The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1867-05-29
AN INFAMOUS fDRaERyl

Recently, under the pressurss 4 public
opinion ana The demand oftlo Presideni
sseretpgy STANTON was cSnpellea to fur.
nish ne pretended diary of J. Wilkes
BsorH FOR publication in the papers,
Mr.: STANTON admits that the allegation
of BEAST BUTLER, that eighteen pages
Of that memorandum were missing, is sub.
stantially true but asserts that he is un.
able to account for their absence. He
states that these pages were out when de-,
tectire BAKER exhibited the book some
deys after the supposed death of Booth ;
and also says that BAKER pretended they
were missing when the book came into
his hands from CoNGER, who took it from
the dead body Of the person who had
been shot. There Is something very
mysterious in the whole history Of this
BOOTH case, % well as in the conduct of
HON, BAlkER, STANTON and BINGHAM,
and which is calculated 10 lead the public
to suspect that there is something OK
ceedingly rotten intho State Of Denmark.
The question naturally presents itself,
whether the BoorH record is not a gross
ana stupid forgery? We are Of opinion
that it bears upon its face undoubted ey.
idence Of its mythical character. Let us
examine for a moment its contents. The
record, certified by STANTON, opens with
the declaration, that BooTH uttered the
words, "Sic Semper Tyrannis," before
tho fatal shot was fred at the unfortunate
President, when hundreds Of Witnesses
who were present and saw and heard all
that took place, know that these words
were uttered after that fatal shot To
have done SO beioreI would have alarmed
Mr. LINCOLN and his friends, and de.
fcated the wicked plot and intent Of,
BooTh. It is, therefore, quite plain,
that this statement is q fabrication inyen.
ted by BAKER, or some other person
Again, be is made to say, "Ip jumping
| broke my leg, I passed all his pickets,
rode sixty miles that night with the bone
Of my leg tearing the flesh at every jump"
Here is a picture, as self contradictory
as it is impossible. The feat Of riding
miles with his shattered limb,
would DO physionlly beyond human endu-
rance ; especially when it is remembered
that he started at a late hour and passed
over a rongh'and ~tortuous road. He is
made to pass all LINcoLN's pickots on
he way, as.if LINCOLN and his friends
lad been preparing for the assassination !,
ind anticipated its fatal termination
This story is entirely too tragic, for hu,
man c%redenoe, and could not have been
by BooTHs 1t is also stated that
that herculean ride, and for days
afterwards, he was hemmed in by U. s..
detectives and g~unaboats and was
unable to cross the riyeri This q pure
fabrication. 1t was not known with GER.
rainty in Washington which direction
had taken, nor indeed whether
ne had left the City. So that these tire.
nendOus exploits of a~gun-bOats, of sol.
lisrs, and detectives, vanish into smoke,
md only 60 to show that tho Infamous
detective BAKER, had invented
his story to magnify his achievements
'efore that drunken and contemplate
yraut and brute, Gen. JOE. HoLr. But
le crosses the river many days after the
lcath Of LINCOLN into Virginia-meets
MuDD-has his limb adjusted-aecs
gain lis found in q barn-is betrayed
" a Virgiuian W-makes fight with o.
Vhole company of U. S. troOps-they1
Ire the barn-csn't rout him-he is de.
iberately shot through the neck-he
alls-bis dead body is dragged from the
iames-a memorandum is found--with
eighteen pages gone, q and in that
which remains, BooTH makes not only a
confession of having shot Presiden. LIN.
'oLN, but enters specifically into an ar.
'ument justifying the act before q civil.
zed world This is the most %unnatur-
] and silly invention Of all. The most
tupid criminal, knowing that no was
'ursued, by detectives aud armed troops
nd hemmedinonall sides wouldhave had
90 much discretion TO hayolpsnued OR.
substantially all The evidence Of his guilt,
md to have left such a document about
person. Such an act would have be
at once his identity, and enabled
pursuing officers to have secured him be-
1ond doubt. Here, again, the hand of
is clearly apparent. His body,
'oorched and CORY, and disfgured, is drag
from the consuming barn and brought
'ack to Washington City for identity p
secret cOnclave mot undagreed o bury