The examiner., 1881-12-03
The Trial of GuitaAu

gagged unless he behaved himself The assassin apparently paid little heed to the threat; and constantly interrupted the proceedings with his comments and observations, and was not gagged. Gulteau read 8 statement in which he repeated his blasphemous assertion respecting his partnership with the Deity. He said in his statement that certain newspa- pers which abused President Gar field must share with him the odium of the assassination, and he threatened to expose the record of his former wife if she appeared as a witness against him. Further testimony was taken in support of the theory ot insanity, the following witnesses appearing Joseph D. Smith, of Freeport, U., aged seventy one years Charles H. Reed, 8 Chicago lawyer H. B. Amerling, lawyer of Williamsport Pa, and Thomas North, Chicago lawyer. All these witnesses were examined with the view of establishing the insanity of the assassin and his father.
 . On the eleventh day of the trial Guiteau im- proved the opportunity of Hull in the opening proceedings by attacking Henry Ward Beecher, saying: II notice my friend, Henry Ward Beecher, is doing some cranky we TX on this case. used to attend his church and prayer meetings, and if your honor knew him as we'll as do you would not pay any attention to him" etc. General John A. Logan then took the stand, and was asked: "Do you know the prisonerF" "Oh, yes; of course you do, gen. eral P' broke in Guiteau. "You know me very well; I'm very happy to meet you again. Witness said he had frequently been besioged
 
 but had invariably declined, for the reason that the prisoner did not seem to be such a man as he would care 10 recommend for any office. He had never known him in Chicago. The first time he ever saw him was when he (Guiteau) called upon him to secure his influence. The general impression that he formed of Guiteau that there was something wrong in his mental organization. Witness saw Gulteau eating at one of the tables of his own boarding- house. Asked the landlady if she knew him. She said he had told her he was 9 constituent of his. Witness then told her he did not think Guiteau was the kind of 8 man she wanted in her house. for he thought he was '' a little off in his head" George D. Hubbard, a farmer who had worked with Guiteau in one of the shops of tho Oneida Community, was the next witness. and testified that he had always cor sidered the prisoner cratic and quick-tem pere1. Edmund M Smith, of Chicago, the next witness, testified that he had been clerk of tho Republican National committee in New York during the last campaign, that Guiteau was frequently in the committee rooms and wanted to be put on the roll of speakers, and that the prisoner was f1ighty in his conversa- tion and could not put two sentences together connectedly. John A. Morse, colored lawyer, next testified that he saw Guiteau frequently at the White House, perhaps fifteen or twenty times, and took him to be crazy man. Never spoke to him or heard him speak, but the gen. eral impression he formed from Guiteaus ap- pearance was that he WAS insane. Mrs.
 
 of the prisoner and wiio to his counsel, was next called to the witness stand. She testified that she twelve years old when her mother died remembered her mother well since she was three years old; her mothers health was good, though she was not strong She seemed pretty well until about year and D half before the prisoner was born. She was sick long time, and so sick that she was kept ill very retired room. While she was in this condition and in this room the prisoner was born, and it was several months afterward be- fore she was able to resume her place in the family. Witness remembered seeing her mother bied during that sickness, and also saw her head closely shaved before the prisoner was born. After that she always wore cap with false curls. Witness never saw her go out after that. Two children were born to her after this sickness. One of them had crooked loot 5 and died bd at the age of two the age of twenty months of consumption, and only shortly after it's mother. The first the witness remembered of her brother, the prlso- ner, was that they said he had been born in consumption. He was very smart and trouble some. He could always make noise enough, but until he was six years old he couldn't talk much. His father used to whip him for this defect but it did not do any good He didn't seem to understand what was wanted of him. He lived with friends in Michigan after his mother died until his father married again; then he returned to Freeport, Ill. During these years witness knew little about him, except
 
 After another while he was sent to witness to see if she could not induce him to give up his idea of going to the Oneida Community. She tried to, but found that he was ''crazy" on that subject, and she told her friends he was "clean gone daft He went to the community, and She called on him there, but he refused to talk freely with her, and she could not learn how he liked it. She next remembered him when he was admitted to the Chicago bar. He was very much elated, and said that  him 5 any more. Then he married and witness did not see much of him again until after he was separated from his wife. He was around Chicago for several years after that and also visited her home in Wisconsin. At that time he seemed to have greatly changed since before he was married. He was very hard to get along with, seemed willing to work, but did it in such a way that he was more bother than he worth He was easily over come by heat and was rendered very irritable On one such occasion when he refused to help at field work she let him lie down on sofa. Presently sine asked him to cut little wood. He did so, but laid the wood ln the path to the gate so that when she had to go to the butchers wagon she had to kick it out of the way Upon this the prisoner raised his ax at her and she ran in the house. She WAS not so much afraid of the ax as of the look in his face. He looked like wild animal. He continued looking crazy during the day, and she locked herself in her room until one of the men could be sum- moned to keep an eye on Charlie
 At the opening of court on the twelfth day Ms. ScoviIle resumed the witness stand and described Guiteau's appearance and actions during his visit at her house ip 1878. Frequent objections were raised by the counsel for the prose cution to the character of the questions propounded by MT. Scoville, and 8 continual discussion ensued between counsel upon the admissibility of certain evidence. Upon the conclusion of Mrs Scovllle's direct examlna- tion, at Mir. Scoville's request her cross-exam- in ton was postponed to allow MT. George D. Burroughs, of Chicago, to testify, as he de- sired to leave the city the same afternoon. He testified that he boarded with the Scovilles at the time of Guiteaus visit in 1878, and made Up his mind that the prisoner was either fool or crazy Before the next witness could be called Guiteau suddenly broke in with "l de- siro to tell all these crank newspaper men that l appear here as my own counsel, That Is my answer to all the silly stuff they have been de- livering themselves of for some days past. E.,me of these newspaper men have gone crazy. appear here in part as my own counsel as have & right to under the law and Constitution of America" The next witness, c. s. Jocelyn' of Lenox, N. T., stated that he was the business manager of the Oneida Community while that institution had existence; that he knew GUiteau during his stay wiCh the community luis intense egotis1n. John W. Guiteau, brother of the prisoner, was next summoned. He had not been on good terms with his brother for some years. but had not doubted his sanity until he received some letters in October. Since hc had come on hero and had seen his brother i'll jail, he had become satisfied that ne was insane. On being cross examined the witness admitted that before he came to Washington ho had always in talking of the case, said that