New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-12-19
REASONS ADVANCED TO SUPPORT THE Plea
OF THE DEFENCE.


,+ico Cox,s Court sit every day the assassin, Mr..
Seville. his brother-inlaw and counsel john W.
Guiteou and Mrs Scovie, the brother and sister OF
the man Oh trial 1t is these three against MY MIL
lions These three 20 all appearances, sincerely De-
Eeve the assassin insane. Two of them certainty
do. and sympathy with them in their torlorn nght
is not in the least inconsistent win deleSIaon "a
the assassin.
The prosecution has the services of three lawyers
one of Them at least. of National reputation with
the whole force Of the Government at 'heir COM
rnand Mr. Scoville works up his case day by DAY
40 best he can in clearinghouse bedroom, pract-
callv without aid of any kind, and almost without
money 10 live on. The most interesting hgure Oh
these tlees John w GUiteau, the assassns brother
q man under the medium height httle broad
Quiet and melancholy, with face that bears h'Ie
resemblance to that of Charles ). Gmteau except
perhaps in the ewes, which are of light blue, but
have healthy, frank look utterly unlike the bale
full ewes of the assassin. Mr Guiteau is highly re-
spected. not only by the men with whom
he has been associated in business, but by
everyone who has come into contact
with him at the trial Tears gushcd into the eyes
Of one Of the witnesses the other day when he SAID:
"No man is nOre highly respected IN the insurance
interest than John w. Guitcau"
Mr. Guitcau's comments upon the case are alWiyS
listened TO with good deal OF interest because he
has seemed 10 De independent ~ d -iN''' N' So
the weaknesses that would govern most me- under
such circumstances. AT the time Of the shooting OF
tbe President "a, declared his belief hat his brother
was responsible and he has at the trial intereed
10 ureycnt his father being proved insane III order
70 help his brother He talked to-day about the
case to a a7IlIBUNE correspondent rs follows:
eft seems TO me that people overlook one fact
about my brothers case, and that is that all the
theories except that of insanity, are inconsistent
4ftafl l4 "a a
Fome congenital malformatiOn tending to insanity,
which has gone on developing ever since, accounts
for every evil act he has ever committed, and every
foolish one II accouuts-for his behavior in court,
for the murder itself for his treatment of his rela-
tiyes, for his trying to buy great news
paper without any money, for his thinking
that he could make a success lecturer when he
had no knowledge and no ability, for his thinking
that Conkling and Grant and such men would be
his friends as as he had murdered Garfield
Now Just take that example of his reason
ING power. Imagine man really believing that,
after he had shot the President of the United States
The men who might be benefited politically by the
cb9rpe would stand by him. j. that the reasoning
ola .anc OF of an insane many He really DID be-
Eeve #. General Reynolds testified the
other day that my brother was in
"ereat agony and SAID it was most astounding"
when he found that the Stalwart newspapers ana
the Republican leaders were all denouncing him.
The theory of total dcprayity doesn't account lor
that That is insanity
"Toke too the idea he had that if his papers and
addresses could 20 out to the country the people
would feel different toward him. Would any sane
man think that after he had shot the President
the people would be influenced III his favor by any
Sthing he could sayY What a thing that was he
said the other day about his divorce from
his WIFE, He committed adultery to got
divorce from his wife, because he wasn't
going to live with woman he didn't love-
That is not deprayty and 1T isn't acting; 1t s IN
sanity And it is fair illustration of the way his
mind works The truth is, he has no reasoning
mower as men usually have. His perceptions are as
quick as a fash of liehtning but his reasoning
power his ability to distinguish between right and
wrong is dead
He shows absolute ingrahtnde for everything
&c do for him. but there is no malice in it. What
looks like malice in him is simply the spnt OF
cat in self-defence. At the Jail, where he is
NOT under the excitement of the courtroom.
he is ouiet and mild and the doctors say that he has
ALWAYS treated them pleasantly there. Ii he was
playing part he would be likely to play 1T at the
jail and especially with the doctors. as well as Ill
the court But he Is not playing part Perhaps tie
public believes that his lighting against his own case
30 much is part of the play, but know hundreds
of things that can never get to the jury, and per-
SHOW me that nc is sincere in everything he says.
When he says that he wants the truth and
nothing but the trnth, whether it is for him or
AGAINST him know he means it. That is his father
all over again. But as for his playing part, why
hc has been at me day after day to go and see Ar
thur and find ont how the President and his ad-
ministration feel toward him.
when tell him that won't do any good and
that President Arthur wouldn't have anything to
say on the subject he tells me that l can find ut
from the way he acts and looks lie does all
this privately, without any thought That 1t
will ever 60 to the pubic. slie has been
plaguing me for weeks TO go and see James
Gordon Bennett, supposng him to be III
this country, and get the p"OVu
out of him that he sued The Herald four years ago.
He admits that he has legal claim for it, but he
says Bennett is a good-natured fellow and it would
be lust like him to hand ont the money. He scolds
scovie and me in private just absurdly as he
does in public The fact is that my brother is off
his base and always has been. He went to the
Oneida Community expecting to be leader there,
when such notion ludicrous and it has been
lust that way with him all his life. There has
never been any sense in anything he has ever
done There was no sense IN hs thinking
he could lecture or write successful
book. There was no sense in his trying to buy a
newspaper, or in his thinking that he had really had
anything to do with the last Presidential campaign.
The idea that he thought that he might get the
Swiss Mission in 1875 or the Austrian Mission from
Garfield, was SO preposterous that it might almost
DO called insane by itself. Total depravty will not
account for such absurdities. But insanity WILL III
had been a lawyer aud in charge of my brother s
Ease / think should have introduced myself all
the evidence which the prosecution is putting in
now about the clearinghouse swndles and all the