The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1878-06-27
satGtsceIIamenms.
"A BIT OF UNwRITTEN HISTORY.

And J. wilkes Booths Quick Conception Of
1hO Nurder OF President Lincoln,
A statement is going the rounds Of the
pross from John 7. Ford, manager OF
FOrd's Theatre, in which President Lin
coin was assassinated on the night Of
April l4th, 1866, to the effect that Wilkes
Booth conceived the idea of assassina-
tion on the morning of the day on which
the deed was committed, and that Mrs.
surratt was entirely innocent of any
completely with the design. But Mr..
Ford is not the only intelligent person
cognizant of the facts VINO believesin the
innocence of Mrs. Surratt, Don Piatt, in
his Washington correspondence to the
Cincinnati Commercial, observed that
the Government hanged Mrs, Surratt for
keeping a boarding house. 1t will be
remembered that Mr.. Benn Pitman, of
this city, was the official reporter for the
United States Government, and had OPP
portunities for obtaining knowledge Of
the events then passing, which were
carefully excluded from the public.
One of our reporters had converse
ton with Mr.. Pitman yesterday in rela-
ton to the subject, the result Of which
is here given. His position as official
reporter for the United States Govern
ment in the assassination trials, the Sons
of Liberty investigation, and the Con-
gressional inquiries into the New Or
leans riots, and subsequently the Ku-
Klux trials, have given him peculiar
insight into the yet unwritten history Of
those momentous events.
@. What do you think about Mr.. Ford's
theory that Booth did not contemplate
the assassination of Lincoln until the
morning of April l4th, 1865, when he
visited Ford's TheatreP
A. have no doubt of its correctness.
Q. Please state your own reasons for
that.
A. The grave blunders, which grew out
of the assassination trial we're due to the
theory that Mr.. Stanton entertained,
that Booth was the active agent in a
great conspiracy, the directory power Of
which was the rebel Government. Mrs
Surratt was hanged for completely in the
assassination plot, of which she was en-
tirely innocent, and poor Spangler was
sent to the Dry Tortugas because long
rope was found In his carpet-sack, with
which it was supposed Mr.. Lincoln was
to be bound, when in fact no other use
than the catching of crabs was ever
dreamed of by the simple-minded aDg.
Ter. Spangler had simply borrowed"
the rope from Fords Theatre to do a lit.
tie fishing with it.
@. How do you infer Mrs. Surratt's in.
nocenCeP
A. 1t was not till after my return from
Washington with all the testimony of
the four hundred and fifty witnesses at
the trial, and my compilation in nara.
tive form of the facts testified to by those
witnesses--a work occupying near four
months of very hard work by me and
my wife-that came to the conviction
that Mrs. Surratt (though aware of pre-.
Vious plots to abduCt the President and
take him to RiChmond), was entirely ig-
norant Of the sudden resolve of Booth to
kill him. The only direct testimony
that seems to implicate her was that of
the drunken, unreliable witness, Lloyd,
who kept the little tavern at Surratts.
vile; and that was indirect and unrelia.
BILE. Her previous life and history, the
testimony of those who knew her well,
the Catholic priests of known probity
and honor, all went to show her utter in
capacity to engage in so diabolical plot.
The testimony went to show that the as
sassination of Lincoln was a sudden re-
solve of Booth on finding that the Presi-
dent was to visit the theater that night,
and the hasty conspiracy hatChed up
with Payne, Atzerodt and Harold was
confined exclusively to their knowledge
and participation.
The fact is, that Mr.. Stanton, Judge
Advocates Holt, Bingham and Burnett,
other officers of the Government engag.
ed in the prosecution, were somewhat
unbalanced by the imagined greatness of
q conspiracy which did not exist. Moth.
ing but such belief would Justify the
treatment to which the prisoners were
subjected. The trial for the first two
weeks was conducted in secret, and the
prisoners, Harold, Payne and Atzerodt,
and l think also two others, were mask.
ed in a close fitting helmet like white
cap, which Just left breathing hole for
mouth and nosFils. They were besides
manaCled at the wrists and ankles, and
to the latter were attached heavy ball
and chain. Mrs. Surratt was not thus
masked, but she was manacled at the
feet during the whole trial. The masks
were removed from the prisoners when |
the trial became public, which it did af
ter two weeks, when admission was OBJ |
tanned to the Court only by the personal
sanction of Gen. Howard by card. Here
Mr.. Pitmsn showed pencil sketch he
had taken of Payne as he appeared on a |
bench at the trial, masked and mana
cled. A glance at the sketch was pain
fully suggestive of the inquisitorial cru
city, and the outrage on humanity that
presumes a man guilty, and 80 proceeds
against him before his case ia heard.
Q. Do you think the Government ap.
proved Of this severity toward the pris-
Oners2
A. Mr.. Stanton was the Government at
that time. He was man for whom
still entertain a profound admiration-a
man Of the Cromwell type-strong, but
unfesling; and who, to attain desired
end, would, in an emergency, play des.
pot strangely out of place under Re-
publican form of government. For in
stance, what should be more sacred |
than the private correspondence of
citizen committed to the mail? Yet |
assisted to open hundreds of letters that
passed through the General Postofice at |
Washington, just after the assassination
when every letter addressed to Cana
da was thus stopped, in obedience to or.
ders from Mr., Stanton, his justification |
being that the agents Of Jefferson Davis
who were then in Canada, were the in.
stigatOrs Of the assassination plot. The |
letters opened to detect these supposed |
Vaccinations led to curious results in
revealing other matters not directly
sought for, and many career of army |