Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1881-10-20
HISTORY OF A CRIME.
The Assassination of Presi-
dent Garfield as Confess
ed by Guitean.
The Terrible Deed Elaborated Upon:
Previous Attempts to Kill the Pres
ident Recited- Causes Which
Led to the Crime.
THE ASsASsIN'S TALE.

HE ASSASSIN TALE.
Charles j. Guiteau, in his personal
narrative, published in the New York
Herald, and furnished that paper by
District Attorney Corkhill, says: "My
full name is Charles julius Guiteau. l
have dropped the julius; prefer to
be known as Charles Guiteau My
surname is spelt G.u.i-t-e-a-u; it is pro-
nounced Get-o. 1t is French name.
My fathers family settled in central
| New York; John M. Guiteau's ances.
tors went to Ohio. My pate,nal grant,
father was a physician ana very
prominent one at the beginning of the
century near Utica, n. Y. Ny father
was born at Whitesboro, near Utica, N.
| T., in 1910. He died in August, 1880,
near Freeport, Ill.,, having lived there
for about forty years. He originally
was a merchant. He was clerk of the
circuit court of Stevenson county one
term. After that, for about twelve
lyears, he was cashier of the Second
National bank at Freeport. He was a
very good man, very pious man and
an intelligent man. About thirty years
ago he became interested in the publ
cations of John H. Noyes, who was
the founder Of the Oneida community,
and was under his influence more or
less during that entire period. l used
to hear him talk about the community
a great deal in his family, and became
Interested in it in that way in my early
boyhood. My mother died when was
seven years old. knew very little
about my mother. l understood she
was woman of fine mind and lady
in every respect. l have heard her
very highly spoken Of"
81 conceived the idea of removing
the president Guiteau declares,
pending the answer, and rs far as the
consulship had any influence on my
mind at ALL it would have deferred me
from the act, because l expected as a
matter of fact l would get the Paris
consulship. After conceived the idea
of removing the president, l did not 60
near MIR. Blaine or near the president
to press my application. About two OF
three weeks interviewed from the time
that | called at the presidents office
when the doorkeeper said: Mr.. Gui-
teau, the president said it would be i'm
possible to see you to-day to the time
that | conceived the idea of removing
him, during which time l was waiting
patiently for my answer, which, as a
matter of fact, have never yet re-
ceived. | had been pressing the presi.
dent ard Mr.. Blaine for an answer, and
| thought that it would be better to keer
away from them. They had my address
and | thought that if they concluded
to givel me the Paris consulship they
would notify me, or | would see an an
nouncement of the appointment in the
paper, and, as | have stated, after
conceived the idea of removing the
president, did not 60 near the presi
dent or Mr.. Blaine, and
MY CONCEPTION OF THE IDEA
of removing the president was this
Mr.. Conkling resigned on Monday, May
16, 1881. On the following Wednesday
! was in bed. | think l retired about
o'clock. / felt depressed and perplexed
on account of the political situation
and | retired much earlier than usual
felt wearied in mind md body, and ]
was in my bed about 8 o'clock, and
thinking over the political situation,
and the idea flashed through my brain
that if the president were out of the
way everything would 60 better. AT
first this WAS a mere impression. /,
startled me, but the next morning il
came to me with renewed force, and
began to read the papers with my eye
on the possibility that the president
would have to go, and the more read
the more / saw the complication OF
public affairs. the more | was inn
pressed
WITH THE NECESSITY
of removing him, and this thing con-
tinued for about two weeks. | kept
reading the papers, and kept being inn
pressed, and the idea kept bearing and
bearing down upon me, that the only
way to unite the two factions of the
republican party and save the republic
from going into the hands of the rebels
and democrats was to quietly remove
the president. Two weeks after ] con
ceived the idea my mind vas tIor-
oughly settled on the intention to re-
move the president. | then prepared
myself. / sent to Boston for copy Of
my book, The Truth, and spent a
week in preparing that. | cut out a
paragraph and n line and word here
and there and added one or two new
chapters, put some new ideas in it, and
/ greatly improved it. / knew shat 1t
would probably have a large sale on
account of the notoriety that act of re-
moving the president would give me,
and wished the book to go out to the
public in proper shape. That was
ONE PREPARATION
for it. Another preparation was to
think the matter all out in detail, and
to buy revolver and prepare myself
for executing the idea. This required
some two or three weeks, and | gave
nv entire time and mind in preparing
myself to execute the conception of re-
moving the president. | never men
toned the conception to living soul.
| | did most OF my thinking in the park
and on the street, and | used to go to
the Arlington and the Riggs house
daily to read the papers"
! Guiteau then relates in graphic lam
1 l. 4