Daily Los Angeles herald., 1878-07-09
THE LINCOLN TRAGEDY.
An Interview with Mr.. Ben Pitman
st artling Details Of the Secret Trial.
From the N. Y. Herald. ]


CINCINNATI, Ohio, June is, 1878.
Ben Pitman, the well known
photographer. of this city, was in
terviewed to-day as to his personal
knowledge concerning the trial
and execution of Mrs. Snrratt for
the assassi ination of Abraham Lin
coin. His attention was first called
to the statement of John T. Ford,
the theatrical manager, relative to
the innocence of Mrs. Surratt, and,
in answer to the Herald cores
pondenps questions, Mr.. Pitman
communicated the following in.
formation. He said that he was
the official reporter of the United
States Government in the assassin
alton trial, the Sons of Liberty in
vestigation, and the Congressional
inquiries into the New Orleans and
Memphis riots, and subsequently
OF the Ku Klux trials, all of which
gave him a peculiar insight into
the yet unwritten history OF those
momentous events. have no
doubt" said Mr.. Pitman, "of the
correctness of Mr.. Ford's state
ment of Mrs. Surratt's innocence;
the grave blunders which grew out
of the assassination trial were due
to the theory Mr.. Stanton enter
tained, that Booth was the active
instrument in great conspiracy,
the dictatory power of which was
the rebel Government. Mrs. Sur
raft was hanged for completely in
the assassins tion plot, of which
she was entirely ignorant, and poor
Spangler was sent to the Dry Tortu-
gas 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
was to be made of it than the
catching of crabs. Spangler had
simply borrowed" the rope from
FOrd's theatre for that purpose.
MRS sURRATT NOT GUILTY.
1t was not until after my return
from Washington, with all the tes-
timony of the 450 witnesses at the
trial and my compilation in narra-
tive torn of the facts testified to
by these witnesses, that l came to
the conviction that Mrs. Surratt,
though aware Of previous plots to
abduct the President and take him
to Richmond, was entirely unin-
formed of the sudden resolve of
Booth to kill him. The only direct
testimony that see med to implicate
her was that of the drunken, unre-
liable witness, Lloyd, who kept the
tavern at Surrattville. Her previous
life and history, the testimony of
those who knew her well, and
Catholic priests of known probity
and honor, all went to show her
utter incapacity to engage in so
diobollcal plot.
WHAT THE TESTIMONY SHOWED.
The testimony went to show that
the assassination of Lincoln was a
sudden resolution of Booths on
finding that the President was to
visit the theatre that night, and
the hasty conspiracy hatched up
with Payne, AtZerodt and Herold,
was confined exclusively to their
knowledge and participation. The
fact is that Mr.. Stanton, Judge Ad-
vocate Holt, Bingham and Burnett,
and other officers of the govern
melt engaged in the prosecution,
were somewhat unbalanced by the
imagined greatness of conspiracy
which did not exist. Nothing but
such a belief would justify the
treatment to which the prisoners
were subjected.
A SECRET TRIAL.
The trial for the first two weeks
was conducted in secret, and the
prisoners = Herold, Payne, Atze-
rodt and 1 think two others-were
masked in q close-fitting, helmet
like white cap, which just left
breathing hole for the mouth and
nostrils. They were besides man.
acled at the wrists and ankles, and
to the latter were attached a heavy
ball and chain. Mrs. Surratt was
not thus masked, but she was man
acled at the feet throughout the
trial. The masks were removed
when the trial became public, after
the expiration of two weeks, when
admission was obtained to the
Court only by the personal sane
Ition Of Gen. Hunter by card.
STANTON A DEsPOT.
Correspondent = Do you think
the Government sanctioned this
severity toward the prisoners?
Mr.. Pitman-Mr. Stanton was
the Government at the time. He
was a man for whom / still enter
tain profound admiration; q man
Of the Cromw well stripe-strong bpt
unfeeling, and who to obtain a de
sired end would in an emerge :,
play despot--straHgely out of pla..
under O republican form of poyern-