Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1867-04-04
ANOTHER DAY IN THE RUMp.

VII VIZ @NtR 49, aNRAN
favored with personalities than tha
Of the week preceding. The spool
hero, it will be observed, again charge
the Ohio bufioon with being a murder
er, and in this the late decision of th,
Supreme Court justfes him. Thes,
two leaders Of the great moral party
charging each other with being mur
derers and towards, is certainly disre
putable to the party, if not to them
selves. But to the debate
Mr.. BUTLER, of Massachusetts, asked
and obtained unanimous consent tc
mako personal explanation. The
time being limited to fifteen minutes
he stated that he caused to be placed
on the desk Of each member copy oi
Mr., Bingham's speech the other day
in the personal discussion with him.
sell, showing, in parallel columns, the
speech as 1t appeared in the manu-.
script of the reporters and the speech
as published in the Globe. The speech
as written, contained $50 words, and
as printed it contained l,047 words,
and there were in the reporters man.
uscript 2S2 erasures and alterations.
He had understood the rule to be that,
in personal debate, a member had
no right to make any changes unless
they were submitted to the member
affected by them. That rule had been
violated in this case. In the matter
thus interpolated was this sentence
'What does the gentleman (meaning
Mr.. Butler) know of the evidence in
the case, and what does he care for
the evidence, when he thus assais
the official conduct of those who con-
stituted the court 2"
He would state the evidence on
which he had the other day made the
statement that Mrs. Surratt was i'm
properly convicted He held in his
hand the printed report of the trial,
and had examined it with great care
long before, because this was no spo-
radio thought of his. Itwas the result
of careful and anxious investigation
for another and o different purpose, to
see who were in the great conspiracy.
The gentleman (Mr Bingham) had
said he was the advocate of the Uni
ted States on that trial. That was a
great mistake. He was the special
judge advocate, whose duty it was to
protect the rights of the prisoner as
well as Of the United States, and to
sum up the evidence and state the law.
But there was one piece of evidence
within the gentleman's (Mr Bing-
ham's) knowledge which he had not
produced on that most momentous
trial.
When Booth was captured by Lieu
tenant Colonel Conger there was, said
Mr.. Butler, taken from his pocket
diary like the one / now hold in my
hand, (holding up a small morocco
covered pocket diary, in which he set
down day by day his plans, his
thoughts, his motives and his excuse.
That was put into the possession of
the government, but it was not laid
before the Military Commission, al
though the gentleman Mr.. B;nghann)
did lay before the court Booths tobacco
pipe, spur, knife, and other articles
found on his person.
The diary was not produced. That
diary appears now before our Judicia-
ry Committee, and let me say here
that did not obtain my information
from that committee, with the eigh-
teen pages of entries made prior to
the time of Mr.. Lincoln's assassina-
ton absent. The edges show that
these pages were all cut out What
want 10 know is-First. Was that
diary whole when it came into the
hands of the governmenty Second.
Whether it was good Judgment on the
part of those who were prosecuting
the assassins of Abraham Lincoln to
put in a tobacco pipe, found in Booths
pocket, as evidence against the prison
ors, while the diary in Booths own
handwriting, detailing all the particu-
lars of his crime, was withheld j did |
not charge the able, brave and gallant
soldiers who sat on that court with |
any wrong.
They did not sec the diary. They |
did not know ofits existancc. If they |
had, they might have given q differ
ent account of the matter. Who
spoliated that book Who suppress
ed that evidencoY Who caused that
innocent woman TO be hanged, while he
had in his pockets the diary which
would have shown at least what was
the idea and what were the thoughts
of the main conspiratory There is
still remaining in that diary memor.
able instance, written but few hours
before Booths death ! quote from
memory ~ have endcavorcd TO cross
the Potomac five times, and failed
/ propose TO return 10 Washington
and give myself up, and clear myself
from this great crime" How clear
himself by giving himself up, and dis
closing his accomplices 7 Who were
theyg Who spoliated that book after
it got into possession Of the govern
ment, if it was not spoliated before
Why was not Lieutenant Colonel
Conger allowed TO 90 on and state
what had been found on Booths body
The questions were carefully put to
him, so that he should not be misun-
derstood, about this book. lie identi-
ties the knife, pair of pistols, holster,
tobacco pipe, cartridges, a bill Of OK
change, etc, but he was nowhere
asked, "Were these all the articles
that were found on Booth Z" If he