The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1881-12-17
THE GUiTEAU TRIAL.
Excerpts of Testimony and incidents by II.
Way.

day Ol last week, 10 ltuul INT cN'Hch'' WI
Guleaus insanity, was the Rev. r y Near
thur, Of Calvary Baptist church, New l ork'
He related how Guieau had applied to his
church for admission 10y letter from the First
Baptist church, Chicago. How he had Dor.
rowcd 500 from the witness, which OF course
was never repaid, and how, on accounto OF gross
immortality, he was subsequently expelled
from the church. The witness WAS constantly
by Guueau, with declarations
That's false that's not So" &c, but idlthUr
on admitted most Of 1t to be true. Mr.. SEQ
Vile objected to the testimony rs wholly IRE
lcvant, but MIR. Corkhll brought down the
house" by saying, 1--WE present this testimony
to show that what the defense call insanity Is
nothing more than devllish depravlty."
Geo. W Plummer Of Chicago, testified that
GuIteau had occupied desk IN his Office Tor
some months, for which, of course, he never
paid anything. He seemed to have deal OF
collection business and went IN and out Ike
any other business man, Never saw anything
about him to indicate insanity. Guiteau con
stantly intcrruptng the witness, the latter said,
at seems your close relations with the Deity
of late have corrupted your manners" Gull
teau laughed heartily at this sally and said it
wasn't bad for western man Witness add
ed: "Guiteau seemed to be man Of ability,
VAN and concerted but then, he had late from
New York city on his card, and we expected
the rest" This convulscd the court
Stephen English, editor Of the n. y. InSar
aHce Times detailed IA confidence game that
Gulteau played upon HIM which required I'M
usual skill and adroiness and said he was al
together too sane for him (witness). Guiteau
shouted to the witness that he was a dirty liar
adding "Why, ! wouldn't spit on you in the
street, you old sCOundrcl."
Warren G. Brown and Charles lIaehle, New
York lawyers, testified to sundry dead bca
transactions of which Guiteau had been guilty
and which showed great cunning and depravi
ty but no insanity They were constantly in
terrupted by the prisoner, calling them liars
&c, and the latter he said was "a Jew, also
and dirty one at that"
Senator Ben Harrison, of Indiana testified
that last spring the prisoner had bored HIM {
good deal about his application for office, bu
he had never imagined him insane
| ID. McLain Shaw testified that Guiteau ha(
told him last spring that he was bound to have
notoriety some way or other, and he might xii
some man in imitation of Wilkes Booth. Gui
teau jumped up intensely excited and exclalm
ing That's low, dirty lie, proceeded to poul
upon the witness a torrent Of abuse.
The court adjourned to Monday
Monday the court was occupied all day by
the examination of DIR. Spitzka, of New York
as an expert, called by the defense to Prov
Gutcau's insanity. Witness had made thu
study of mental diseases specially and haC
testified as an expert IN about twenty othc
cases He had examined the prisoner In .ai
on Sunday and was satisfied that he is insane
| Witness considered the main feature Of tht
ton of deluslve opinions and morbid projects
and strong indication OF imbeclily and judg
mcnt, "and WHILE" said the witness, II hav,
no other evidence than the expression of hi>
imbecie or moral monstroslty" He be
| lieved he must have been in more or less
morbid mental state throughout his life and
that he was probably insane on the ID of July
The witness concluded from the shape II
| the tace and head and the defective innova
II NJ ha
nounced deviation of the tongue to the left
that the prisoner was born with unequal de
velopmcnt Oh brains; that his insanity was
cOngenital. Witness described with great par
ticularity peculiartics of head formation
which he had detected IN the prisoners case
He thought IN the prisoners case the inequali
| y IN the two sides of the head was three times
greater than in normal head. Inequality
could be taken rs an indication of moral I'M.
beclity only IN proportion to its degrees. The
witness continued: "lf had only that man 8
pointing at Guiieau mean face to judge by,
would say he was u dcpraved man or an IN.
sane man but introducing other factors
unequal formation of the head, inequality OF
facial expression, and deviation of tongue
am of opinion that the trouble is of congenital
origin"
Witness was asked If the prisoner was able
10 distinguish between right ana wrong, ana
declined to express an opinion as to his moral
responsibility, but from an examination Of the
prisoner he was of the opinion that since
he the prisoner has been lawyer he has
always known the ordinary legal consc
qucnces of criminal acts.
The witness was sharply crosscxamined by
Corkhill with an evident purpose to dlscredl'
his testimony. Among other questions he was
asked whether he had not taken fee as an
expert IN one case on one side and then taken
larger fee in the same case on the other side
The Doctor Indignantly denied that there wal
any basis for such n question and protested
against the right TO ask it, Guteau yelled
out: That's very dirty question for you t.
ask, Corkhlll. I'm going to ask Arthur L
kick you out of this case. Why, this man i
| one of the first scientists of the country. Why