The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-12-15
scovILLES LECTURE.
The Guiteau Trial Discussed by
Counsel for Defence.
PRESS AND PULPIT ACCUSED OF
PREJUDGING TIE CASE

WASHINGTON, Dec. IA. = George scovile,
brother-in-law and counsel for Cults j, deliv-
cred lecture in this city tonight his subject
being "The Guiteau Case" Though quite.
large number of tickets were sold, the audi
ence was small, bat applauded the lecturer
when he made his appearance. He said he
had not the least intention OF rejecting on the
court or of endeavoring to affect the trial In
any way He came TO this city expecting
fair trial, and so far had no reason to COM
plain. It was to public opinion that he desired
TO address himself, without endeavoring to ex-
tenuate crime or to create public feeling in
favor of the prisoner. He complained that
not only the press, but the pulpit had preiu-
diced the case The pulpit condemned Gui-
teau on the assumption that be was sane
nah, and yet not a single minister OF the Cos
pei had called ON the prisoner IN his cell, and
not single letter had been sent by them to
him as a sane man, calling on him to repent
and turn to God. (Applause) Nineteen
twentieths of the letters received BY Guiteau
were simple threats against his life, and not
more than two or three breathed christian
spirit He criticised the action of Judge Da-
Wis in a recent murder case in New York for
going outside OF the case and instructing the
Jury in the Guiteau case, and giving as the
law what Judge Cox would not give If he
(Scoville) were not mistaken. lApplause.)
In the course of his remarks the speaker
said he was satisfied he had coed reason to
think good reason to believe, the prisoner
would not live until the conclusion of his
trial He (Scoville) was here to see that CUR
teau had fair trial, under the forms of law,
but he was not here to guard the prisoner with
troop of soldiers. Let the responsibility rest
where it might, hefgave this warning, and he
knew whereof he spoke. 1t was not for the
life of this man that he gave it, but because he
wanted to see order prevail, and because he
did not want the American people disgraced
by having man on trial for his life assassinat-
ed like a dog. The lecturer declared the
greatest peril to the prisoner was in his passage
from the court room to the prison van, and
pointed out the danger that some desperate
man would stab the prisoner with dirk and
escape without detection. He expressed, in
most earnest language his sincere admiration
for Judge Cox, than whom, he said, no more
candid, careful, conscientious, jndicious man
could be found in the country. He defended
Judge Cox from the criticism of the press, con-
tending that he could pursue no other course
towards 1the sprisoner than he had pursued,
without preiudging the case. All references
to Judge Cox were loudly applauded by the
audience, among whom were several members
of the District Bar.
The speaker then branched off to the subject
of the prisoners insanity, and in this connec-
tion read an extract from a letter received In
1875 by Mrs. Scoville, from her father, in
which be states his son Charles was in Chica-
go, trying to borrow money to buy up the
Inter Ocean. "You may judge for yourself"
he writes, "whether he is insane or not. To
my mind he is fit subject for an insane asy-
lum, end if I had means would send him
there. He is instigated by the devil" 1t was
not the prisoner alone who was on trial. The
question of capital punishment was on trial,
for be predicted that should Guiteau be hanged
and post norton examination prove him to
have been insane it would be almost the last
case of capital punishment i'll the country.
AT the conclusion of his lecture Scoville was
applauded and resolution, offered by one OF
the audience was adopted, expressing sympa-
thy with the family of the prisoner and COM
plimentng Mr. Scoville on his management OF
bo cos