Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1881-11-30

past 10 o'clock. He stood in a small
open space-tho only open space in the
court roOm--at one side Of the witness
box. He delivered his remarks with
considerable energy and occasionally
rose to eloquence. His address was
as follows
OPENING STATEMENT OF U. S. DISTRICT
ATTORNEY coRKnILL.
May il Please the Court and Gentlemen
Of the jury;
The prisoner at the bar stands be.
fore you charged with tho murder of
James A. Garfield. Under ordinary
circumstances there rests grave and
responsible obligation upon every man
who is called upon in the discharge Of
his duty under the law to render de.
cision upon which depends tho life of
a fellow. creature, And while it is true
that the offence charged in the present
case is no greater in legal gravity and
consequences to the prisoner than if
| by his act be had taken tho life of the
humblest and most obscure citizen Of
the Republic, still il is idle to overlook
the TACT that the eminent character Of
tho man whose life was taken, his high
official position and the startling effects
of the commission Of the crime, render
the case one of unusual anl unparal.
leled importance. 1t is the second
time N our history that the citizen
chosen by the people Of the United
States to discharge the high and re-
sponslble duties Of President has fallen
a victim TO a lawless assassin during
the period Of bis incumbency of the
Office.
But ia the former case We were Just
emerging from the shadows Of long
and bloody war. The country had
not been racked by connections, and
stirred by civil ieuds. Throughout
the length and breadth of the land
nearly every household mourned the
loss Of men slain on the hoty contest
cd battle fields Of the Republic. 1t
was q danger that thoughtful men had
anticipated 1t was calamity that
patriots had feared And when it came,
with all its dread consequences, it was,
nevertheless, accepted as one of the
results Of the then disordered and dis
cordant condition of public affairs.
But we bad passed from the arena
of the war; the sword bad been beaten
into q plowsbare, and the spear into
a pruning hook; the country was uni.
ted, peace reignod at home and abroad.
There were no local dissensions; there
were no intestine strifus. Seed time
and harvest had come and gone; the
battle.tields, redeemed from tho scars
and havoc of their bloody contests,
were blossoming with the fruits Of
peaceful labor. Suddenly the startling
fact was proclaimed throughout tho
land and around the entire world, that
the President Of the United States had
fallen q victim TO the assassin's bullet,
in the Capital OF the Nation
Murder, under all circumstances,
and upon all occasions, is shocking.
The life of which we know so little,
and which we hold by so fragile ten.
ure, is dear to us oil, and when it is
brought to a close, not in the usual
order and course Of nature, but prema-
turely by violence, no matter what
may bo the condition Of the person,
the human mind is appalled, with ter
ror. When man holding q position
of eminence and power falls a cause.
less victim to tho murdercr's stroke,
we realize still more fully tho awful.
ness Of the deed which produces this
result.
This trial is a remarkable illustra.
ton Of the genius and spirit of our
Government. Although our chiei ruler
was murdered, although the effects of
that death were felt in every station of
life, in every avenue Of business, in
every department of society, yet the
prisoner bis murderer stands before
you to day entitled to the same rights,
TO the same privileges, panopled by
the same guarantees Of the Constitu-
tion as it be had killed the lowliest
member Of this community Had this
crime been committed in any other
country, or under any other form of
government, long ere this the priso-
ner would have paid the penalty Of Its
commission by punishment as swift
and as rapid as 1t would have been
effective.
doubt whether, in the worlds his.
tory, there can be found another in.
stance like tho present In no age,
under no government, has there been
seen such situation as we have here
before US. Defended by eminent coun-
sci, demanding of right the fall benefit
Of every guarantee Of the Constitution,
with tho power, exercised carefully, to
see that the jury selected are unbiased
and FREQ from prejudice; every right
is extended to the prisoner that would
bo granted TO criminal charged with
the most Insignificant offence.
1t has been q subject Of the deepest
anxiety and gravest consideration on
the part Of the admirers Of our form OF
Government whether the fundamental
principles which underlio il, did not
contain elements fatal to its permanen-
cy and success. With tho individual
citizen are its absolute dcstinies, for
veal or woe. The choice oil proper
rulers, tho enactment of lave and their
prompt execution, depend upon his
character; and no matter how import.
ant the trust or how grave tho respon.
siblity, upon the individual citizen
rests It fna decision.
Tho simplicity of tho forms under
which our Government is administered,
constitute for us one of it's greatest a..
fractions, but the easy accessibility to
all, Of those charged with It's admins.
traton, exposes them 10 many dan.
gers from the ovily.dsposed The
President Of the United States, with.
out pomp and parade, but after the
manner Of the humblest citizens, and
with no other safeguard than those
common 20 all ciuzens, leaves tho
scene of his official labors for o brief
recreation.
In a public depot, the prisoner at
the bar; without warning, fires at him
with n pistol, indicting wounds which
result in his death.
And so, to day, the greatest case
ever presented to u court of justice is
trusted entirely toyou, who have been
selected from the body OF tho commu.
nifty to weigh the evidence and the law,
and then to say, upon your oaths
whether the man charged with the
crmo is guilty. While this trial will
attract unusual attention, while every |
stage of its progress will be watched
with intense interest throughout the