Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1881-11-24
THE GUITEAU TRIAL
FOURTH DAY!
District Attorney C0rkhill Makes
His Opening Statement.
Testimony of Secretary Blaine-In-
cidents of the Trial.

w. DTanuelOofS, cigar uldk6T, Henry u
Bright, retired merchant; Chas. J. Stew
art, merchant; Thos II. Langley. grocer
Michael Sheehan, grocer; Samuel F
Hobbs. plasterer; George w. Gates, ma
chinist; Ralph Wormley, laborer; Wm
S. Brawner, grocer; Thomas Heinlin
machinist; Joseph Pratter, commission
merchant.
The general opinion respecting it i:
that it is good average jury. All ar,
intelligent men, and of the age thai
covers years of discretion. The young
est man. George W. Gates, is at leas
twenty-nine years of age. and all the 9th
ers are at least ten years older.
The opinion is that the jury is as goo(
one as could be expected in such {
case. Scoville and Robinson have appa
rently made up the difference between
them, at least they seem friendly. SEQ
vile will have to do the talking to keep
Guiteau still, for he is sure to jump il
an objection whenever Robinson under.
takes to act as colloquial counsel. The
Government counsel, Davidge, occasion
ally protests against questions as moi
proper, and District Attorney Corkhill
always announced the decision of the
IuofoluluCht lOopOSIinS JuiOio. cuuSe
Porter has not yet addressed the Court
in any way.
By half-past nine o'clock this morning
the Criminal Court room WAS well tiled
Each days proceedings appear, to in
crease the public interest in the trial.
The doors were thrown open to the
/ public few minutes before ten o'clock.
This was the signal>for Il general stam-
pede.
| Mrs. Scoville entered the court room at
10 o'clock, accompanied by her little
daughter about five years of age. A sto-
ry was published in morning paper
purporting to give the details of the ar
rest of an accomplice of Guiteau at Ken
sington, ILL.,, yesterday, and stating that
telegraphic correspondence had occurred
on the subject between the authOritives
of that place and District Attorney
Corkhill.
The latter officer denies that he has
had any such correspondence, and says
he knows Rothing of the story, and if he
did should not feel at liberty to talk
about it for publication.
| Immediately after court opened cOun-
sci Scoville arose to make a personal ex-
PLANTATION, in which he said there had
been no disagreement between himself
and Robinson, as would appear from
tcertain publications. and in conclusion
said Mr.. Robinson would render all aid
/ possible in the case and that they would
work in harmony.
| At this point Guiteau rose and object
ed to Rubii son taking part in his de-
fense. He said he would manage his own
I~,Jf II l1B. q 4.
anything, as he had no brains. He rep
resented Deity in this case and wished
the court to understand it. Continuing,
he said two or three blHndering lawyers
would lose the case for him, and he did
not propose to submit to anything of the
kind.
The Court informed the prisoner that
il he did not remain quiet he would be
removed from the room. After a few
minutes the prisoner burst out afresh
with the remark: "There is not word
of truth in the Chicago dispatch pub
Isle in the Post this morning. 1t is a
lie from beginning to end"
This is the dispatch referred to above
regarding the arrest of supposed ac-
complice of Guiteau.
AT 1890 o'clock, Secretary Blaine, ae-
companied by Assistant Secretary Walk
er Blaine, and Chief Clerk Brown, enter
ed the court room and were ushered to
seats Immediately in the rear of counsel
for the Government. A few minutes
later the following statement was made
by United States District Attorney Cork
hill:
May it please the Court and Gentle
men of the Jnry: The prisoner at the
bar stands before you charged with the
murder of James A. Garfield. Under
any circumstances there rests grave and
responsible obligations upon every man
called upon in the discharge of his duty
under the law to render decision upon
which depends the life of his fellow
creature And while it is true that the
offense charged in the present case is no
greater in legal gravity and consequence
to the prisoner than if by his act he had
taken the life of the humblest and most
obscure citizen of the Republic, still it
is idle to overlook the fact that the emf
nent character whose life was taken, his
high official position and the startling
effect of the commission of such crime,
render the case one of unusual and un-
paralleled Importance. 1t is the second
time in our history that citizen chosen
by the people of the United States to
discharge the high and responsible dH-
ties of President, has fallen victim to
a lawless assassin. But in the former
case we were just emerging from the
shadows of a long and bloody war. The
country had been racked by connections
and stirred by civil feuds. Throughout
the length and breadth of the land near
ly every household mourned the loss of
relatives or friends slain OH hotly con-
tested battle6elds of the republic. 1t was
a danger thoughtful men had anticipa-
ted. 1t was calamity that patriots
had feared. And when it came, with
all its dread consequences, it was accept
ed as one of the results of the then dis
orderd and discordant condition of pub
lie affairs. But we had passed from the
arena of war. The sword had been beat
en- into the plOwshare and the spear into
the pruning hook. The country was uni
ted. Peace reigned at home add abroad.
There were no local dissensions; there
were no intense strifes. Seedtime and
harvest had come and gone; the battle
fields redeemed from the scars and hav-
oc of their bloody contests, were blossom
ing with the fruits of peaceful labor.
Suddenly the startling fact was pro-
claimed throughout the land and around
the world that the President Of the Uni
ted States had fallen victim to the as
sassin's bullet in the Capital of the Ma
tion. Murder under all circumstances
and upon all occasions is shocking. The
life of which we know so little and which
we hold by so fragile tenure is dear to
to us all. and when it is brought to u
close, not in the usual course of nature,
but prematurely by violence, no matter
what may be the condition of the per-
son. the human mind is appalled, with
terror. When man holding position
of eminence and power falls causeless
victim to the murderer's stroke, we real
ize still more fully the awfulness of the