Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-07-07
A HISTORIC PARALLEL.

| The Attempt to Assassinate President
jackson In 1885.
The attempted assassination of President
fourth time that direct attempts have been
made to kill Presidents Of the United
States. The public are all familiar
with the murder of Lincoln, but
comparatively few are familiar with the fact
that two attempts were made to assassinate
| Gen. jackson. One occurred on the S0th of
JAM, 1885, and was in many respects parallel
to the attempt upon Gen. Garfeld's life last
Saturday.
jackson went to the hall OF the House Of
Representatives to attend the funeral of one
of its members. AS the procession moved
out of the eastern portico, a man stepped in
front of Jackson, and when within eight feet of
him drew pistol and attempted to fire. 1t was a
percussion lock and for some reason the cap
did not explode. A second similar pistol was
drawn by the would be assassin, and again the
cap failed to do service. Jackson then rushed
at his assaiIant with his cane, but
the assassin was knocked down
and secured by bystanders. He proved
to be an Englishman named Richard Lawrence,
who was a house painter, out of work and out
of money. The pistols had been in his pos
session for four years, and he had loaded them
three or four days previous, with
the intention of killing the President
He said he had never known them to miss fire
before, and when new cap was put on them
after Lawrence had been seized, they drove q
bullet through an inch plank at distance OF
thirty feet This shows the deadly character
of the attempt.
An examination by medical experts elected
the report that Lawrence was lunatic, with
both a personal and political grievance, as
Guiteau now assumes to have. He was out of
work and out of money, and about week
previous he called at the Presidents
house and asked Jackson for money
to take him to England. The
request was refused, as matter of course,
and he considered himself personally af
fronted.
His political grievances grew out or Jack.
sons war upon the United States bank He
had listened to Clay and Webster and other ell
ouuent denunciators of JacksOn's
policy, until their cause became
his cause. They attributed the
hard times and lack of employment to Jack
sons policy, and the painter Lawrence held
jackson personally responsible for his needy
and embarrassed condition. As he expressed
it, he could not rise unless the President
fell. He heard the President ac-
cused of being an obstacle in the way
- 1oH I'D ha
to remove him. Because he espoused the
cause of the political opponents of Jackson
they were not censured or treated as parties
to the attempted crime. He was treated as
a lunatic simply and in view of the failure
of his attempt was even discharged without
trial. This was an unusual and dangerous
precedent, and one which should not be fol-
lowed in the present instance.
There would have been as much reason
for holding Clay and Webster
responsible for the crazy attack on jack
son as there is now for holding the stalwarts
responsible for the attempt on Garfeld's life.
Public men must necessarily have their polIti-
cal differences, and they cannot be held re-
sponsible for the deeds of lunatics whose
brains may be turned by the controversy.
There is no doubt if the President should
die, that Arthur's life wouldibe in danger from
some enthusiast made insane by grief at the
death of the man he loved and admired. 1t Is
to the credit of our people and our form Of
government that these attempts to overthrow
an administration by ASSASSINATION
have been with the exception
of the murder of Lincoln) the out
growth of some individual crazy brain, and
not the result of conspiracy. 1t is not to the
credit of the despicable partisans who are
seeking to hold a. large and re-
spectacle portion Of the Republican party
responsible for Gditeau's mad attempt at
murder. 1t is only those who are themselves
stepped in infamy and base beyond re-
demption, who will seek to relieve Guiteau by
assuming that he was tool of faction of
his party. We are glad to know
that, with one exception, no Demo-
crat has been sctuated by SO mean
. partisan spirit as to assume that any portion
of the Republican party desired to murder the
eminent man at the head of the nation. 1t has
been left to the vilest of the vile in the
Republican ranks to bring this dastardly &C.
cusation against their associates. That this vile
class should have an organ in st. Paul.is not
surprising, when it is remembered that the
conductors of that organ represent in their
own persons all that is dishonorable and infa-
nous in life, and dead, their remains will pos.
sess pu ridty sufficient to create both physic-
al and moral contagion.
A Petty Swindle.
The man or men who would seek to turn
| the attempted assassination of the President to