Daily globe., 1881-11-18

Yes, sir. On the night of July 1st was en-.
gagged with the president until near midnight
! on public business. On parting he suggested
| that | had better call aud see him in the
morning before he left, because there might
be some matters to which he desired to call
my attention. / went to the white house in
the morning, reaching there at O'Clock, or
not later than three minutes past. was de-
| taintd some little time in conference with the
president in the cabinet room and library a
very few minutes. l then started with him
| for the depot he riding in a carriage in which
we went to the white house, the state depart.
ment carriage in daily use by myself following
| out of the white house grounds; also his own
carriage in which his children were carried
under conduct of Col. Rockwell. We
drove down the avenue without any
incident and at moderate speed. On reach
ing the depot on the street side, the ladies
entrance it is commonly called, we sat mo-
ment finishing the subject on which we were
around to saw goodbye. "No," said I, IL
will escort you" thought it not proper
that the president should go entirely unat-
tended. 81 will escort you," | said, land be-
sides l wish to see the gentlemen of the cabi-
net who are going to leave with YOU With
that he alighIed. He had to go in of course,
first at the white house, and that
brought him on the side next to the pavement
| at the depot, and as the carriage was small
| coupe he got out first, as matter OF con.
venience He took my arm as we ascended
the steps and turned on the left. He was on
my left to speak, think, to police officer
| the same officer who had told us we had ten
or twelve minutes time remaining. When he
| turned to speak to him our arms became dis
engaged according to my impression, and as
we walked through the ladies' waiting room
we were not arm in arm, but side by side. He
| had got two-thirds across the room when,
| suddenly, without any premOnition whatever,
| there was very loud report OF a
pistol discharge, followed in Il very
| short interval by second shot. AT The
instant heard the report, 1t occurred to me
that it was some trouble between persons to
whom we were in no way connected, some
such deed of violence, and l touched the presi-
dent as though to hurry him on, as thought
| there might be some danger to his person or
nv own Just as I did that the president
kind of threw his hands up and said, "my
Godi What is this!" 1t was almost between
the shots he said this. OF course IN so excit-
| ing and horrible scene can only give i'm
pressions, not an absolute statement. Then
According to my recollection he passed
on my right, though l am aware
this statement must be taken as my impress
| ion, Immediately ran after the man in
stinctively, and went, suppose, distance of
eight feet. remember / stopped just outside
| the door, which led from the ladies waiting
room to the main room. Then shout came
up, "We have got him!' found the presl-
| dent had quite sunk. He was sinking as l
left. was the first or second person who got
| back to him. He was vomiting and think
| at that moment was unconscious. OF course,
| Immediately very large crowd surrounded
him, aad mattresses were brought, L think,
from sleeping car, and he was removed to
an upper room in the depot. Medical
| aid was at hand as soon as possible and an ex-
| animation made. He was returned to the White
house, reaching there, should say, in about
| fifty minutes or probably an hour. l know
l returned to my room and wrote dispatch
to the public, especially to Europe, directing
it to Minister Lowell at London. In that dis
patch l said s'thls hour-10 a. m.," the presi-
dent being shot about 9:20. That enabled me
to identify the time at which the president got
to the White honse. He got there about the
time got to my house, possibly little before.
These are in brief the circumstances connected
room of the department there was gather
| ing around of cabinet ministers, who
| Immediately repaired there from the cars.
| There had yet Deen no report made OF who
| the assassin was, but gave information that
the man saw run and whom went after aud
whom saw fall into the hands OF the police
was Guiteau. ] recognized the man. l made
that statement to the cabinet, attending sur
geons and General Sherman before the police
had discovered the name. Of course, the
shot being behind my back, 1 did not see him
| with the pistol in hand. He did not, IN the
running, have pistol exposed.
The district attorney then produced
a diagram of the depot in which the
tragedy occurred and at his re-
| quest witness indicated the positions
occupied by the president and himself at the
time the fatal shot was fired. He also stated
that though the second shot was fired imme-
dlately after the first, it did not follow it as
rapidly as shots could be fired from a self
cooking revolver.
Q.--How often have you seen the prisoner,
to the best of your recollection? Avery
often. Numerical statements are apt to be
exaggerated. According to my recollection,
he visited the state department twenty or thir-
ty times 1t might possibly be not over ten,
but eight or ten visits of that kind are apt to
make the impression of twenty or twenty five.
| Laughter
Q.9Was he an applicant for
| office Allie was very per-
sistent applicant for the consul -generalship
| at Paris. | never gave him the slightest
encouragement that he would receive the ap--
pointment. remember that after persistent
and repeated visits, told him there was, in
| my jud dgment, no prospect whatever OF his re-
celving the appointment, and that l did not
want him to continue his visits. wanted to
| bring them to an end, and | told him there
was no prospect of his receiving it.
Witness here identified number of letters
| from Guiteau, taken from files of the state de-
partment, and said observe these letters con-
| tain signatures made on them for ind entifica
ton, and this Indicating paper is speech
| 1aff int, hQ oil
| having made during the political campaign
on which he based his claim for office Here
| (indicating) is letter that came from the
white house with the ordinary executive man.
| sion blank. 1t is mere endorsement, "Gui-
team, Charles-applicant for foreign mission. F."
| That letter came from the white house in
this envelope.
By Mr.. Porter, Odd you see the body OF
President Garfield when it was brought to
the District, after he was dead? Al came
with the funeral train, did not see the body
of the president after its return here. 1t was
not pleasant SIGHT and did not go to
the rotunda of the capitol to see it. l saw
the body after death at Elberon in Francklyn
cottage, belonging to C.. G.. Francklyn, well
known citizen of New York, who had very
kindly rendered the use of the cottage for the
president
This ended the direct examination.
BLAINE's CROSS EXAMINATION.
The cross examination was by Mr.. Scovllle
as follows:
Mr.. Blaine said-As to the identical day
first saw Guiteau I cannot say. 1t was early
in March.
Odd you meet him during the campaign
last year? Alt is possible did. He cor
responded with the Maine committee, attempt
ing to get into the campaign as speaker.
know there were several persistent letters
from Charles Guiteau, of whom then heard
for the first time, desiring to speak In Maine
Q.-Can they not be produced? Al dc
not think they can. The debris of the cam
paign is generally swept away into the waste
paper basket or fire. 1t is wholly unimport-
ant Very often persons try to get into a
campaign as speakers. This is not an ex