The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1880-07-07
" ~. Surratt.
N0sne Insisie History TO0chtng Her
Trial and Execution.

The nomination of Gen. Hancock re-
calls the stirring incidents connected
with the trial OF Mrs. Surratt, and in
some quarters it has been urged against
him rs campaign document, that he
was in some way responsible for the ex-
ecutiOn of Mrs. Surratt, and that he
might have prevented it if he had i'll
terpOsed his power at that time. Know
ing that the gentleman WAS in Cincin-
natl at the convention who could All
swer some questions connected with
those times, IA Commercial reporter
called on Mr.. Sam w. Smalley, of the
Atlanta Constitution, better KIN pwn as
old ISL" by the characteristic sketches
in that paper, and propounded to him
some queries on the subject.
MIR. Smalley for some time acted Us
the private secretary of President John
son, after his retirement from the presi-
dency, and in the interval between his
retirement and election rs United States
senator from the state of Tennessee; III
that capacity il fell in the line of his
duty To collat- and put in shape the
official and private correspondence Of
the eX-presi,lent, which came from the
White House in Il state Of confusion. In
discharging this duty he became faInil-
lar with the contents of many docu-
ments important on account of their
historical and personal bearings, and
among them those papers which MIR.
johnson most particularly preserved in
connection with the charges and the
facts concerning the trial and execution
of Mrs. Surratt.
RepOrter-What do you recall of the
facts of the evidence in that commits
sion?
al recall that Gen. Hancock WAS by
the circumstances Of the situation im-
mediately following the surrender of
| AppOmattOX and the assassination Of
Lincoln, the departmental commander
in the department embracing Washing
ton City. | know the commission
which sat for the trial Of the mur,lerers
of Mr.. Lincoln. | know that the con-
stitutionality of that commission was
questioned, debated and settled i'm the
cabinet. | know that President John
son doubted, and did until the day Of
his death, the constitutionality of those
proceedings. | know so far as | can
know from his own declarations, that
he yielded to the decision Of his cabinet,
recognized the legality of the acts of
the commission, and that he awaited its
decision without the desire or intention
of furthur Questioning its authority"
"When the decision of this commits
sion WAS rendered, what was
MIR. JOHNSON's ATTITUDE:
"Mr. Johnson has frequently said tn
me that when the record Of that court
was presented to him, he carefully con-
siIered it-first, for the purpose Of dis
covering whether upon evidence that
Judgment was correct; and second,
whether from the evidence there We're
any reasons why the discretion of the
executive should be exercised upon the
side of clemency toward any one of
those included i'm the sentence of the
court He decided that the Judgment
upon the evidence, as presented, was
correct, and that there was no reason
for any distinction between the con-
demned, except the sex of Mrs. Surratt.
He held then rs he had continued to
hold, that sex neither forgave nor ex-
banded the character of the crime that
the woman who committed crime, and
that the crime being proved, was sub
ject to the same penalty that the law
prescribed, without regard to sex or
condition of the offender"
"Mr. johnson approved the sentence,
then. taking that view of the situatiOn%'
ayes, he did approve il, but he APP
proved it upon the naked presentation
of the official records of the court. I'm
fortunately for his fame i'm this connect
ion, il transpired long after the dece,ise
tof Mrs. Surratt, that the court had pri-
vately-timidly, you may say-agreed
| aud I..lt to thu. r.rasiIAnf Sis