Morning journal and courier., 1881-11-30
THE NATIONAL CAPITAL.

Sick Wftness-Guiteau Afraid to Go Upon the Stand--His Objections Finally Overcome-Hfs Criticisms of the Oneida
 Community.
 WASHINGTON, Nov. 29.-The understand
 ing that Guiteau's examination would be con
 tinued today very naturally brought larger
 crowds than usual to the court this morning.
 The outside of the building seemed in state
 of siege. Within the court room the spaces
 inside the rail, the seats outside, and the
 aisles were crowded to suffocation. Guiteau
 is of course voluntary witness. In fact it
 is only under the provisions of what is known
 as the Frye bill passed a few years ago, that
 he is able to testify at all. This being the
 case be is in a certain sense master of the
 situation. He knows this fact very well, and
 takes advantage of it. Yesterday he said he
 wished it understood that he came on the
 stand not regular witness, but to identify
 certain letters. To-day, to the disappoint-
 ment of the crowd, he wished to be excused
 for the time being. He did not feel well,
 and, as he said, did not "feel in talkative
 mood" Judge Cox, therefore, let him off,
 though MT. Scoville plainly wanted to have
 his examination proceed. But Guiteau had no inclination to testify. He sfelt sick, " just as sick, probably, when it was first
 proposed to bring him into court. He is enough of lawyer to understand the value of delay, and, moreover, he is evidently afraid of the cross examination to which he will be subjected.
 During the reading of the correspondence, which took nearly two hours, and during which the prisoner commented upon the let ters, Guiteau mustered courage enough to consent to testify Under MT. Scovilles in terrogations he gave narrative of his life 1,s. Ha very pale. His lips were white and his man. ner agitated. He was certainly now in talk atiye'1 mood, and rattled on about his parents and himself in voluble strain. As wit ness Guiteau was 8 phenomenon. He began mildly, but soon got excited on the theme of the Oneida community, and lashed himself into fury. He gave very graphic descrip- ton of life there, not emitting several nause- ous details His look and manner in the box | was closely studied by the experts He act ed naturally and seemed very much in earn est He invariably spoke of the community | with horror, anger and disgust. He only stayed there, he said, because he supposed he should be damned if he left. Finally be thought he was in hell, anyway, so he thought he'd have little spite, and after de- | liberation he stole away, not having spiritual strength enough openly to face their criti cism: T was i terrible state of mind. :" l he said, s'as bad as could be without being l crank mad " In reply to question he said | he did not believe in any religion, had been | little wild like all boys until his conversion f'sThat's the word they use, you know"- which was in 1859, when he came under the | influence of MT. Beecher and the Young Mems Christian association Mir. Beecher up to that time, said Guiteau, was supposed | to be virtuous man. | recess was here taken.
 After the recess Guiteau related his suit against James Gordon Bennett of the New | York Herald, in which he was unsuccessful. He said that if he had sued for $25, 900 he ] would probably have got $10,o00- Bennetts
 lawyer thought he was cranky" for suing | for so large an amount, and the prisoner was sorry he had not put it lower. He then took | up his lecture experience. Once he spoke in Chicago. It was a bad night, and he spoke only short time. One report there gave | him ''rattling It made fun of me, and when I asked the city editor to correct it he said: 'sWhy, it is the laugh and talk of the city I wouldn't spoil it for anything" l That's the way the papers are quick to make mistakes, but slow to correct them. The | people didsnot like my ideas of the second coming. They thought was cranky, but | knew the Lord was back of me, and stuck | to it. He considered himself as much in- spired as tho apostle Paul. He was perse- cuted in like manner, and the people didn't think much of his doctrine either. Every l such remark as this called out more or less laughter, but neither the court nor the gov l ernment counsel fnterfered at all He told how he rode free from town to town. Said
 he ssNow you may call me dead beat, hut I call it working for the Lord: If had money paid !; if not didn't worry about it. | The Lord had charge of me, and if couldn't pay my board I let the Lord settle it. Wherever he lectured he found people who thought he was cranky. He drifted to Wash 1 ington in the fall of 1877 and afterwards l went to Boston, Providence, etc. His mem ory of all these details was excellent and cor
 roborated much testimony given by wit nesses in the case.
 At 2:55 Colonel Corkhill suggested that Mr. Guiteau must be tired The prisoner said
 he was, and the court adjourned till to-mor- ] TOW.