the Bible and could quote chapter and verse for everything he did For instance, when he turned his wife out of his bed and made her sleep on the 1 floor while he took a concubine with him, he quoted Abraham as hlB example and told his wife she was barren as was Abraham's wife. He has a notion that he has made a great impression on the warders with hia talks and that later on he will learn that they have been converted to the faith of the Seventh Day Adventists, Since his sentence was confirmed by the Appeal Court he has read . NOUGHT ELSE SUT THE BIBLE, and to the warders he tried to quote passages to show that his abortion wx>rk was a right thing as the children of unwed mothers had no right to be brought up to starve, etc Last week he made his will and left his property to his two girle by his first wife. He did not show any anxiety as to his second wife's affairs, but this may have been due to the fact that he knew she would be well oared for by her people, who are well to do and, be it said, always opposed their daughters marriage to the condemned man. Cooper must have had some crooked trait m his character for he was ALWAYS A CRIMINAL. and before he gat. into the present trouble he had two convictions for theft. As could he seen from his photo m "Truth," he had one of those hard mouths with set lips that are so noticeable m many criminals. He lost a bit of weight during the trial, but he Boon made up the shortage when it was over, for there is a rule m the case of condemned prisoners that they can have any luxury they desire, and his special one was a tot of the best rum each evening before retiring. For his meals he likes a grilled chop with vegetables, and is quite a good eater. He still has hopes that the' reprieve will arrive, but 4his is xi very slender chance as his crime, or crimes, were REVOLTINQLY CALLOUS. That Cooper is' bad is the general opinion throughout the country, and not a single hand has been raised In his favor. There is a. very strong suspicion that some of his victims were buried alive, and color is lent to this by the fact that one of the bodies when unearthed was found with the hand clutching some clay. It is ! also suggested that on one occasion Cooper had tha grave already dug and while his victim's mother was having afternoon tea he buried the child and was back so quickly that he was also able to take a cup of tea. Not half the evidence that could have been produced against him was put, before the Court The police simply took up the attitude that they had enough and it was no use going further. Many women all over the Dominion have had AN ANXIOUS TIME of it m case their names came out m connection with the case. Cooper kept a record of all his transactions and the police got hold of it and know of everything he did and every case that went through his hands. That he has been run to earth at last is a good thing for society, but others will arise and take his place. The extraordinary thing about the whole business is that the man got very little out of it m the way of money. He seemed to do it for next to nothing, which shows him up m a different light to the ordinary run of abortionists. Early next week he will walk to the gallows which are ready to receive him. The hangman who operated on the Maori, Tuhl, will do the job. He is new to the business as the old one has GONE ON STRIKE. He told the authorities that his mission was to hang a certain number

of men and when that was accomplished he was finished. A section of Labor has protested loudly agfcinst the hanging taking place In close proximity to the new Terrace School. 'As a matter of fact the scaffolding, etc., is all erected inside and ita one can know anything about it unless he is present The school is situated adjoining the gaol, but is guarded by a twenty-foot bank, on top of which is a six-foot fence, The children attending the school are all of tender years and are m what is known as the kindergarten stage. They will know nothing of the execution unless their parents tell them. On this subject "Mother writes: — "It is good to see the Labor people so anxious for the welfare of the children, and perhaps they will be equally so on the occasion of the next strike, whether it is a coal strike as m 1914 and 1916 or a food strike as m 1913. On each occasion the children suffered. First of all they went hungry, and later they were cold as the result of the Bhortage of coal. I haven't forgotten it If others have." Martha Elisabeth Cooper was to have appeared on bail m Wellington on Tuesday m answer to charges against her, but the Crown hag scoured an adjournment until July 31, when the next orlrolnal sessions of the Supreme Court open m Wellington. Bail is continued as before, £1000 and two sureties of £600 each.