The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-07-12
COMMON SENSE ABOUT ourrEAU.
Inter-Ocean.

There Is no other created thing in this
| world quite so dangerous as q fool. Wher
the fool has just a sufficient modieum oil
brains to become crazy the danger is
| doubled. When being of this makeup
studies law, he simdly adds method to his
madness; and when, in addition to all the
rest, he becomes possessed of some sort OF
a religious francy, his capacity for mis-
chief is complete. Such a combination of
moral and intellectual odds and ends is
Guiteau. He has been well enough known
here in Chicago, off and on. for these
fifteen years. He was sort of hanger
| at the office of very respectable attorney
here, whose kindness he abused in every
imaginable way, until he was finally gotten
rid of, and then for a season he professed
to practice law in an office of his own.
He had neither brains enough to cheat
people out of a living, nor honesty enough
to excuse his want of capacity, and so he
| Jared but poorly in the law, He turned his
attention to theological pursuits and made a
book. He came to understand all spiritual
mysteries, and gave public lectures on re-
ligious topics-or would if he could have
got all audience together in response to his
numerous advertisements. He knew all
about the second coming of Jesus Christ,
and there was no hidden thing that he
could not expound. Then he had a pas
sion among the newspapers, and got up
wild schemes for getting other people to
furnish money that he might instruct the
world through daily publication of his
own. He went to New York, and did
manage there to get so far into the myster-
les of journalism as to be arrested for con-
fisticating money collected for one of the
great dailies of that city. He took in poll
tics as part of the universal affairs of
mankind which needed his guidance and
has latterly been a pestiierous loafer about
Washington, whom nobody ever wanted
to see or was able to getrid Of lie has now
probably gratified the Hottest reach of
his ambition. He has immortaliZed him
self as the meanest sneak of the nineteenth
century.
There is no lesson to be learned from
such thing as Guiteau. He is not the
fruit of despotisn, nor the fruit of reoubli-
canism. He is not fruit of anything; he
is simply worm-eaten windfall. His
friends cannot be charged with neglect OF
duty, for he has never been idiotic enough
to be sent to an asylum for the feeble
minded, or crazy enough to be sent to
hospital for the insane; and his vices have
not heretofore been vigorous enough to
land him in the penitentiary.
The fool-kiIler, if the world were only
blessed with such be1efactor, would have
taken him in hand long ago, but in the
present imperfect state of human laws there
has been no way to interfere with Guiteau's
personal freedom. He viii not serve as a
warning to parents, for he was well brought
up; nor as a frightfuf example to boys, for
he did not, in the ordinary sense, fall into
evil ways He was not ruined by bad COM
panions nor by strong drink. He was not
pointed at as q Sabbath breaker, nor
as a scoffer at religion. He ran no course
of crime. He has had no downfall. All
that he ever was he continued to be up to
the day of the assassination. He W as
simply an intellectual without moral sense
He came near killing his own sister once,
to whom he was under every obligation
for care and support, but still he did not
usually manifest murderous disposition,
and was not considered an unsafe man to
have at large.
It matters little what becomes of Guiteau
Hanging would be a compliment to his in
teligence, and would very likely seem to
him heroic way of going out of the
world. His predecessor in assassination,
sixteen years ago, was shot like a dog in
street, and his crime was not dignlf1ed by
trial If Guiteau's worthless life had
somehow been snuffed out in the depot at
Washington, Saturday morning, it would
have been taxing human nature too much
to ask any regrets over his speedy dissolu-
ton,