Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1881-12-21

THE MURDERER GUITEAU.

! We closed our report of the trial
of the murderer Guiteau last week
with Dr. Spitzha ON the witness stand
on the question of insanity. The
doctors testimony was q long and
interesting testimony, but is eaaily
summed up. 1t is all found in the
nutshell that when a man is urged
to commit crime by an impulse,
and he yields to the impulse. he is
insane His testimony suited Gui-
teau, and the murderer fairly gloated
over it.
The next witness was Mr.. Gobell,
of New York, life insurance man.
The prisoner wanted to borrow $500
from him on the strength of his get
ting the Austrian Mission. He be-
lieved the prisoner to be sane.
Copeland, a New York journalist
on the Brooklyn Eagle, which was a
Democratic paper and denounced
fairfield Guiteau had slip taken
from Democratic paper.
Ketcham, New York lawyer. knew
the prisoner in 1873. He knew the
prisoner to have obtained money un-
der false pretense. That statement
brought out the murderer. He said !:
Il never got cent from this man
He was only poor clerk. I didn't
consider him proper associate for
high-toned lawyer like myself"
Henry Wood, of Philadelphia, had
known the prisoner for some years !;
never saw anything to indicate that
he was of unsound mind; on the con-
trary. always thought he was pos
sessed of rare intelligence Witness
knew Guiteau's wife, some members
of his family having rendered her a
service.
Guiteau here took occasion to SLAM
der his wife in most outrageous
terms. This man" he said, knew
her before did. You can draw your
own inference"
Samuel B. Phelps. broker, of New
York, had known the prisoner since
1868 he first knew him in Chicago.
Witness, in the fourteen years that
he had known the prisoner, never
saw anything to indicate that he was
of msound mind.
Rev. Mr. Withrow, a Boston preach
er. was q -Withrow is Ju-
niata Valley man.-During the win
ter of 1879 Guiteau had attended his
church sociables and preaching and
prayer-meetings in Boston. He saw
no evidence of insanity. From the
questions that the District Attorney
put, the prisoner considered that he
was trying to prove that the prisoner
knew that he was doing wrong when
he shot the President. That led the
murderer to shout out: My free
agency was destroyed and 1 hadn't
any choice, and 1 Will take my chance
with this Court and the jury and the
Lord on that point. The question rs
not whether was insane five years
ago, but whether 1 was free agent
att the time killed the President
That kills your theory. That is the
question for the Court to pass upon.
1t is not question of right or wrong,
but of free agency. 1 am not here
to save nay neck from the gallows. l
am here for right, for justice, for vim
dication.
A New York life insurance man
named Bryan certified that Guiteau
told him of his familiarity with Jim
Blaine"
Mrs. Dunmire, Guiteau's divorced
wife, was on the stand A city news
paper describes her as fellows: Mrs
Dunmire IS a very small woman, with
a very thin face and a sharp nose.
She was plainly dressed in black, with
a rather gay bonnet, and white lace
scarf or handkerchief around her
neck. She spoke in low, subdued
voice, that could scarcely be heard
ten feet away from where she stood
George Reynolds testified he had
visited the prisoner in Jail number |
of times last July. The prisoner
never spoke of being INSPIRED till
about the close of the month of July |
He seemed before that time to be-
lieve that Grant, Conkling and the
stalwarts generally would side with
him; but when the witness told him
that everybody, men, women and chill
dren Of al tbs country were denounc
ing him, he changed and brought |
forth the Divine inspiration theory
While the prisoner believed that he
had influential friends he did not hes
tate to speak of the shooting of the
President as an assassination it was
only after he learned that everybody
was against him that he began to
speak of it as the work of inspiration
from Deity.
The WOMEN IN THE CASE
Speaking of the breaking of his
vows, the assassin said Il
admit my marriage and my divorce.
[ don't care for that. 1 can get mar
led again anywhere outside of New
York State, and for that matter in
II New York, too. Under the new
aw there, if a man lives q strictly
sirtuous life for six years after being
liTorced the Courts will let him mar
y again. Why, / could get married
n New York tomorrow If I wanted
o. This woman Jennings was a
iigh-toned woman in New York. 1t
vas purely a matter of business be-