The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1881-12-02
POrter-Did you say Blaine was a.
Uioknd moOp

using President Garfield, who was
a good man and kind man, but a
weak politician. Garfield just Sold
himself, body and soul, to Blaine.
That was what General Grant him
self said in his letter, denouncingc
Garfield for selling himself out to
Blaine.
Porter-Did you say yesterday
that you did not desire the removal
of Secretary Blaine ?
Prisoner did not, and you can
not find it in record. l want to
fasten something on you. l am as
good man as you are"
Porter-I know you think SO.
Prisoner (angrily)-Yes,' and the
public will think so, too.
Porter-WaS your motive for de-
handing Blaine's resignation be-
cause he had said to you ON the Sat-
urday preceding never to speak to
him again on the Paris consulship2
Prisoner (eXcitedlyEI told you
that had nothing to do with the
Paris consulate. want to ram that
into you, and put it down deep.
Iaughter.) [ am talking now about
national politics and not about a
miserable Office, and if you would
try to get your brains to take that.
in it would be better. I am not q
disappointed Office seeker.
In the course of further examina-
ton, he said, in relation to the time
of the murder, "The Deity seemed
to be on my side and every one
against me; but there is a great deal
better feeling towards me than
there was two or three weeks ago.
Some of those bitter crank papers
have been toning down wonderfully
| for the last three or four weeks,
What they want is change
Of heart. They want conversion
they want some new ideas abOhk
| the Presidents removal. Nothing
but change of heart will satisfy
their diabelical thirst for blood. It
is not likely the Deity will crafty
them in their thirst for blood. They
begin to see it too, and they viii see
it more and more" Prisoner bay-
ing expressed a belief that the
Deity protected him from the day
he shot the President to this day,
Porter said, at depends more on
whether the jury believe YOU
The prisOner-EXactly, what the
jury is here to pass upon is whether
the Deity did act with me or
whether 1 did it on my personal
account; and l tell you further, [
expect there will be an act of GOO
to protect me, if it is. necessary,
from any kind Of violence, either of
hanging or shooting" The prisoner
asserted that his acts saved the
country from another war.
Porter-Would there have been
war now if not for you?
Al do not pretend that the war
was Immediate, but do say emphat-
ically, and here ne began to declaim
in dramatic manner and in the
style of a stump speaker, that the
bitterness of the republican party
was deepening hour by hour. and
that by two or three years, at least,
the nation would have been in the
flames Of war. In the presence of
death all hearts were hushed. dis
sensiOn ceased, for weeks, and
weeks, the heart and brains of the
nation centred on the sick man at
the White House, till at last, land
here the speaker lowered his voice
so as to be almost unintel-
ligible) he went the way of
all flesh and the nation was
in mourning. That is para
graph from the speech I wanted to
make two weeks ago. He cOntin-
ued, resUming his natural tone, and
apparently well satisfied with his
effort, 1T comes in very pertinent
here. and l am glad l had a chance
to deliver it,
Counsel asked the prisoner what
was the necessity of requesting
General Sherman to send troops to
the jail to protect him for having
Obeyed the Deity.
a. i would have been shot and
hung hundred times if it had not
been for the troops at the Jail.
Q.-Any harm in that? A.-That-
is matter for the law to pass
upon Gmpatiently) 1 will not have
any more conversation with you on
this sacred subject. You are ma
king light Of a serious matter, and 7
will not talk about it.
Going back to the letter, Por-
ter read that in which the prisoner
stated Garfeld's nomination, cleo
ton and removal were the acts Of
God and then asked "who nomina-
ted him." A.-The Chicago con-
Vention.
Q.-Was that inspired? The
prisoner hesitated and seemed about
to dodge the question, when Porter
stopped him with an impatient
now, now, now.
Prisoner (mockingly)-Now, now
now I thought Grant or Blaine
would be nominated, and when Gar
field was nominated on the thirty
sixth ballot, it was the act.of God
The facts surrounding his election
would sustain the position that It
was the act Of God.
The prisoner complained Of being
fatigued, saying he was not used to.
speaking five hours at time, and
the court adjourned.
BIOOdthirsty 0PpressOrs.