National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-09-20
THE SAD NEWS.
ITS RECEPTION IN WASHINGTON,
Scenes and Incidents on the Streets Last Night Atc
the Death Of President Garfield Was
Known-The Crowds al "The
Republican" Oflce, sc.

llt lttllUR NTNlSti III llliN WY w WV
unfnvornbe dispatches from Long Branch was oncE
Of intense interest and anxiety The condition oil
thc President was the subject Of universal com
mont and inquiry, and prccludcd every ohcrt opic[
of conversation. The prevailing feeling was oneL
Of gloom aud there was but little hopefulness ex.
pressed II was felt that
THE Esd WAS NEAR
One gentleman said, in response to rcmarkI
that this was only another relapse, md thai
q reaction would set In, believe that he Isl
Too far gone. The best that can be said u.s. thai
while there is life there is hope but think that
there is not much Of such hope left" His gloomy
prediction remained unchallenged There wnsI
nothing even in the official bulletins and privatcI
dispatches to nourish the faintcs hope. The fire..
luent recurrence of the chils was regarded asI
ominous, and there was no consolation derived
from the lower ratio OF the figures indicating his
symptoms, as 1t was considered
Low STATE OF VITALITY.
Ehere was very little work done in the Depart
mcnts, and the bulletins posted up were sur!
Bounded by large and anxious crowds There wasI
b group about the Western Union Office all day
which increased to u crowd when the time arrived,
for the issue of the official bulletins. As some oncl
remarked, II was about the same sized crowd that
were about the telegraph Office when the news of
the nomination OF General Garfield as President
came in, All over the city ut the numerous places
where the bulletins were posted there were groups
discussing the situation.
THERE WERE NO HOPEFUL FACES.
There were some, however, who insisted on hop.
tng, and these kept away from the bulletins, and,
dlsrcgarlng the unfavorable reports insisted
upon their belief that the President would
pull through all right yet. This was the only
CLEAN Of hope, and the consolation thus
afforded while mcagrc, was encouraging La.
M N IN af tuau plo rtn
shat thc President was dead. This rumor started
from several sources, all Of which appeared trust.
worthy, and the feeling Of gloom was increased.
During the evening the streets were filled with
people, and the places where news could be OBJ.
dained were thronged The constant passing Of
people on the streets, the cries Of the newsboys,
and, above oil, the feeling Of
SOME PENDING CALAMITY,
gave strange stir and hustle TO the city. People
from distant portions of the city came in, and
everybody was eager for the latest news. The
crowd and the desire for news reminded one OF
election night but, instead of the noisy confusion
and hilarity of such an OCCASION there was an ali
Of suspense and anxiety that was q sufficient
tndicaton of the meaning OF this public
demonstration. The evening bulletin finally
arrived, and there was a great rush TO see It. II
contained no mention Of a rigor and that fact was
gladly noted. While the rest of the information
WIS not eNhctly luVOrHDle IL was not regarded n
very unfavorable. The opening words Of the bul.
letin Though the gravity of the Presidents con.
tion remains unchanged" fell coldly upon the ear
end with an ominous sound. Still worse informa.
zion may be expected, was the general thought,
and people began to go home for the night, feeling
little relieved. by ten o'clock the streets were
quiet again
1.-THE PRESIDENT Is DEAD"
These lnstwords were hardly written when an ex-
oil cd ni,nin IN ba
editors room down stairs, "He Is dead" An As.
sociated Press dispatch had just been received
containing tho one sentence. 1.-THE President Is
dead" The message so much dreaded had at last
come. and the check was blanched and tn G
lip trembled rs the sad news went from
mouth to mouth Looking out upon the
broad Avenue, rs quiet and peaceful rs u summer
day, and upon the sleeping city, II seemed impos-
Bible that this event hnd occurred. Presently
there was II rush of feet and the shrill shouts of
the newsboys announcing THE REPUBLICAN extra,
which was on the street
sEvEN MINUTES AFTER THE DISPATCH WAS RE.
CEIvEp.
Then the deserted streets began TO show signs OF
Efe-men could be seen hurrying along, without
collars having just sprung from their beds. There
Cas an undercurrent OF deep excitement, which
fodild no outward expression. In accordance
with TIC orders received two months ago, the
members of She District militia repaired at once
10 their arm orcs, where they remained
subject 10 the orders Of General Ayres.
General Sherman was seen last even.
ing at his residence by.a reporter of THE RE.
PUBLICAN. He said that the arrangements for the
protection Of the prison were complete, nut no
trouble was anticipated. If necessary he could
have additional soldiers here at a few hours no.
tice but he did not think that 1t would Dcc. neces
Eary. Attwcve o'clock one of the fre-bells%as
slowly tolled. o..
THE ToLLING OF TIE BELLS.
After the Ere bells had tolled some of the church
bells began. Tho first that announced the sad
tidings that of All Souls Church This bell T.
the Oldest in the city, and has rung for the death
of every President since Madison. President
Madison contributed 500 TO its purchase, Their
followed the bell of st. Matthew's. The ringing o
the bells and the crying of the newsboys brought
down to the centre of the city great crowds o.
people. AT one o'clock this morning the GROVE
was greater than at any previous time. and ever!
moment new additions were coming in. Their
was great eagerneSs TO learn more particular
but the Long Branch dispatches were rattle
meagrc in details
IN FRONT OF THE REPUBLICAN" OFFICE.
The vicinity of THE REPUBLICAN Office seemed 4
be The centre to which the footsteps hurrying alOn
the streets tended As soon the first boy dashe,
out of the Office with his armful of extras fey
men came across the street, and buying papers
stood on the sidewalk in front, reading the sa,
news The crowd gradually increased in mum
bers and spreading over the sidewalk, stretched
out into the street. They stood conversing In low
tones, and now and then one Of the number wa
delegated 10 go upstairs and get the latest. ii
would then come down and be at once surrounds
by anxious listeners, TO whom he repeated his in
formation. Everybody that came down town foun
their way TO THE REPUBLICAN, Office and at on
o'clock
THE CROWD NUMBERED A THOUSAND.
The newsboys, dashng in and out Of the ofic
in breathless haste, added to the 'excltemen
which, though quiet, was still very manifest
There were little groups of men here and Their
talking earnestly together, and the dif Of tn
talk was about lynching Guiteau. Men of stand
ing IN the community were heard to say that the
were in favor of going down ana trying TO &c
the wretch ont of Jail. This was no
merely idle talk but seemed to be the purpose o
earnest men. 1t was not strange that immediately
upon the death Of the President mems thought
should be turned TO the miserable perpetrator o
The act which caused his death. The talk was nc
violent or noisy, but quiet and deeply earnes
AT twelve o'clock the front Of THE REPuBLIcA
ONCE was
DRAPED WITH MOURNING,
and as the gloomy folds of the funercal black glis
tened in tho dim gaslght II gave an added Patio
70 the sad event Shortly after twelve o'clock III
large dry goods stores on the Avenue were throw
open and the mourning goods were spread OF
upon the counters, Nearly all the merchants alon
the Avenue at that hour began to drape the
places Of business in mourning and by to-day III
entire city will be draped in black, Al Ill
o'clock last night Major Brock issued a
order to the lieutenants Of the various precincts
hold all their platoons in readiness for orders.
ACTION OF THE u EATRcAL COMPANIES,
The companies now playing in the theatres wi
give no further performances this week. The eI
cursion OF the National Veteran Corps, which vi
10 take place tonight. has been abandoned,
accordance with the orders the veterans were